Sanctuary at the Crossroads

Dancing With Life for 2012!

Nancy Nicholas-Intuitive Life Coach — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:22:51 +0000

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. Along with this project, we have created a Team Heifer for Sanctuary. This will be an ongoing project to raise money through Heifer International to support those in need around the world. We chose Heifer for this year’s focus because they not only provide necessities, but also provide a way for families to support themselves. (you can learn more here: About Heifer) At the end of this article, you’ll find links for more information on our service project and also the link to help me reach my goal this month. Below is my article for January!

It’s All About Us!

“Take my hand, I’ll teach you to dance.

I’ll spin you around, won’t let you fall down.

Would you let me lead, you can step on my feet.

Give it a try, it’ll be alright.”

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!

Some helpful links for this month’s theme…

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.

Nancy’s Team Heifer Goal for January is a Gardener’s Gift Basket ($170): As a special thank you for your support, I’ll email those of you who donate $25 or more an intuitive message from your Spirit Guides and Angels to help you live a joy filled 2012! Donate in any amount, and you can purchase a 30 minute Empowerment Reading Gift Certificate for $50 (normally $75)or a 60 minute Empowerment Reading for $90 (normally $130). Just email me after you make the donation to take advantage of these gifts. Help me reach $170 by 1/31 by donating at the link below!

NANCY’S TEAM HEIFER PAGE

Wishing you an abundant, joyous 2012!

With love,

Nancy

www.SanctuaryAtCrossroads.com

www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com

Happy Holidays Free Meditation: Step Into Your Divine Power

Nancy Nicholas-Intuitive Life Coach — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:57:17 +0000

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

www.SanctuaryAtCrossroads.com

www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com

Winter Solstice Message

Nancy Nicholas-Intuitive Life Coach — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:03:16 +0000

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

www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com

www.SanctuaryatCrossroads.com

Bringing Joy into our Lives

thehealingroom1 — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:40:46 +0000

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 1^st Massage Gift Certificates also available!!

Inner Joy

yinyangyou — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:41:42 +0000

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

www.SanctuaryAtCrossroads.com

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

Nancy Nicholas-Intuitive Life Coach — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:21:11 +0000

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).

www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com

www.SanctuaryAtCrossroads.com

October’s Theme: Personal Power and Order from Chaos

Nancy Nicholas-Intuitive Life Coach — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:09:36 +0000

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

An Evening With the DreamWeaver

lstalvey1 — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:06:00 +0000

Join DreamWeaver Facilitator Linda Stalvey for a special evening of connection, healing, love and laughter. Our group will begin with exercises to introduce ourselves individually and energetically. We will create our healing circle with sound and intent, and then build the DreamWeaver in sacred ceremony. The DreamWeaver blends the energy of the copper dodecahedron, with music and vibration to facilitate intent—your intent. Once the instrument is constructed, attendees will get time individually and/or in small groups in the DreamWeaver. We will demonstrate multiple-hands-on healing in the DreamWeaver and will invite you to try this special touch as time allows. Linda is the only DreamWeaver Facilitator in the state of Ohio.

When: Thursday, October 6th

Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Where: Symphony of Healing, 6458HighlandMeadows Dr.,Medina,OH

Cost: $30

Registration highly recommended as attendance is limited. For questions or to register, contact Linda Stalvey at LStalvey1@frontier.com or 330-697-2449.

DreamWeaver--Sound, Vibration and Healing

It Takes a Village…

Nancy Nicholas-Intuitive Life Coach — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:51:58 +0000

Thanks to all the wonderful participants, volunteers, and members for helping

to create a joyous event on Sunday!

We couldn’t have done it without you (literally!).

I was thinking about the event and decided to make a list of all that I loved about it….here it is!

1. I loved the feeling of being part of a community of like-minded, loving people! Everyone really came together and helped to put this on…and not just the members…some of the participants even jumped into help when we had a scheduling conflict in the beginning. I’m a bit of a reformed (or reforming?) control freak and this was my first event not controlling every detail. I couldn’t do everything that needed to be done and found out that I didn’t need to! Much love to all of you who became honorary members of the Sanctuary team and all the members who pitched in!

2. I love the people I met! I had such interesting readings with the people I worked with and all the lovely people who participated in my holistic talk. You were all amazing and so easy to work with! It was also such fun to meet my clients face to face! It’s an odd thing when you work by phone and get to know people so well, but have never seen them face to face.

3. Being in such a lovely space! I’d never been out to the Unity Life Enrichment Center (Unity of Medina) before. It was just beautiful and so peaceful. I am a huge fan of big windows with lovely views! Thanks to Barbara and Linda for all their help in making the space available. We really enjoyed being there.

4. God winks: One of my favorite things to do is to do an empowerment reading with someone I’ve never talked to before (although I also really love working with those I’ve developed a long-term relationship with…what can I say? I love my job!). During the readings, each one had a “God wink” which to me is when an image comes through that seems odd to me but has specific meaning for the person I’m working with. How fun that is! So thanks God for the little confirmations that help us all know we aren’t alone.

5. Pollyanna’s Pastries: Thanks for the Amazing Cookies from Jana’s Conversations and More Store! Wow! Yummy…yummy…yummy!

For those of you who weren’t able to make it, hopefully you’ll be able to join us for a future event. In the meantime, you can learn more about all the awesome members by browsing the members pages: www.SanctuaryAtCrossroads.com

Blessings to you all!

Nancy

Owner of Sanctuary at the Crossroads

Offering Intuitive Life Coaching, www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com

PS. The winners of the drawing will be getting an email gift certificate tomorrow or Friday! Watch for an email from Nancy@SanctuaryatCrossroads.com.

Personal Power and the 3rd Chakra

Judy Tancinco — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:52:06 +0000

Our deepest fear
Is not that we are inadequate;
Our deepest fear
Is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness,
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves,
“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
Talented and fabulous?”
Actually, who are you
NOT to be?

You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about
Shrinking so that other people
Won’t feel insecure around you.

We are born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people
Permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically
Liberates others.

Marianne Williamson
“A Return to Love”
1992

For me, these words capture the essential meaning of “Personal Power.” The first time I read this quote in the mid-90’s, I was indeed struck with mixed feelings of fear and excitement. At that time I could easily identify with feeling inadequate, but “powerful beyond measure?” Certainly, they must be talking about someone else… but what if it were true for me?

You see I had spent 40 years of my life hiding my light “under the bushel basket,” flying under the radar, avoiding the spotlight, and being a chameleon so no one would notice me. It was a decade later that I began to acknowledge and take steps towards claiming my own personal power.

My journey to empowerment took place while training to be a Polarity Therapist. It was during my training that I learned about energetic anatomy and the core energy system, also known as the chakras. I learned that personal power is the domain of the 3rd chakra, located the solar plexus, and is related to the element of fire.

A healthy and balanced 3rd chakra expresses as confidence and authenticity. It is the seat of our energy, passion and vitality – the positive, dynamic driving force of our life. The element of fire brings to our lives warmth, light, focus and clarity, as well as enthusiasm, motivation, assertiveness, insight and honesty. Personal Power resides in the transformational fire of our 3rd chakra.

When the 3rd chakra or the fire element is weak, one can feel tired, unfocused, depressed, unmotivated, insignificant, uncaring, or like a doormat – being everything for everybody with poor boundaries and diminished sense of self. Ultimately, it is not others but my own fear that keeps me and my Light in hiding. If I truly believe that I am “powerful beyond measure,” how would my life change? What do I hold down within the deepest parts of me for fear of failure or of what others might think?

Claiming my personal power is about allowing my Light to shine by living authentically, by coming to know that I am a unique manifestation of the Divine. There never was, nor will there ever be, another being like me, and if I don’t allow myself to be “brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous” in my own unique way, then the energy of the world will be greatly diminished without my authentic participation in it.

Slowly we are beginning to realize that the only way to change the world is by changing ourselves. Transformation always comes from the inside-out. Every time one of us allows our unique Light to shine, we model it for others and give them permission to do the same. Like a whole arena of people holding candles in the darkness that is slowly lit up, person by person, from one single flame, one person’s empowerment spurs others to change and become empowered. The greatest gift we can give the world is our own personal transformation.

To learn more about Personal Power and the 3rd chakra, click here to view a video by Caroline Myss.

Judy Tancinco, RPP, RPE, BCPP

Judy Tancinco has more than fifteen years’ experience in energy healing and bodywork. She is a certified Yoga Therapist and Elemental Reflexology™ Practitioner, as well as a Registered Polarity Practitioner, a Registered Polarity Educator and a Board Certified Polarity Practitioner with the American Polarity Therapy Association.

Judy has been on faculty with the Institute of Holistic Health Careers since 2008 and is the Director of the Elemental Reflexology™ program which she also teaches. Her expertise is in the application and integration of the energetic principles of Polarity with the ancient art of reflexology.

Additionally, Judy Tancinco is the Director of Medina Holistic Health, in Medina, Ohio, where she teaches introductory holistic classes and maintains her private practice. Visit her website at www.medinaholistichealth.com