Are You Listening?

By Jill Marie (re-posted from my Journey To Empowerment Blog February 2012)

A bit back one of my friends/clients told me that while she was all tucked in  bed ready for a good night sleep she heard clearly…”go and check the windows” (or maybe it was close the windows.)  Her husband was out-of-town and she was home with her  young children.  Being tapped into her Intuition was not new to her.  Her connection wasn't as strong as it had been before marriage and kids but she was still pretty tapped in.  After having a few Reconnective Healing sessions and her Personal Reconnection she was having more and more experiences of hearing her Inner Wisdom.  But she was really comfy in bed and tired and decided not to get up and check.

The next day she remembered and checked the windows and sure enough three of them were unlocked so she locked them.  That night in the wee hours one of her dogs was barking which is unusual.  I think she also said she may have heard something outside.  Wow how wonderful that she listened and then took action…even if it was the next day!  I lovingly reminded her how important it is to listen to that inner voice.

Well…I might want to practice what I talk about in my own life!  I was in Target with my daughter picking up a few items.  I found myself in the lighting section looking at floor lamps.  I don’t know why…I was drawn to them like a magnet.  I thought I might get one for my daughter’s room even though she didn’t need one but then I started looking at the blue ones and thought of my son.  In fact he needed a new light for his room and his birthday was coming up in two days.  "No"…I thought,  that is a dumb present for an 18 year old!  But I still felt like I should get him a light.  Again I thought "no waste of money"…(something I am working on by the way...sticking to a budget).  That night it popped into my head to bring up a floor lamp from my workshop and put it in his room.  Problem solved ~ I don’t spend money not in my budget and he gets a light that he needs. 

 I got distracted and didn't do it.  I still had a weird feeling that I should do it…but I didn't   Two days later I was back in Target and again was drawn to the lights.  Now it was my son’s birthday and I was sure his light had to be replaced… forgetting that I would bring up one from the workshop I picked up the light  to put it in my cart…then a  flash of my workshop lamp came to mind.  I laughed out loud (thankfully nobody else was around me) and put the lamp down.  I was sure I would change lights when I got home as it must be really important that I do that. 

Yikes forgot again!  A few hours later we smelled a horrible smell coming from upstairs…my daughter was in the shower and I knew she had her iPod docking station next to the tub…I was afraid water got on it and there was a problem. Even as I went to check her I heard a voice say…”its the light".   The awful smell was coming from my son’s room and it was indeed his floor lamp.  I don’t know that it was smoking but it was hotter than the oven and the smell was literally making everybody feel nauseated and sick.  When I moved the lamp the light-bulb cracked but thankfully  it didn't shatter.

It took about 3 minutes to remove the light and bring up the other one.  3 minutes!  Instead of doing it when I was guided to…I kept pushing it aside.  Now we were all feeling ill from the awful smell albeit grateful that a fire didn't start or the bulb explode and hurt somebody.

How humbling!  How often do I tell my clients one thing and then not follow that in my own life!  Okay Inner Wisdom…I am paying more attention and yes I will take action! 

 Story not over though.   This past Sunday I went to an all day Wellness event.  I really felt called to go for several reasons.  The rational part of me said "No…waste of money",  but that Inner Wisdom was gently saying that I was supposed to be there.  I sent an SOS to two of my friends that are helping me not make purchases not in my budget.  I heard what they said and was so grateful for their insight and for a bit I was sure I would not go…but the feeling urging me to go was so similar to the light experience above.  I decided to follow my Inner Guidance and go,  and you know…it was AMAZING and just what I needed.  I met the most wonderful people, got a Chiropractic adjustment from a B.E.S.T practitioner, opened my Throat Chakra a bit more and loved the whole day!  I found out they even have Bellydancing classes!  Something I have jokingly said I wanted to do for the past few years but secretly really would love to do just for the fun of it 

How often do you hear that still small voice and then don’t listen?

How often do you hear it and listen and then take the action?

Let’s celebrate that Inner  Wisdom in all of us today and continue to make a conscious choice to listen more often and take the inspired action!

Spring Energy is Emerging!

Happy spring everyone!

While it doesn't quite feel like spring in our neck of the woods, (yes, it's colder here than it is in Alaska today) we can still feel the spring energy rising and Jill and I are riding it up and up!

We have two exciting announcements to share with you today in honor of the first day of spring.

The first is that we have a new Spring Emergence Mandala for you on our website, ready for download. The energy of this mandala is light, powerful, and bubbling up to be shared. We would love for you to check it out on our website.

The second announcement is in regards to our upcoming Emerge online class. We are finishing up the details and will be ready to launch very soon but we wanted to share this short video to introduce it to you.

We have been working feverishly, fueled by the power of the energy of the Spring Emergence Mandala to bring our first online class to you and we can't wait to launch it. Until then, enjoy this fun little teaser!




Update
Emerge is open for registration! Find out more about it here.

Where Are You Coming From?

By:  Jill Marie

There has long been the idea that the Ego is "bad" and that it stands for Edging God Out.  I do feel that there is some truth in that,  yet I don't believe that we need to eliminate or kill the Ego in order to live from a Soul level while here on this beautiful planet.

I don't know who to give credit for this statement below but I am including the site from where I found it...

The blurring

   " As we said in the beginning there is a definite blurring of realities of the soul and the ego. The ego is on a journey, just like every other part of our nature. from darkness to light, from ignorance to total awareness of the soul. It is meant to be an instrument of the soul, not in competition with it, and you will notice if you haven't already that gradually it will be illumined by the light of the soul and its sense of itself will gradually enlarge until ultimately the divine ego, feels itself within all."

~ http://meditation.org.au/class11.asp

That makes sense to me and really resonates to the core of my Being, so with that baseline in mind it is helpful to know if you are coming from an Ego based expression, which tends to be fearful and limited, or from a Soul based expression which is the expression of life that is aligned with your True Essence ~ your I AM Presence.

In her book,  The  Big Book of You, Jennifer McLean has a chart which illustrates if you are coming from Ego or if you are coming from Love.  (I am understanding Love here to mean our Divine Self)

Ego                                                      Love

Is expectant                                              Trusts and Knows

Needs                                                       Allows

Seeks Attention                                         Listens

Judges                                                       Forgives (through being present and in the moment)

Fears                                                        Appreciates

Blames                                                     Guides and acknowledges

Pushes into the World                              Receives and embraces the World

Isolates/is frenetic                                    Is clear and smooth

Is disruptive                                             Is balanced
Is disappointment                                     Is acceptance, peace and trust

Not that one is right or wrong...but I know for me...it is time to step more fully into Love.  Are you ready?

If you haven't already, I invite you to print out your Free I AM Love Mandala and keep it in your Sacred Space. Inner Alignment Mandalas are powerful Vibrational Alignment Tools that align you with your True Essence :)

And remember...celebrate wherever you are on your journey.  Life was meant to be fun!

With Heart,

Jill Marie

TV and Mandalas? Yes, They Can Go Together.

By: Michelle

 

I have always been attracted to mandalas. It started long before Jill and I got together to start Inner Alignment Mandalas. I used to doodle them, paint them onto rocks, and create them in glass tile mosaics. I've also used them for healing purposes in my intuitive paintings and in my emotional release work. There is just something soothing about the circular form that appeals to me and draws me in time and time again.

The thing about mandalas is that they can be anything you want them to be. They can be geometric, symmetrical, colorful, free flowing, dark, light, expressive, inspirational, or even ugly. They can be made with paint, pencil, tile, photographs, words, yarn, scribbles, sand, flowers, or other earth materials. There are no limits with mandalas.

Last week I was watching Panache Desai on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday and jotting down quotes and thoughts that resonated with me. This is something I like to do with many of Oprah's shows. One of my learning styles is kinesthetic so writing helps me learn and I've been doing this for ages. If you ever have a phone call with me, just know that I am writing things down and doodling the entire time. :o)

They started out talking about the Soul Signature and I felt like it was the anchoring sentiment for the conversation so I put it right in the middle of my mandala and worked outward. I added things here and there and just had fun with it.

I love the vibrant colors, the messy writing and the imperfect circles It's fun and it holds so much meaning for me. The energy that is in this mandala warms me up when I look at it.

I wanted to share this mandala with you because the mandalas I make at I AM are completely different and they are just one way to do a mandala. I created that technique for this work and it constantly evolves with each new mandala I make. They are multi-layered and infused with so much energy for each person and the work that Jill does makes them an amazing spiritual tool.

They aren't the only mandalas I make. I make them for healing, for fun and even for watching TV. Who knew. Ha ha.

I would like to invite you to start seeing mandalas around you. Play with them, create them, experiment and have fun with them and see what emerges for you. I would love to hear about your experiences with mandalas.

Love Shower Week Four

Jill

A whole month of showering myself with Love! How cool is that :) Thanks Michelle for bringing this forward and helping us really give more conscious thought to this beautiful and essential practice of Self-Love.

I never got my massage but I got something even better. I now have a deeper appreciation for how easy it is to get so caught up in all the things our busy lives have us doing, and as a result let Self-Care slip by the wayside. 

Whether it is family, work, running your own business or any combination of the above, it can be really easy to think "Oh I'll spend some time tending to my own needs later." Only later never comes and before you know it your are exhausted, not feeling well and everything in your life seems to be falling apart.

In my healing practice I generally see three types of people as clients. Ones that are SO ready to move to their next level of expression, they are full of excitement and joy, and they are looking for some extra help to assist them in their Quantum Leap. They have far more longing in their lives and little to no discontent.  

Next I work with clients that do have a self-care program in place, they aren't always good at keeping up with it though and now are feeling a bit overwhelmed and they would like to get back to feeling better. They have an equal amount of longing and discontent in their lives.

Finally I work with clients who have, for many years, neglected their own needs and put everybody else before them. They are empty and usually have more serious signs and symptoms of dis-ease in their physical, mental and emotional bodies. This group of people have much discontent and little longing.

For all of them I highly recommend they work with Inner Alignment Mandalas and the loving Quantum level frequencies that they carry. Each Mandala is created not only with our Love and support but with the amazing energy of this Universe and they each carry specific frequencies to aid you on your journey.

Please, please, please keep yourself filled up with the Life Force Energy that you get from Showering Yourself with Love. Never go below half a tank and hopefully you won't even get that low.

What did I do this week to Shower Myself with Love? I did some much needed reflection on what was working in my life and what wasn't. I sat in silence as much as possible and asked myself what do I need to Let Go Of and What Do I Need to Grow to be the person I know I am on the inside.

This week didn't always look pretty and I was a wee bit on the crabby side. That in and of itself is a sign to me that something is out of balance or I am integrating new energy into my system. Luckily I was able to course correct and begin to reexamine where I am putting my energy, attention and focus. Sometimes the answer is to Do something and sometimes it is to just Be, but I wouldn't know that if I didn't take the time to keep myself filled up in the first place ;)

And important to note...I totally loved and accepted myself every step of the way... Crabbiness and all!

May you continue to Shower Yourself with Love for the rest of the year!

With Heart,
Jill Marie

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Michelle

This month of focusing on showering myself with love has been so interesting. I don't think I've ever spent this long of a period of time thinking about loving myself and what that looks like and how it affects me.

I've been up and down, inspired and lackluster, full of energy and completely lacking throughout the month and yet this challenge allowed me to focus on doing something each week that brought me joy no matter how I was feeling. I consider this to be a complete gift that I am grateful to have experienced because let's be honest, it's so much easier to love yourself and to shower yourself with love when you feel good. It's a whole other thing to do it when you are feeling challenged and that is exactly what I was introduced to over the month of February.

So this week I was feeling great and I started thinking, what could I do that would just be fun and bring me joy? There are two places I love to go in the winter. One is the craft store and you all know I've been going there a lot to stock up on my embroidery supplies. Hee hee. This week I decided to head over to the bookstore. I could spend hours and hours walking around and soaking in all of the delicious books with their colorful covers, beautiful pictures and a wealth of knowledge.

Most times I go to the bookstore I don't end up buying anything. I just read the magazines, pull a bunch of books off the shelves and bring them over to a table to peruse. It's pure joy for me. This week I did make a few purchases that I just couldn't resist and that made it even better!

I hope this experiment brought the idea of showering yourself with love home for all of you. It is my hope that you got an idea from one of us or it sparked an idea and that you will continue to bring this practice into your life throughout the year. Thank you for being witness to our journey and for sharing it with us.

xo
Michelle