How Well Do You Love Yourself?

How well do you love yourself? How much do you adore the uniqueness of you? How creatively do you cherish who you are, right now? Do you see yourself beautiful? In what ways do you adore the possibilities you hold within your soul for all there is to be? I love myself the way I am, and still I want to grow. But change outside can only come, when deep inside I know, I’m beautiful and capable of being the best me I can, and I love myself, just the way I am. -Jai Josefs

Sometimes this is a challenging way to view ourselves? It means being completely honest, open, vulnerable, accepting, gracious and compassionate with our selves. It is not always modeled for us, so it is difficult to see what this kind of loving acceptance looks like, moves through the day like and acts like?

Once we begin this practice of self-acceptance and love, it becomes easier and easier. We find a peaceful place within our selves that holds a tender and gentle embrace. We find kinder words to repeat when our self-talk is happening. We no longer see flaws, but opportunities for growth, shortcomings become places to stretch, and we learn to accept that out best in the moment…well, that is enough and it is beautiful.

Once we find living with this perspective becomes comfortable we notice a shift in the energies of our day. Struggles and distractions are limited. Disappointment and loss leads to opportunities and new beginnings. We find that grace is in our hearts as we interact with others. The critical eye is closed. The sharp tongue is tamed. The doubts are replaced with hopes. Amazingly this practice of self-love and acceptance brings a calmness to life, a fluidity to our movement and a gentle flow to our energies.

Self-love and acceptance is a safe place to invite your soul. It is here that your soul can then open up like a beautiful blossom to the wonder in each moment, seeing the gifts that await you, finding encouragement in simple acts and words, and sharing love with ease and unconditionally.

Blessings ~ Lisa ©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Ordinary Miracles

Do you see your life as the miracle it is? Do you recognize the gift of each day? Do you honor and cherish the body you are in, the breath that you take, the sights that you see and the opportunities that you have? “People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

What in your day have you been taking for granted? It is an important question that we all need to visit from time to time. It is a question we hope to give value to especially before something is taken away or moves on. Placing value, honoring, cherishing and respecting the extraordinary that is in our lives and seeing the wonder of what we have in our life is important.

Whether it be the honoring of the beauty that unfolds around you or cherishing the loved ones in your life. Take the time. Perhaps you can look at the small things in life with a new perspective, delighting the sound of the rain on the window, noting the laughter from children playing outside, relishing the warmth of your pet asleep at your feet or the comforting aroma of dinner cooking on the stove. Appreciation for all we have in our life makes things matter differently.

Can you see the miracle that you are? Can you recognize the beauty that you bring to others lives? Do you value the attention you bring to your efforts, the unique qualities you share on your path or the smile you bring to the face of those whose path you cross?

Check in with yourself today and look for the miracles within and around you. Look at life through these miracle seeking eyes. Take the time to delight and adore. Make the time to celebrate and honor. See the miracle in what you otherwise would consider ordinary and allow this to add newness to your day.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

The Messages in Your Dreams

My wise and beautiful shaman and teacher, Robin Rice, taught me that when I dream, I am all the parts of the dream. I am the various people in the dream, the objects in the dream, the room or place of the dream and more! Well, needless to say, my dreams suddenly unfolded in ways unimaginable to me in the past. And suddenly, they began to make more sense than they ever had before. They also became valuable tools for me to use in my growth as an evolving shaman. Recently I read a quote, “Keep an eye out for the small and vulnerable creatures in your dreams: The cats who've been neglected, turtles that need their water cleaned, thirsty seedlings and hungry babies. These are the places in you that are suffering for your own warmth. By honoring and learning to care for your animal body, you are nurturing the growth of your instincts and will be blessed by a fortified sense of purpose, direction and wisdom.” - Dreamwork with Toko-pa

And yes, once again the wisdom crosses my path. Our dreams hold great medicine for us. We can learn so very much from them. I so prefer to be my own reference resource, and not a 786 page dream book that tries to tell me of what the red butterfly landing on the frozen lake means in my dream! So in addition to applying the wisdom of Robin Rice to my dreams, I look to care for my animal body as well. It is not unusual for me to dream of animals, or that I am or become an animal within my dream. I often have amazing skills, senses and strengths in my animal forms.

What have your dreams been trying to tell you lately? What messages are becoming revealed as you look to your dream and realize it is all of you? What animal body is in your dream seeking your nurturing attention and is longing to share with you insights to your many skills, strengths and senses. Imagine the power that is waiting for you in your dreams!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Awareness for the Solution

Have you noticed that some people seem to have ongoing problems in their life. Is it bad luck and misfortune? Is it poor choices? Maybe for some. But one thing can be sure, the energies surrounding the problems and their conception are very different than the energies required for the solutions. “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.”~Albert Einstein

Sometimes we create our own problems, they begin with the seeds of energies we are carrying with us in our day. Sometimes these seeds are in our thoughts, our moods, and even our very actions. Negativity begets negativity. If we escape a problem arising, we should count our blessings.

Sometimes problems arise from our over thinking and relying on our minds alone to create our day. When we disengage from our soul, from our heart or from our body, it is like trying to ride a bike with one leg. Challenging for many and impossible for most. We are better at living our life fully when we seek the union of the body, mind and soul.

So if we do find ourselves surrounded by the energies of a problem how we approach this matters greatly. If we only bring our ego to the problem we will have little impact as we will not be connected to source, we will not have the window to our soul open for our truth to influence our decisions and we will not be tapping into the love of our heart to help maintain the flow of positive energies.

Approaching our problems with all of our tools in our tool belt, we are better ready to tackle them and seek their solutions. We need to be able to fully seek our truth. We need to be able to see it from various perspectives. We need to be able to hear what our soul whispers. We need to be able to hold it gently with love and acceptance that all is right for the moment and we are being offered a gift, a lesson and an opportunity for growth. Our awareness shifts from anger, frustration, shame or blame. It softens, it remains open and fluid, it holds more patience and is able to see hope and choices.

The next time you are strapped with a struggle or a problem, check your energies around it. What are you aware of? What are you open to? So much of the solution comes from this place of receptivity, presence and possibilities.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade