SEES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH # 3 The Smell of Fear vs. The Sense of Trust

SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH-
The Smell of Fear vs. The Feeling of Trust 

Hello All. Grateful the sun is out and the temps are above zero here in central MA. as we weathered another blizzard the past few days. All this surrendering to weather forces out of our control had me meditating about two powerful inner forces that often determine how we choose to perceive and act in the world. Fear and Trust.

Its commonly known that animals can smell fear as easily as we can smell a warm baked chocolate chip cooking coming out of the oven. Its known that we as humans can sense fear in its many forms from resistance, contractions, anxiety, worry, and stagnation to name a few. What if every time we sensed the inner experience of fear arising, we took a deep breath and allowed ourselves to actually embrace the fear experience with a sense of Trust. A Trust that resonates from our Higher Self, that reminds us of who and what we really are even if at the level of mind we don't quite know that yet, but we Trust anyway. What if we allow the movement of fear to rise and fall like a feather on the wind? We observe this movement from the vantage point of our soul that includes everything in our awareness. Nothing is booted out, judged. condemned or banished.

What happens when we choose to allow the experiences of fear to rise and we allow a sense of Trust to support that presence? What happens is you begin to realize you are not what you fear. You are not what you avoid, worry or obsess about. You are not some contracted limited being that is caught in an endless dead end of small mind cul-de-sacs. You may be a human being that has been conditioned to experiencing all of the above but now with Trust by your side, you begin to have a higher vantage point from which to view your experiences on the human plane. This TRUST is born of the connection and deep soul knowing and remembrance that you are Divine Light, nothing less than the light that animates the planets, stars and universe.

Do you trust the sun rises and sets each day? Do you trust the moon moves in a cycle of 28 days each month, that the seasons move in their cycles of 90 days , that the solar year is marked with two equinoxes and two solstices? If you answered yes to those questions then why do we stumble in Trusting we are a part of the universal wisdom and intelligence?

To support your Spiritual growth and awakening, notice each time some form of fear arises within you. Notice what it feels like, where in your body do you feel it, what thoughts are arising with the energy of fear? Then take a few deep , slow breaths ,which is in and of itself an act of courage to stay present to what can be very uncomfortable and allow a sense of TRUST in your Higher Self to be present. A sense of openness and receptivity to emerge knowing that whatever is arising is an opportunity for your growth and evolution IF we recognize we have that choice! We choose to grow each day more than the day before. To be present more today than yesterday, to love more today than yesterday.

 I learned an interesting fact recently regarding if TRUST has a smell like Fear does? Turns out the scent of  Lavender does in fact stimulate the part of our limbic system in our brains that communicates a feeling of trust and openness. We all know that lavender is highly relaxing and soothing to our nervous systems and now studies show that the scent activates a  connection to a deeper soul memory of trust and peace. So at the very least, if you suffer from the grips of fear and feel caught in those experiences, try diffusing essential oil of lavender into your home, office or bedroom on a daily basis. Support your nervous system realigning with its higher Truth.

We are constantly being invited to make that conscious choice to be present to what is arising  moment by moment, no matter what it is. The more you practice allowing Trust to accompany you when feeling fear, the less grip fear will have over you. Trust and fear cannot coexist.
Blessings for your Spiritual growth. Please share  this post with your friends and loved ones if you found it helpful . We are all on this spiritual journey together. 

Namaste 

Anne Christine

Seeds for Spiritual Growth # 2 : The Sweet Side of Surrender

SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH- #2   The Sweet Side of Surrender

Hello and greetings from what is beginning to feel like a foreign landscape here in snowbound MA. We are surrounded by 6-8 foot piles of snow. Its quite difficult to get around the past few weeks and folks are starting to express the fatigue of experiencing storm after storm rolling in with very little relief. Even the dog seems depressed as she can't sniff her neighborhood as usual or get her daily long walks in.

So what spiritual truth can we glean from challenging circumstances we may be facing be it environmental or our own internal atmosphere ? Know when its time to dial it down and surrender to a Being that is Supreme to you. Often our egoic mind views surrender as some negative , passive form of giving up. In truth, surrender is a profound conscious act of realizing there are limits to what your mind can manage. There are limits to what our emotions can process. The Spirit has no limits with its infinite creative solutions available for our challenges, if we only get still long enough to experience that loving presence. This Being that is supreme to your ego is also benevolent and is longing to be embodied by all of us. Life without connection to our Spiritual Higher Self is quite frankly a pale shadow of your souls magnificence!

The sweet side of surrender is knowing that you are not alone, that you are always supported from Source, that all is happening for our highest good at all times. Surrender is a conscious practice of recognizing that truth and practice letting go into it, trusting that you will be guided on whats most important to focus your energy and effort on.

We do not have to wait until we are completely exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally, until we literally collapse to our knees and cry out and beg for help, albeit this scenario is one I am familiar with. We do have the choice to choose sweet surrender in any moment we feel compressed , confused or energetically drained. In surrendering to your Higher Self , your Spirit , you ask that Spirit take the wheel . We open to the loving expression of Grace . Grace happens when we get our egoic minds out of the way. Grace happens when we truly let go into the wisdom of who you really are, the light and love of the universe no less!

So my invitation for you this week is practice sweet surrender. Allow a still space daily for your Spirit to be felt and embodied. Trust this Source energy as Supreme to your egos limitation and benevolent in its intentions.

What can you consciously loosen your grip around this week and allow the healing energy of Grace to come in? Sweet Surrender! Its obviously not a 4 letter word to abhor. Its a path to peace! Please  SHARE with your friends and family  if you found this useful and share your comments below as we all learn from each others journeys!

Namaste and Blessings for a week of practicing surrender.
All LIght & Love
Anne Christine

NEW POSTS LAUNCHES TODAY! Vibrant Health Tips is Now : SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH - Life in the Slow Lane 

Greetings Friends. I am a few days late with the Vibrant Health post as we here in Central MA. have been deluged with an abundance of snow (4 feet and counting) and cold (-7 last night) that my creative juices were a bit on hold as just getting through the normal duties on ones day seems to take so much more effort and energy than normal but I have some quiet time this morning and want to take this opportunity to announce a change of my posts.

Starting this week, the formally VIBRANT HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK posts will be changed to SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. I've posted Vibrant Health Tips for the past 18 months and they will be compiled into a FREE E-Book available soon so stay tuned. Today plants the first SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH post for 2015!

In my own Spiritual evolution, its become clear to me that the epitome of vibrant health IS a Spiritually nourished, connected and activated life and my posts going forward will amplify this theme with weekly , contemplative prose to kindle your inner spark of Spirit and support you embodying your Spiritual energy as your primary source from which to perceive, act and live from. 

No doubt there is a massive amount of information being shared about optimized nutrition, finding weight balance, boosting immune systems, counter balancing the toxins we are environmentally exposed to and all these posts are great, many I have shared and will continue to when I feel they are newsworthy. That said, I feel the deeper yearning is not particularly on the next superfood phenomena, we are all versed in new language; chia, gogi, maca and quinoa to name a few. What I want to share is some inspiration for inner nourishment. The vital connection to ones Spirit as experienced through breath, meditation, mantras, yoga, and daily stillness. 

As our information age is catapulting ever faster, the only way to balance that trajectory is to nurture daily, inner stillness and connection to your inner nature and the expression of our spirit within Nature. STILLNESS ROCKS! It may sound counter intuitive when the flow of traffic of this data driven world is in hyperspeed to actually make the vital choice to pull over into the SLOW LANE! Put the virtual brakes on with slowing down your breath and taken a moment to re-embody your body!

When we stop, pause and breathe deeply, we reinhabit the domain of our Spirit. The body temple. We reconnect to Source through our awareness of the stillness that is always here , right now. All phenomena of thought, feeling, emotion and perception is arising from the ONE field of awareness that is always present. This is the ground of our Being. The question often is, are we present? The answer is , usually not. The consequence of not being present on a daily basis is the foundation for all forms of stress related experiences.

So thats the Seed for Spiritual Growth today. Recognize that your fundamental nature is stillness, is spirit as experienced through stillness and begin to take notice in this moment to reconnect to that truth. Stop, pause, slowly take a deep breath in and slowly exhale and do this a few times until you feel back in your body and present to this moment. Just be still and acknowledge the stillness that is already here.

I look forward to sharing weekly SEEDS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH this year with you! As always, I appreciate your feedback and comments. Please feel free to post below and share these posts with family and friends.

Let me know how you are making daily steps to dial it down and get in the slow lane. Spiritual Awakening and Conscious Evolution is the calling of our time. The current paradigm of data driven , stress loaded, isolation and anxiety is not sustainable on any level.

Blessings & Namaste For a Week Sprinkled with Moments of Stillness!
Anne Christine

LESSONS FROM Mother Nature's East Coast Blizzard JUNO

VIBRANT HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK- Lessons from Mother Nature's 2015 East Coast BLIZZARD- JUNO

Hello All, I hope by now all of you affected by the Storm Juno are in recovery mode and digging out. We received nearly 3 feet of powder here in central Mass, coastal areas hit much harder with high winds, power outages and high tide flooding.

I am so grateful we did not lose power and the snow is so light and beautiful . It literally buried us all for 24 hours. The state had a travel ban, everyone was off the roads by monday night through Tues. night and hunkered down to ride the storm. We've been through very tough weather events living here the last 22 years , particularly the ice storm of 5 years ago. Juno was not such a storm . Yes alot of snow, but not devastating to so many people like past storms. It was this awareness that this massive swath of snow was moving in , staying and moving out very slowly causing all of the state to shut down .

I learned a few insights spending the last day and a half holed up with my family that I realized we don't need a major storm to create these special opportunities.

 Here are a few highlights of what I enjoyed;
*. Staying in PJ's and comfy warm clothes
* Huddling by the woodstove and enjoyed a super long yoga practice as I had no other duties impinging   on me. Aaaah! Mini retreat right at home.
* Took a few quick runs outside to witness the amazing amount of snow falling and the quiet of our 

    street and neighborhood
* Did not watch TV
* Chatted with some extended family that called to check we were
  OK
* Listened to beautiful music all day & did a little dancing to move my CHI!
* Read
* Meditated more
* Enjoyed a heated oil abhyanga massage
* Cooked some warm comfort foods; Blueberry pancakes
* sipped hot chai tea
* Cocooned with the family
* Grateful for the guy plowing our drive twice (I remember the days when we were young and stupid and would shovel 150 foot driveway with a foot of snow or more and our local neighbors would stop and say , are you done yet with that? Who knew, we moved here from California and felt, hey you shovel. No, not when its over a foot.)
* Enjoyed the quiet. 3 feet of snow has an amazing effect on how soft and quite the environment feels.
* All that white is very high vibrational!
* We all pitched in to get what needed to be done, done. That is always wonderful.
* I feel our higher natures come out, playfulness, gratefulness, solitude and time to just BE!
So take a virtual snow day now and then. Slow down, cocoon, rest, eat well, and feel deeply connected to what's important in your life and what you are grateful for.
What did you enjoy from the storm? Leave your comments below, I would love to hear from you!
Namaste & Blessings for a Beautiful Day!
Anne Christine

New Moon Visioning- Time to Expand & Grow

VIBRANT HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK- TIME TO EXPAND & GROW

The official energetic New Year has begun today with the New Moon exact in Aquarius , the sign of social,community and global evolution. Here is the low down on this energy. We are really being compelled, nudged and in some cases pushed to make some significant realignments within ourselves and our relationship with the larger context of this journey we call life. 

What is your vision for your deeper truth to be expressed in the world? Do you have a vision? Do you wake up inspired or feeling expired with fatigue , worry and fears. What do you feel enthusiastic about? What makes your heart and soul come alive? Whats the most important thing for you? These are important questions to ask right now in this time of energetic impulse.

If we do not take the time daily to connect internally with our spirit and our relationship with the Divine then our subconscious mind is given the task of directing our lives and that can be a real crap shoot. When we do not take command of our own life force, our own consciousness, then whatever has the strongest momentum outside of us will. Our days become beholden to the infinite fluctuations of our minds thoughts and perceptions and how these are projected onto the world. We assess our likes and dislikes on superficial measures like the weather, the stock market, the news we hear and see, the condition of our health,our perceptions of how we look, or our age or our income or  the condition of our families etc etc.

When we allow our lives to run on default which the vast majority of humanity does , we are caught in samsara, the wheel of suffering. The wheel of limiting our perception to that of the ego, the aspect of who we "think" we are. This is akin to defining the vastness of the ocean to the qualities of one wave. You are so much more than your thoughts, your emotions, your history, your story. You are the light of the Divine Universe itself!

Try this on for size. Say this out loud to yourself; I AM the Light of the Divine Universe . Does that feel possible for you? Does your ego protest saying thats ridiculous? The difference between identifying with your limited ego and identifying with the vastness of your Being is the difference between living a limited egoic based life, feeling separated from the truth of your being and living with a powerful vision of who and what you really are as a co-creator with the vastness of the universal source of all creation! Here is the truth. The Universe is experiencing itself through you!

So this week and every week, find daily ways to connect to the vastness of your inner stillness. This  is the portal to your connection to your Vision, Your Light , Your Truth as a spiritual Being . Support your growth with practices that accelerate your connection to your spirit and soul. Any creative or contemplative practice like yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, walking in nature, painting, singing, dancing ,playing an instrument, chanting, praying, being still. Try it on for size. The egoic suits we tend to wear are way to tight and small! Live on purpose and with purpose!

Namaste & Blessings for a Visionary Life!
Anne Christine

'The Lasting Way to Change the World is to First Change Ourselves'

VIBRANT HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK- " The Lasting Way to Change the World Conditions is First Change Ourselves".
Greetings. It's been a tumultuous week on the world stage with the violence in Paris fueled by bigotry and ignorance and the overwhelming response from the public declaring in unity " Je Suis Charlie". What affronts one affronts all and what elevates one elevates many.

In times of intensity, a yogi's path is to deepen their commitment to daily evolving their consciousness. If something or someone triggers us, its our karma that needs purification. We all collectively project the world. As you do the work to excavate your conditioned patterns of thinking, perceiving, judging etc, you have the raw materials right in front of you to notice the results of your perceptions.

Do you contract or expand when met with challenging situations or people? Do you stay open or close when your emotions rise and become front and center? Do you judge and distance as a way to create some sense of false superiority or righteousness?

We are all being called, if not literally pushed in these current times to evolve into a more conscious, unified expression of the Divine Source that created us all. We are all being nudged daily to stop , breathe and own our ways of perceiving and behaving and take a deeper responsibility to cultivate a capacity for embodying love of self and others. We are all being challenged to step forward into a more honest and authentic expression of this precious human life we have been blessed with including everything we are pressured with.

There is a saying in the Yoga world ' Many are called but few respond'. Its time we all respond. The planet depends on it as does our survival . Begin today, Meditate and Be the Peace you want to see in the world.
Namaste & Blessings for this day.
Anne Christine

Cultivate Deep Stillness as the Doorway to Spiritual Awakening

VIBRANT HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK - Cultivate Deep Stillness as the doorway to Spiritual Awakening

Greetings and Happy 2015 to all. This is the first Vibrant Health Post of the New Year and my inspiration comes from spiritual teacher Adyashanti  as an intention and invitation for myself and all to give some primary attention to our need to cultivate deep stillness daily. Here in New England we are in a deep freeze, sub zero temps all week and our inclination is to hibernate. Makes total sense. Stilling our activity, quieting our minds , resting our bodies is key to nurturing the foundation of a spiritual path. If you have any desire to awaken from the illusion and momentum of the egoic mind, step one is practice quieting the rampant activity of your mind.

Meditate , practice yoga, chi gong, tai chi or any other meditative movement. A busy mind will cloak and obstruct our access to our intuitive higher Self. It will distract us incessantly , it will drain us of prana, our lifeforce energy , as we can become stagnant in our habits, patterns of thinking and emoting.

In order to access the innate light of your soul as projected through a clear mind, one must make a commitment to daily ' take the mental trash out'! We shower daily, brush our teeth, eat, sleep and yet we don't give any consideration to what we need to do with the 88,000 excess thoughts we generate each day(most of them redundant) that get stashed in your subconscious.

Every time you meditate, you unload the subconscious. Every time you chant a mantra or prayer from the heart, you unload the subconscious. Make it a daily practice and your subconscious will be clear and your mind and body will reflect that. There is a saying, your body reflects your subconscious mind! Take a look at your body and get a grip on the state of your mind.

By cultivating deep stillness , you will gain energy, you will radiate prana and life force , you will shine with your dharmic destiny! Truly, it all begins with cultivating deep stillness. Nurturing deep roots to support your growth. Without the roots, our minds can direct us into an endless array of pursuits and we will not have the structure or stability to support that new practice let alone integrate it.

Schedule in your day book DEEP STILLNESS time. 5-10-15-20-30 min or more. Once a day to start then twice a day when established. Once you experience the deep soul nourishment you receive you would be hard pressed to return to your former overextended behaviors. With all the new years resolution tendencies of things' to do', in the name of self improvement,  this practice  asks us, what can I undo! Where can I carve out some sacred stillness for myself daily? It is in the undoing of distraction ,our true  eternal spirit is revealed. This practice changes everything!
Namaste and Blessings for a Beautiful Day
Anne Christine — at undefined.