The Disconnection of Connection
I had a situation occur within the last couple of weeks that solidified my discomfort over computer or technology-based connections. Facebook, e-mail and texting have become the new way of creating community in many facets of society. Don’t get me wrong, I have engaged fully in this. Isn’t it so easy to just send a quick text or email? To join a group on Facebook? The lure of the smart phone and computer is hard to escape and yet we are losing core, fundamental abilities to really “connect”. I remember spending hours on the phone with friends, boyfriends, family, etc in the 80’s and...
Read MoreSigns our Body is Giving us –
The standard answer from doctors to the question ‘’What is causing varicose veins?’’ is probably: Standing for long periods of time, pregnancy, age, being overweight, menopause, chronic heart conditions. Standing regularly for too long, especially on one leg, is definitely a factor. My mother had to put her weight on the left leg when working for hours on one specific machine. She had on the outside of that leg varicose veins, and needed at 84 years of age, a left side hip replacement. Therefore always put your weight equally on both legs. Always! BUT … there is something...
Read MoreCourage To Be Vulnerable
When my girls’ father and I were neck deep in the dissolution of our marriage, I remember telling him how weak I felt for having allowed him to take such advantage of my patience, trust and forgiveness over our many years together. I really was struggling with how I had managed to let myself get to a place of feeling so small and unseen. As an intelligent and confident woman, it seemed unbelievable to me that I could have been so blind to what was going on right in front of me, never mind allowing it. To me, it was a sign of weakness that I couldn’t seem to stand up for myself and have my...
Read MoreAn Invitation To Being
Ahhh … it’s the new year. Are you like many people who set resolutions? May I ask if that actually works and why you only commit to self-empowerment once a year? Don’t you think you are worth 365 days each year? I had a light bulb moment when I realized I had been living in finite constructs instead of as the infinite being that I am. I started allowing myself to experience every emotion, every memory, every thought that came into my mind, and I became comfortable with the discomfort. After all, we are so used to living with the soundtracks of others in our heads that we have forgotten...
Read MoreMirror Mirror On The Wall
In my work as an Energy Healer, I am honoured to witness the releases my clients experience in the work we do together. Old ideas of who they are, or who they need to be for others, and all manner of self-limiting belief patterns literally fall away as they connect with what is actually true for them. I know the value of this transformation because I have witnessed this process within myself and I am so grateful for the integrations and releases I have experienced. One time, a dear friend of mine – through her deep knowing of me and her honesty with me – helped me to understand...
Read MoreSurrender
I spent the better part of 2007 in an ashram near Bangalore, India, trying to figure out how to surrender – without a lot of luck. When I returned to Canada, I did not feel much closer to even understanding what surrender meant, much less accomplishing it. Now, eight years later, from personal experience, I have a working definition and a modicum of experience and appreciation of the process. From the understanding that I have gained, I also have an appreciation – awe almost – of the healing magic that surrender can bring to one’s life. But before I get to all of that, perhaps we...
Read MoreThe Seen and The Unseen
One of my favourite meditations is to gaze into the rays of the setting sun or through the canopy of the forest as the sun shines through the leaves. How is this a meditation? Because it opens my awareness to the millions of little points of consciousness that are all around me and yet just outside of my normal vision and awareness, like motes in a sunbeam. Recently, as I was walking in the forest searching for wild mushrooms (I found almost 20 pounds! It was a glorious day), I noticed that the air around felt hazy, almost heavy. As I looked up through the canopy of trees and into the...
Read MoreSigns The Body Is Giving Us
Why are so many people experiencing anxiety and panic attacks? What is it that our body wants to tell us? Something is affecting our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health. There has to be a reason. Recently I heard an explanation by Rabbi Jacobson, author of “Toward A Meaningful Life”, that made sense to me when I thought of people struggling with anxiety: ’’All fear, all anxiety, all stress comes really from a sense of being focussed on yourself and your feelings and whatever happens around you. People who are able to transcend it do not allow that situation to define...
Read MoreAn Aromatic Dream Come True
It is 6:30 am on Saturday, April 25 and I can hardly breathe. You see, I have waited 12 years to meet renowned aromatherapist John Steele, and this is the first day of his workshop. This is a man who is not only an aromatherapist, but also an archeologist specializing in linguistics. I need to get there early for a front row seat! As the noise in the room comes to a dull roar, I notice that he appears nervous. Here is a man who is a pioneer, has given several presentations, written scholarly papers and has the respect of his top peers. My first thought was how graciously humble and accessible...
Read MoreWhispers Of The Spirit
Women in Chemainus are facing a challenge brought about by the sale of ‘Whispers of the Spirit’. Whispers was the concept and passion of Gabriele Lanoue who dreamed of establishing a centre of complementary healing and spiritual guidance. That dream was realized and ‘Whispers’ became a focal point in the area for those needing a place of peace and comfort. Unfortunately, as often happens, health issues within the family have brought about the need to close ‘Whispers’, and Gabriele is moving to Powell River. This in turn has created a vacuum for other woman...
Read MoreWish Want Create
This is such a special time of the year, wouldn’t you agree? I love how the light looks and feels in the middle of summer. We have had one of the hottest summers on record and the weather couldn’t be better here in Victoria. It’s a time for sitting in the grass, watching the clouds go by and finding the hidden shapes within. My mother would say it’s the best time of the year for wishing on dandelion seeds. Have you ever done this? Pick a stem of dandelion with all the seeds still attached. Try not to knock any of them off as you bring the stem up to your face. Take a deep breath in,...
Read MoreThe Energy of “I Don’t Know”
Recently I have been in the energy of “I Don’t Know.” It’s a very interesting energy – at the same time scary and liberating. Not knowing has me feeling a bit like a boat without a rudder, as though I’m floating along without a firm plan. The good thing about being in the “energy of not knowing” is the ability to go with the flow. When there is no firm plan, I find it much easier to adjust to whatever comes my way, with no hooks into how something should be based on my own expectation of it. Many of the people who come to see me are in this energy; they don’t know...
Read MoreThe Power of the Invite
What an amazingly powerful feeling it is to be wanted, desired, cherished. When you invite someone into your life, or they invite you into theirs, a connection is created that didn’t exist before and an amazing energy begins to flow. Have you noticed this? The energy of the invite to be included in someone else’s energy, or that of a group, a family or a business, is really one of the fundamental forces that creates community – or destroys it. Many of my clients come to me with deep fears around the perceived judgements from other people in their lives. In some cases it is crippling....
Read MoreDemystifying Fear
It is the middle of the night and I am awake – again. Like many people, I have a thousand thoughts rolling around in my mind and most of them are fear based. What is fear anyway? 1. to be afraid of something or someone. 2. to expect or worry about something bad or unpleasant. 3. to be afraid and worried. Hmmm … I think I’ll take door #3. Fear, like any other negatively perceived emotion such as anger, cannot be defined without referencing the more pleasant or positive emotions such as bliss or happiness. So why do we run from it? I have decided to run towards it and dig in. What...
Read MoreA Spiritual Journey
Over the years, we begin to think about the journey we are on and what brought us to this place in our lives. For all of us, trying to find our best selves and at the same time being part of the whole, the journey – like every journey – begins with a single step … that moment when for some, we instinctively know there is more than this physical world. For others, it can start with the question “is this all there is?” We have had so many wonderful teachers on this earth plane, from Jesus to Buddha to Lao-tzu, and many more. From each, we have had powerful messages of...
Read MoreSpring Cleaning
I love this time of the year! Today is one of those amazing days here in Victoria when the sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky. It is the sort of day that makes me want to throw open all the windows and doors and invite the clean, spring air into my home. In fact, it is the energy of a spring cleaning! There are two times each year when I highly recommend a full cleaning of your home: autumn and spring. There is something very empowering about taking charge of your home and giving it a full on polish and shine. And I don’t mean a light dusting either. I mean a...
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