Author: valeriecameronmerritt

Try saying this out loud for an energy boost this week.   Repeat as often as your heart desires:
My life keeps bringing things that are better and better.  Every pathway unfolding presents a gift unexpected in it’s rich contribution and nourishment.   It feels as if goodness is reaching for me through the hearts of others.  I can see love and kindness reflected in the eyes of those interacting with me now.  I am fully aware of and grateful for these blessings as well as those to come!

A feel good alternative that’s natural and totally free of charge.  It will get you above the clouds and into the clear sky! (Providing that you believe the words… that ingredient must come from your own supply.)

 

Have you ever had someone do something kind for you but feel strange about the reception?  I currently have two thoughts on why this may be:

1. You’re out of practice in receiving.

2.  The intention of the giver was off.

When we offer an act of kindness, it is important that the act come from a want to nurture, uplift, or assist another human instead of from a need for personal gratification or control of a situation.  Anyone who is sensitive to the motivations of others will feel the source, and the action will take on the energy of the motivation instead of the outward appearance of kindness.

If the issue is the first suggestion, a change in awareness and opening up to receive may help.  Sometimes people offer to help out of obligation, but more often than not if someone is offering to help you – they want to!  You should let them! Take it as an opportunity to practice the art of graceful acceptance and gratitude.

I am progressively feeling the importance and worth of the words:

Trust. Love. Give.

And for the purpose of assuming all the parts of a balanced cycle:  Receive!

 

Trust yourself to make the right decision.  There is no wrong decision, only what is happening and how you respond which will lead to what you experience next.  If you can get into a rhythm of trusting yourself, decision making won’t be a daunting task.  You may even begin to see the existence of options in a welcoming light.

 

 

 

 

“Trust is letting go of needing to know all the details before you open your heart.”  -Unknown

I have felt lucky over the summer for coming across a lot of feathers.  About a month ago I watched a beautiful gray feather float down from the sky in a grocery store parking lot.  It landed next to me.  Since that moment I have been attuned to feathers.  When I come across one now, I feel as if I’ve encountered a treasure.  Is this a treasure?  I suppose that’s in the eye of the beholder.  The way you perceive is ultimately up to you.  You can see lack or you can see plenty.  This mindset will follow you in every encounter all day long, as mindsets tend to do.

I wonder now, how many times feathers have been in my peripheral and I’ve overlooked them…  Not any more!

My kids are in on the game too.  Last week my daughter found a feather on the playground at recess and saved it in her pocket to give me after school.  Two days later my son brought one inside that he found while sweeping the entry path to our home.  I’d say the look on their faces in delivery and the full heart I felt in receiving these tokens definitely puts feathers (or anything you tune in to) in the realm of treasures!

“Abundance is not something we acquire.  It is something we tune in to.” -Wayne Dyer

Cycles and change are a cohesive thread in our reality.  People are often caught in admiration for the beginnings and blooms in cycles.  It’s true, these parts of a cycle are exciting and rewarding.  However, let’s take focus for a moment on the equally important close of a cycle, the care we take in observing the time period after a bloom, the appreciation we feel for honoring all stages and finally, the spreading of seeds for rebirth or knowledge of what was learned in the experience.  Each stage is alive with beauty for it’s offering.

A blessing for stillness:

May your body be still

like the quiet water

of an undisturbed lake

and expand below you

for what feels to be an indefinite stretch,

a depth that grounds itself with possibility

in the persistent nature by which water

pervades it’s space;

as you lay peaceful in rest,

may your body be still

like the quiet water

of an undisturbed lake.

-photograph by Angela Squires, Bloomington, MN

Typically, someone who is ranting doesn’t bring a positive association to mind.  However, going on a rant with words that are chosen to feel good and to practice ease within yourself, can brighten the atmosphere you inhabit and lift your feelings.  If you find yourself in a slump or you are faced with a situation that pulls you down,  the direction of feeling can change.  Allow a positive speech pattern to permeate your environment and see so many benefits.

Example:

Where I am is exactly where I’m meant to be.  There’s so much that is right about this moment.  I am thankful for everything it takes to make this moment what it is.  I am thankful for the breath in my body, the fingers on my hand, my eyesight, all the working parts of my body that bring me the experience of being alive.  I am so thankful for this and for my emotions that make me human.  I welcome all of the emotions I experience and I allow myself to feel everything that passes.  I’d like to forgive easily, myself included, and to be an uplifting presence for all who know me.  If I’m not always uplifting, that’s okay, too.  I am happy to be helpful to others and I want to focus more attention and time on how to be in service to others.  I am so glad to have this day before me and for the place I find myself now.  I am thankful for my many blessings and incredibly grateful for those to come.

Choosing an intention for your day can be helpful in finding and maintaining balance.  Try taking a few moments before your day begins to set an intention such as clarity, heart centeredness, trust, kindness, or any other theme that you feel would be useful in creating the kind of day you would like to experience.  You can declare your intention before meditation, with morning stretch, while you drink your cup of tea or coffee, or simply say your intention to yourself as you get out of bed.  However you work this into your morning, it can be beneficial in forming a focus and in maintaining a goal for the day.  If you feel distracted or that your day is not unfolding as you would like, reminding yourself of your intention helps to refocus and get back on track.

Example with Clarity:

I set clarity as my intention.  Today I welcome clear seeing, hearing, and knowing.  I offer presence to life, and I breathe clarity into the space around me.

Post by Nora, age 8

’tis the goat funny

’tis the goat silly

’tis the goat crazy

’tis the goat hilarious

that ate itself and ’twas satisfied

 

(giggling – I’ve just learned about ’tis and ’twas and wanted to use these funny words in a poem! I hope you write a silly poem soon too!)