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.