Blog Archives
Reaching for the Sunshine and a Warm Thank You
Even though we continue to experience days of snow and we are getting out to ski still, Spring is pushing through here in the high mountain altitudes. It’s so exciting to see all my iris, tulip and daffodil bulbs reaching for the sunshine across our yard. They are eager to join the dance in celebration of the Equinox here shortly.
My birthday irises being the first to blossom, as you know, but the others are not far behind. And there’s much more on the way than what I captured here to share with you.
Soon it will be garden time. I have a ton of wildflower seeds ready to join last year’s perennials I planted and I’ll of course pick up some new beauties to add to what will return. My garden and garden tower are already showing signs of returning growth. It’s always fun to see what surprises the Fae of the land have in store.
Every season has so much enchantment, mystery, and gifts to offer – each reflecting our inner landscapes and sharing with us the answers to how we can more effectively align with life.
And speaking of life alignment, I was unable to share this video thank you the last time, but forgot I could upload it to my YouTube Channel. So, I pasted it in below, as it was important to me to connect more personally with each of you here as well, to extend deep gratitude to everyone sharing interest and courage to join this space and invite me to walk with you.
The five month immersives that I refer to can be found here, along with how to move forward with applying:
The Mentor Muse ~ Guiding Inspiration for Life’s Work Alignment
The video was taken last week, right before the New Moon in Pisces and Sunday’s Intuition Class, but the message of gratitude is timeless.
Immersives begin the week of April 12th and March 20th is the last day to turn in applications – that’s now only two days away. I’m processing the last ones I’ve received so far, today and tomorrow, and it looks like two of the three spots are filled currently.
Stay tuned for a little Spring Equinox surprise.
A Grateful Day…Every Day
My dear friend, and officiant for our Summer Solstice wedding, shared this beautiful video message with me yesterday and it felt perfect to pass along to all of you today.
Whether I’ve met you in person or not, have spoken or messaged with you or not, had any interaction of any sort or not – you are felt, you are seen, you are appreciated, you are a part of me.
May we experience every day like it’s the first and the last so that each moment, every person, and every part of creative consciousness around us has a place in our hearts.
I am another yourself. You are another myself. In Lak’ech Ala K’in ~ the Mayan principle of Universal Love.
Maya priest shamans recognized us as one global human being ~ “dissolving until you are ‘NOT’, then the World enters you.”
Magnificence Is…
Magnificence is you alive in this moment.
Are there challenging things going on right now?
Sure.
Yet, even amidst the twists and turns, the simple truth of your soul expressed in body is a miracle.
And that includes the myriad of experiences that are made possible because of being human at this moment.
Not only the experiences that are deemed good or pleasurable.
But every one of them, simply because they are even possible to be experienced, felt, and navigated with every part of your being.
Just a short message I wanted to share with all of you miraculous beings.
We’re heading out again Saturday, for a week, and so I wanted to send you this little note, as inspiration came through.
I likely won’t be blogging until we return, which means the next post will be a fun Full Blue Moon Halloween/Samhain share. Hehe!
Today happens to be the 12 year anniversary of Dave and I first kayaking out on Lake Tahoe all those many Moons ago. And our week away has many celebrations woven into it, to include that, his birthday, and more.
I’ve, of course, been a busy faery bee in order to be able to get away. Yet, as my last Soulful Time Out shared, “Sometimes we think we couldn’t possibly create the space and time for what we need, but that’s exactly when we need it the most.”
I’m in a balancing zone right now between heavy load and soulful softness and am grateful to be navigating things with greater ease than the old me.
Quick updates on the new classes and free event, before I head out:
The Intuition & Reiki ~ Empowered Intuitive Development February 2021 class is now full. If you were wanting to join, or feel a draw to this, you can contact me. Depending on amount of extra interest, I might open a second class later in Spring.
Both the Crystal Healing & Reiki ~ Deepening through Integrative Healing Sessions class and the Free Event – Intuitive Sound Healing Immersion ~ Awaken the New & Ignite Your Ancient Voice have three openings left.
Link to all the info can be found here: 2021 Classes & Upcoming Events
Holding you all in heart and wrapping lots of love around each of your souls.
I am grateful for every one of you.
I am grateful for this life, despite and because of all the mysterious ways energy expresses itself beyond my full ego comprehension.
And I am grateful that every day is a new opportunity to feel and stretch to even greater depths, express myself in new ways, find and see even more beauty than the day before, share greater kindness in soul-reaching ways, and experience the full gamut of what being human is all about.
Giveaway Recipients & A Break
I’ll keep this post short and sweet by kicking off with thanking those of you who joined in on the New Moon Gratitude Giveaway. Because of a busy week, it took me a while to go through the lists from people who decided to see it all the way through with me and us. I hadn’t had opportunity until this morning to go through things and post the recipients of the four gifts I promised as a way of honoring your commitment.
The four people in no particular order are:
Reid Reichardt
Ana Pena
Jane Guzman
Lisa Gonzales
I’ll be contacting each of you to get your gifts out. I was truly moved by the experiences you had with this and how meaningful you found it to be. I honor each of you for doing this challenging work.
This last week has been both full and full circle for me. It has solidified some things and put others into motion. Wednesday through Friday were particularly shifting, as well as a bit exhausting, yet pivotal clarity came as to a phase I chose three years ago.
I had only snippets of what it meant, but am understanding more what is in alignment with it. It’s a new phase that hasn’t an example to reflect for me, so it will be both a challenge and adventure to reinvent things.
It is because of this that the regular Ask Astrid Fridays blog didn’t come in yesterday and because of things she and I are committing to working on together, we’ll be taking at least the next week off from any blogging as well.
Depending on how much we move through, will depend on how the next week looks, but I at least want one full week to dive in deep so that I can get a handle on and anchor in a new experience we’re reinventing.
Once it feels to be in motion, I’ll be better able to schedule in other things.
This feels supportive also to my being very inward these days and needing more space for myself.
Thursday is a big day for the two of us leading into Summer Solstice on Friday. This is a special time and sacred portal that feels especially supportive for igniting what we’re focusing on right now.
We hope it will be a beautiful doorway for your light as well.
Thank you again to everyone who delved into the self gratitude and giving in the way that felt right for you. I hope you’ll continue to implement this into your life to become a natural part of living.
Coming Full Circle ~ New Moon Gratitude Giveaway
Yesterday marked the end of our eight day journey into self-gratitude and I heard from people how challenging it had been, but also what a gift it was so far – igniting the very key they felt they had neglected. Remember that if you did officially participate and want to be part of the giveaway and accountability, please send in your shares by end of today, Tuesday June 11th.
A reminder on the guidelines can be found here:
New Moon Gratitude Giveaway With a Twist
We had far less people participating with this challenge than the general Gratitude Challenge, as it was tough and not something people felt as comfortable with. That’s exactly why I felt to put it out there.
But we did have a great group, both officially and unofficially joining, as well as some people that joined mid-way who hadn’t seen the challenge until it had already begun. They really resonated and decided to incorporate it into their lives and begin it from the day they became aware of it.
We’ll see how many actually do send me their shares, but in any case, I want to say thank you to anyone who did join in whatever way you felt called or able to, and who felt the value in this.
It was interesting to me that at the same time, the local meditation group here had decided to have “self love” as their monthly theme, but in the first day of the month’s gathering so many continued to voice being challenged by it and having difficulty in finding clarity between self love and ego or narcissism. Teachings out there even help support this idea with spiritual bypassing or tricky definitions that make it hard to get to the core by keeping you running in circles around yourself.
And then there’s the mind that is really good at analyzing and dissecting, keeping people in intellectualizing mode, rather than going into the abstract feelings that simply want to be acknowledged and felt.
In some cases it simply revealed itself as a concept a lot of people hadn’t really explored and journeyed in depth, although had heard about it, and in most cases people didn’t know where to begin or what to do in order to get into the emotions beyond the mental thoughts and concepts.
I could understand why and also saw the connection this has to disconnect we experience with others, global issues, our emotions, and so much more.
I decided to join this even though I have and do a lot of inner work, because cycles in life reveal layers and being at another key point of change that has brought new things to surface, I have been feeling deeply within and implementing new approaches.
I found my list to have some wonderful insights about myself that I don’t daily think of as gifts, as well as experienced a lot of sweetness and softness in how I was relating to myself simply by acknowledging some tender parts of me.
I also noticed that during this time period I experienced more possibility stream in (perhaps as reflection of seeing more of myself), my days relaxed more and I ended them earlier in terms of “doing” things (perhaps as reflection of making more space for me), and I experienced others around me opening more too and having new experiences even though they weren’t doing this with me (as within, so without).
In general, an even greater experience of alignment seems to be in motion.
I’m curious to hear what others have experienced.
I’m still sitting with everything and in process of implementing changes that have come through during this time, but I do feel grateful I did this and am curious where things will go from here.
New Moon Gratitude Giveaway With A Twist
You may remember my Summer Solstice Gratitude Giveaway from 2018, almost exactly a year ago. It was the second giveaway I hosted and was extremely well-received, as well as had far-reaching effects and benefits to all who joined. I still hear from people who have continued implementing their practice and how it supports the shifts and challenging times they go through, while helping them to expand and live more abundantly.
Well, I’ve been strongly nudged to offer this again, but with a little twist.
I’ve been feeling into the collective energy and listening to what people have been sharing, as they navigate current big changes once again cycling through.
In the midst of challenges and trying to figure things out, it’s easy to forget your practice and rituals of gratitude, but especially of self-care and creating space for you.
So this time the challenge, if you so choose to accept it, will combine a gratitude practice with self-nurturing and love.
This is only an invitation, so if you don’t like the guidelines or resonate with following the structure of it, you simply can choose not to participate or use it as inspiration to create your own practice, add to one you already have, or simply use it as a reminder of mindfulness.
If you do feel a draw to participate and feel like accountability would be helpful, then I welcome you to join.
Here are the guidelines for the Giveaway that will result in implementing changes relative to your life, experiencing more of what you want in your life, and may even see you receiving a gift from me.
New Moon Gratitude Giveaway:
1. Accountability: Please let me know by this Friday, May 31st that you have decided to commit to this challenge. You can either let me know in the comments of this blog post, or CONTACT ME ***** If you find this through my posting it on Facebook or Instagram, please STILL ONLY CONTACT ME ABOUT JOINING VIA THESE 2 OPTIONS. It helps me out a lot to have everything in one place. I know people tend to miss details due to a lot of info to take in, but hoping this helps.
2. Gratitude in Action: Starting June 3rd and for the next 8 full days until the end of June 10th please begin a daily practice of gratitude – even if you already are – in which case go further. This is where the twist comes in: Rather than creating a list of at least 10 things you are grateful for and why about just ANYTHING (which in many cases will result in being grateful for things “OUT THERE”), I am going to ask that you look for things to be grateful for that are about yourself ONLY. (things “IN HERE”) – (Please read through the end of this blog to see why this is important and for examples). At the end on June 11th, you’ll send me this list just like you did last time. You can either type them up or take a photo of your journal pages and send that to me. I know this can be vulnerable, so I understand people not wanting to participate, however that is also a hugely empowering part of this and of course anything you share with me stays between us. I’m a Reiki Master Teacher and have also coached with clients so I honor that relationship. This will give you at least 80 things and reasons you are grateful for something about yourself. The more heart connection you can create with this, the more you increase the frequency of this experience, depth of healing, and expansive magnetism it creates.
3. Giving in Action: This is an important one! For each of these 8 days I’d like you to do at least one thing in the way of giving and/or nurturing to yourself that you wouldn’t normally do. Please make note of that in your journal next to your list of things you’re grateful for and why about yourself.
4. Responsibility: Send me your Gratitude and Giving lists by the end of the day on Tuesday June 11th. I would also love to hear how this experience was for you and anything you noticed shifting in your life during and/or after the 8 days.
5. Integrity: All of this truly is between you and yourself on whether or not you actually do these things and how much you invest of yourself in them. And with that said, it would be wonderful if you can make a promise to yourself to continue this forward long after June 10th. See this New Moon energy as the portal to make a huge life shift – even if it is simply in fine-tuning what you already do. For some, this may be a new experience. Either way, I assure you that you will experience positive and enriching shifts in your life during this time period and as a result. And if you maintain this as your daily walking meditation you will experience things exponentially, but most importantly your quality of life will be enhanced, as will everyone and every experience you come in contact with. There are so many ways you can fine-tune this process and challenge yourself to rise to greater levels with it by going farther with it all and in every circumstance. You will learn creative ways that gratitude now is simply aligning you with probable realities your frequency is matching. The choosing of the realities is up to you, but they await you realizing them.
Of course adding this to a gratitude practice, in general, about ALL of the things you are grateful for would be truly powerful too, but I tend to see how self love and nurturing continues to be neglected and so this is why I’m focusing this particular challenge on YOU.
I think it can be easier to find things about others or things around us to be grateful for, but is harder for us to look at ourselves with the same loving eyes of appreciation and love.
So, why am I focusing this on you?
Since we know the power of “what you embody within will reflect without” this alone is reason.
We also are well aware of the thought that you can’t give what you don’t already have yourself – or at least perhaps not as fully.
We’ve also heard, “if you can’t love yourself, how can you love someone else?”
And, if you’re always giving out, but never open to receiving, then you aren’t fully exercising truly living in abundance. When we give to and receive from ourselves as well, this gets an extra boost.
We get messaged in every which way about how mission and service is of utmost importance. That you need to think in this vein, “how can I be of service?” And while I agree that taking into account the highest good for all concerned is key, the word “all” remember is inclusive of you, too!
We tend to bypass ourselves because we’ve been told that is selfish. We’ve also been told about the ego and to have any of that would also be a taboo. But the “you” I’m talking about is not about some ego-trip, nor is about not caring about anyone else.
It’s seeing everything and everyone connected.
What it’s not about is being a martyr and self-sacrificing.
What is about is authenticity, showing up, living out loud, expressing your unique self and fullness, and being the best version of you within the collective tapestry. And in order to do that, there’s a level of self nurturing, love, and care that is needed. There’s a level of appreciation for the beautiful gifts you have, for your life, for the ability to shine your individual light. There’s a need for you to have space, time, and value.
Because when you are doing these things, it automatically translates as the highest good for all concerned.
When you disregard yourself, push yourself aside, diminish your light, relinquish your right to express yourself, feel bad about or hide your gifts, and believe you aren’t worthy of things, then others feel that too.
Others receive your example, as permission to do the same – what ever that is. And they act accordingly, which may look something like a lot of people yearning for self love and finding ways to fulfill that hopelessly and endlessly, or even defend or lash out about that missing piece hopelessly and endlessly.
Gratitude is a powerful thing – you can read the link from my last post, above, about this. And having gratitude for, and appreciating your uniqueness, accomplishments, and value can take things a step further.
It’s like the layers of an onion we always talk about peeling away.
We can take things deeper and the core of you is a powerful place to focus, alongside the rest of the wonderful work, practices, and gratitude that you make time for.
Here are some examples of things you might find about yourself to share with yourself:
I think this might be a tricky challenge because you might find it easier to say something like, “I’m grateful for the job that I have.”
Now, while that is a wonderful thing to have gratitude for and truly does shift things by expressing and feeling that, it still isn’t personal enough for this challenge.
Your job is something outside of you, or an extension of you.
So how can you make it more personal?
What is it about you that made you the perfect candidate for the job? What qualities do you have that make you exceptional at your job?
So, for instance, “I am grateful for my ability to understand and listen to people and for my sensitivities that enable me to be good at knowing our customers’ needs, find common threads, and be a good team builder.”
These would be more in line with self-love and nurturing. Seeing how something unique about you is a gift. And on top of it, you can see how that gift you have is “serving the higher good.”
It could even shift what you have felt about that gift. For instance, you may have been down on yourself for being an empath or being so sensitive, but in fact those gifts you think are curses, are quite a blessing.
So reach in to find and have gratitude for that gift. Not focusing on the limitations, but the possibilities it provides.
Another example could be, “I am grateful for the way I can find humor in everything, for my silliness and playfulness, and the ability to always see through the eyes of my inner child. I am grateful to be a child at heart because it creates a feeling of wonder for everything around me, helps me to appreciate the little things, and helps lighten situations, as well as gives others permission to have fun too.”
So, rather than say something like, “I am grateful for the children of the world that make me smile,” can you see how the above makes it personal, but still extends out into the world as service, once again.
This all also creates greater self awareness while also nurturing an appreciation for who you are – as you are a beloved child of the universe.
It helps to create presence, supports you to slow down and create time and space for yourself, and helps to anchor in the new with greater empowerment to move forward with.
You’ll likely discover some resistance, icky feelings, blocks, and other feelings dredged up. I encourage you to go with the flow and try not to judge what comes up. Be gentle with yourself. Your inner child will thank you for this.
Again, we’re not in any way negating or stopping the practice of gratitude in general for anything, but we are taking it deeper and extending it to the inner landscape, as a means to create a ripple on the outer one – inside out.
Love as service.
Self-nurturing as mission.
These effect the whole.
They ARE the whole.
Imagine what a world of self-nurtured individuals might be like. Souls that have learned appreciation and value for their uniqueness now interacting in the world and able to really see and appreciate one another’s individuality and value. What possibilities might that create?
I hope this makes sense.
That brings us to the Giveaway part.
At the end, after I receive everyone’s submissions on the 11th, I’ll then be randomly choosing FOUR people to receive a free gift.
If only four or less people join, you’ll all receive a gift.
If more than four people join, then I will do a random, blind drawing of names, likely helped out by Astrid, to pick four recipients.
So, again if you decide this would be of benefit to you to join, regardless of the gifts involved or not, then you can either comment to this blog or use the Contact page to let me know that you are participating.
The four people will be receiving one of our mini magick rabbit faery gardens or magick rabbit baskets as your gift.
These are enchanted little themed worlds that carry an energy, reminder, theme, and inspiration for life.
They are truly mini portals of possibility.
I am going to be taking part in this myself, alongside anyone who wants to join, but of course I’m not part of the names to be drawn.
The Gratitude Giveaway will start this Monday, June 3rd on the New Moon and will go through the end of Monday, June 10th – that’s 8 full days this time.
New Moons are excellent times to begin anew – create new intentions, renew commitments, take action toward goals, and are great for self-awareness to align with your hopes and dreams for the future.
That energy feels perfect for this.
If you choose to participate, please make sure to read the guidelines and follow them exactly as written and don’t forget to let me know by end of this Friday, May 31st, that you’ll be joining.
You also have the option of simply taking part in this without letting me know or receiving anything in return.
You are a limitless being and there are limitless reasons you might be reading this right now and it might be speaking to a part of you.
It’s completely up to you how or if you want to take this journey.
Yet, I assure you, by truly committing and upping your normal approach, your life will take a lovely turn.
Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: A Small Pause, but a Big Reminder
It’s been a whirlwind of events the last couple of days, so Astrid was kind enough to let us skip this week’s Ask Astrid Fridays and return next Friday. However, I did promise her that as soon as things settled a bit, we’d let everyone know that we hadn’t forgotten her special blog day, but simply will be processing everything into what she may feel important to impart next time. She was completely fine with that because it just gives her more time to feel into everything in the collective field and how it relates to things unfolding here with connective meaning.
In the meantime, she wanted me to remind everyone about gratitude and how important that is.
So, here are some snippets from our last year’s Gratitude Giveaway post as reminders:
We all know that the more gratitude you have and express, the more abundance in all areas of your life you will experience. Not to mention, the more enriched, vibrant, joyful, peaceful, and fulfilling your life will be in every way.
We receive far more than when we are aware of, which indicates we actually have way more to be grateful for than we even make a point of realizing.
Think about the air you have to breathe, the sunlight that gives life, the trees that provide oxygen, the animals that keep our ecosystems healthy, or things like eyesight, ability to taste, smell, hear, touch, and experience life in sensual ways not elsewhere possible.
Yet, even things like our bills – whether you struggle to pay them or not – are actually things to be grateful for in the service they provide like electricity to see by or run your air conditioning, gas to warm your house or cook with, water to bathe in and clean your clothes, and mortgages that keep a roof over our heads.
And not only does recognizing and acknowledging everything we have to be grateful for help us to enjoy and receive more in life – yes even the hidden gifts in something or someone that rubs us the wrong way because they are emotional trainers for us to strengthen our hearts to love more – but we also find it easier to give more. And this is important because the flow of giving AND receiving is also part of living an abundant life.
Even when you think there’s nothing to be grateful for, you’re wrong as there is always something and in recognizing and thanking those things with all of your heart you will align your frequency with an increase in things that will enrich your life.
Even when you think you have nothing to give, if you give anyway – including money in a relative amount to your life, but greater than you think you’re capable of – the more you’ll find things flowing in.
Abundance equates to love, gratitude, and living in the flow of both giving and receiving.
Gratitude is one of the most effective ways to bring more of what you want into your life in incredible ways you wouldn’t even think of. It opens you to the highest good through simple, heartfelt gratitude, as this aligns you with your matching frequency.
Be grateful, as every moment is a gift.
Monday Musings ~ The Writer’s Corner: Earth Day Thoughts
Happy Earth Day!
On days like today, when a day of celebration comes into the awareness of many, it is a reminder of the power that unification can be and helps drive home the message that integration is our means to wholeness, from the inside out.
We are all connected and our living, breathing Earth beats to the same rhythm of our hearts, as does the life force energy in everything embodies a consciousness that Universally has no boundary.
Yes, “be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Truly embody that change daily, walk the walk, and watch the ripple effect that inevitably follows.
Open your heart to receive and to give to yourself so that you may give to and receive more fully from others.
This includes gifts of abundance on all levels, being able to hear and compassionately respond to each other, and even to be able to receive and hear the Earth and Cosmos in totality when they resonate their tones and frequencies that take our presence and consistent awareness to hear.
Celebrating Universal connection and exercising the power of integrative healing is a moment to moment, integral experience that is invaluable to practice on this beautiful Earth Day and beyond.
Remember who you are 💚
I shared this post on my social media pages, but know that not every one of my friends is on those platforms, so I’m sharing it here for you as well.
I plan to spend a portion of today out in nature – most importantly, writing a little, wrapping orders with love, and sharing a Reiki Healing Attunement for the Earth collective.
What are your plans?
Astrid has been extra excited and “hoppy” the last two days, with Easter and Earth Day following one another. She’s been racing around and playing with much spunk! I love it and she reminds us all to embrace and be present to that innocence within and experience life directly and clearly as it is in the delight of this moment.
She’s excited mom’s been anchoring in and getting serious about finishing our book. Many twists and turns down the rabbit hole have brought us back to center with it.
Writing is quite a journey – likely the most challenging and growth-oriented one to date for me. I thought teaching was a big deal to embrace, but I’ve come to find writing asks something new and different of me, and so I know why Astrid is here with me now to support that journey.
She’s also so grateful to everyone who’s been helping to raise funds for her bunny collective. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
We’ve now raised $256 between auctions and 10% proceeds from sale. Let’s see if we can get to $300 for the bunnies – beautiful grounded embodiments and stewards of our Earth Mother.
The 30% off Easter Sale ends today.
We have items starting as low as $13.96 for prints and greeting cards, mini rabbit gardens as low as $30.76 and the rest including remaining Magick Rabbit talisman necklaces at huge discount that feature flowers galore, mermaid rabbits, Atlantean/Egyptian, dream/creativity, love, desert Moon, and star vibes. We’ve received some amazing reviews via Instagram on how the energies of these have helped their wearers return balance and peace immediately when under stress! In essence, they felt a return to their essence and center. I LOVE THAT!
Everything in our shop is all available at incredible prices that include FREE shipping in the U.S.
We have some great items to celebrate Earth Day too like Gaia’s Children and other “garden of life” delights. And of course bunnies galore.
If you’ve been eyeing something now’s a great opportunity to bring it home.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMagickRabbit
Wishing you a beautiful Earth Day with a reminder that Earth Day is everyday, as long as she is your home. Take care of her and she’ll take care of you.
Pure Gratitude: A White Thanksgiving
I wake with extra gratitude this morning for a wish come true and heart full of gratitude! We woke to a white Thanksgiving this morning and magick blanketed all around. We were out late last night, which is highly unusual for us early-to-bed kids, but we had friends in town visiting, which put us outside witnessing the first falling snow and snowflakes sprinkling our hair, as we dashed in and out of destinations. It also created quite a contrast that found us sharing a very deep discussion into the wee hours of the night about the meaning of life, what’s really important, and having gratitude for those things with an extra layer of new tenderness while sitting up on the 18th floor of a casino in a bar overlooking the falling snow. I, of course, was only drinking a sparkling water splashed with fruity fun that looked like a tropical drink that could whisk you away on a beach somewhere.
The point is, no matter what I’m doing, even if it seems out-of-character, I always find some nugget of a gift to be grateful for and the contrasts usually help to highlight things even more.
Nature helps with that too, and the more time spent outside, the more you experience the richness of life that is always walking beside you, despite your sometimes not being able to see and embrace it.
I shared a post of gratitude on my Instagram to all of my friends and connections there this past week, which was prompted by a big hike out in nature that had me reflecting on all of the things to be grateful for.
And I now want to extend that same message here to those of you who have been with me through all of my creative evolutions, challenges, and celebrations and who have shared your own journeys and experiences of inspiration and growth.
I’m grateful for all that you contribute to the collective in all the myriad of expressions and experiences that create this colorful tapestry of life as we know it and unfolding magick within the Great Mystery.
Together, we move mountains and paint masterpieces.
Thank you for sharing your love, support, gifts, and incredibly unique sparks of beauty with me and the world. There is so much to be grateful for and today is a reminder to make that a regular practice, just like infusing fun into your life is fundamentally important, as they both are life-changers.
I just wanted to share a little message of thanks, as we’re heading off here for some snow-shoeing out into the Winter Wonderland that awaits us before celebrating this day with friends at a giant vegan potluck Thanksgiving, bringing together a collective community here beaming out joyful wishes to all.
I will be holding thoughts of love, gratitude, and hope with every step I plunge into the pure white snow.
Astrid and the kitty babies send their good wishes of wonder and joy too!
Live Kindly, Love Strongly
Just a short post in the vein of gratitude and self-love. It seems to be a pivotal time for everyone right now. I have heard from a lot of people who are going through some intensities, holding points while things evolve, but also big growth spurts that present their own challenges. Overall, a lot seems to be asked of you and may also seem to be coming at you. A reminder to breathe in the love that you are and to take those moments because it’s so crucial not to neglect your well-being during these incredible shifts of potential.
Don’t forget to be grateful for every little thing. The gratitude challenge I invited you on wasn’t just about those 11 days, but hopefully to instill a mindful practice that can help shift the energy in the moment of despair.
Don’t forget to experience all things from your heart, with understanding, presence, patience, curiosity, love, and seeing each person, animal, plant, and child of Earth, as if they are you and listening and responding to them in the way you would want and need if you were in their shoes.
Don’t forget about loving yourself with all of your might, which also means to establish boundaries that maintain your health and ability to come from a place of greater wholeness.
Some of you are stepping out more and that level of vulnerability can be taxing as well, while you learn to temper the inner critic and doubts with more trust and courage.
All of this is asking you to love even more and, foremost, love yourself even more.
I have a lot going on right now, myself, and am busy preparing for Laura’s visit and our upcoming Equinox workshop event in two Saturday’s from now, have been running around doing errands and a lot of tedious things to FULLY clear my slate so I can give my attention to the only focuses I will soon have come October 1st, been supporting my mom through a rough bout of shingles, and doing my own best to stay grounded, keep balanced, and take care of me.
This has definitely included not being available to engage a lot of things that come at me, or to limit my engagement, because frankly I just can’t energetically be there right now. In my past I would have to the detriment of myself and in the end was no example for anyone of thriving.
To me, that was surviving and enduring through self-sacrifice and ultimately falling into an enslavement trap that feels so conditioned in us all on a very deep, bigger picture level. And enslavement can also be to these “ideas” of what we think we need to do or who we’ve been suppressed into accepting we are as a conditioned reality.
I’ve come to learn that the only thing for me truly to do is live kindly, and love strongly. That nothing really matters except expressing the creative wonder in my heart and embracing the richness available in every moment that slips by us.
Make time for loving you and living every dimension of life as art.
Tania Marie 