Growing the Soul

"It's not just about keeping soul in the body. It's about growing soul, becoming more than we ever were, embodying more of the Greater, or Higher, Self. It requires the willingness to take the creator's leap and bring something new into our world. A myth we requicken brings us creative juice and serves soul. Dreaming, we find the myths we can live by, the stories that put soul at the helm of the ship in our odysseys." – Robert Moss, "Dreaming the Soul Back Home". Reading these powerful words of Robert Moss I feel my soul quicken. I love the idea of growing the soul. As a shaman I work with many who are tenderly holding their souls in need of healing. I work with those who have experienced soul loss and long to be whole and full once again. I work with those who have had trauma in their lives and have never fully recovered. Once the souls needs are tended to it awakens with a desire to be alive, full, vibrant and shining. You can see it in the twinkle of the eye, you hear it in the power of the voice, you feel it in the essence of the person, the spirit radiates with a presence and the soul reaches out and touches all that it meets with grace, compassion, beauty and verve.

Growing one’s soul is no task to take lightly. It takes commitment and focus on the moment. It means not wallowing in story or excuses. It means showing up and being present. Growing the soul takes creative energies to meet the soul’s needs. Growing the soul calls us to take notice to our dreams, to our conversations, and to our actions. Just like an athlete preparing for an event we honor what we feed our soul as every bit of nourishment counts.

The adventure of this lifetime awaits and the healed and whole soul is ready to answer the call. Is it your call to be of service? Is it your call to lead? Perhaps your soul is ready to create and share. The possibilities and potential of one’s soul is endless. The myth of our soul is grand! We can be richer, fuller and brighter than we dare to imagine! And our soul will not disappoint!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Things Will Never Change...

It seems lately that the same phrase keeps rolling off my tongue in a variety of conversations, “Things will never change unless you do things differently”. I have said it at least six times in the past three days. And each time the situations and the circumstances were different. Stop for a minute and think about it. Isn’t it the truth? When we feel stuck, the best way to get the energies flowing is to step off the beaten path and look for ways to create a new path. Staying in a place of stuck and complaining or fretting or getting angry over it….that gets us nowhere.

It takes a bit of bravery, a little courage to do this. I am not saying that it is easy. We find comfort in the familiar, even when the familiar is not really working for us. Creating a new path may take some calculated risks, it may take some asking for support, it may take some pause and reflection and NOT doing…and sometimes these are scary things for us.

To pull a new key out of our pocket and open a door that has been locked to see what we need to face on the other side is not always a choice one is happy to make. It takes hard work, it takes honesty, it takes truthfulness and it can be exhausting. But what if it is worth it? What if that is the very next step to reaching your greatness, your potential, to embracing your next lesson, or to receiving your next gift? What if?

Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is something we are not taught in life very often. We live in a very complacent society. The same old spins around and around. Living beyond the expected takes great intention and focus. It takes a healthy soul that has been tended to and cherished. It takes community that offers inspiration. All of that takes time and effort too. But, I ask myself, I ask you…if not all that, then what is left? The same old, same old. And I am up for the adventure of life. I am answering of the call of service. I cannot do it any other way, nor do I want to. Life is too short each time around. It is time to do things differently. So let this time be full!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Our Inner Mirror

Have you ever noticed that a group of people can all witness the same scenario and each will have a different essence to what occurred, bring a different viewpoint on the hows and whys things occurred as they did and why people reacted the way they did? Have you ever wondered why you react differently or certain emotions are triggered in you that are not in another under the same situation? We all have our unique personal experience and outlook that we bring to our observances. We all have a mirror within in us that reflects an essence of our experience, our healings and our wounds. It reflects where we have come from and where we are moving to. It mirrors our inner beliefs and feelings.

What this means then is the outcome of many of our life situations are built upon these reflections. Our perception resides within this view that we bring to our day. Have you ever noticed that if you are having a fabulous day, surrounded by optimistic people, hitting every green light of the day and the sun is shining…that even if you experience a negative situation or person…you seem to have the ability to roll with it much more smoothly and with grace and ease. Our inner mirror is reflecting the positivity we have accumulated throughout the day.

So that means the viewpoint we have on life’s circumstances is often reliant upon what we choose to see and what attachment we bring to the mirror. That is why being in the moment brings us so much freedom. If we let go of the baggage that old wounds have, the negative hold that angers has upon us and the abrasiveness that ill feelings bring to our heart we may be able to shift our personal perspective on life and its unfoldings.

Paying attention to your inner mirror and keeping it focused on the positive in life can help with our outer reflections. Not allowing our baggage to weigh us down with negativity keeps us balanced. Our soul brings to life many of the images in our mirror. Tending to our soul’s needs keeps our mirror smudge free and clear. The light it reflects back to our day becomes brighter and our focus is clearer. We can then see things the way they truly are, unattached to the emotions and stories we attach to them. We are able to be present, alive, open and free.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

The Powerless Victim

Being so close to the situation at Sandy Hook Elementary School and seeing the faces of the victims and their families … well, my definition of victim has changed. Witness tragedy and your perspective changes on many things. After witnessing this, holding this community and being in service to them I will forever and always be changed. And one of these changes will be whom I view to be a victim. I work with many different people who come from too many different backgrounds for me to begin to describe. Everyone has a past, a story, or a wound to share. I have worked with many people who view themselves as victims. But a true victim has no say or choice in their circumstances. A true victim has lost their personal power and is being held in full control by someone else.

So the next time you feel you are being victimized or wish to portray yourself as a victim, stop and think…where is your power? Are you doing it to yourself by allowing outside circumstances or people to hold power over you? We do not always have control over what happens to us, but we do have power over how we respond. Our power remains with us as we hold complete responsibility of our thoughts, feelings and of our reactions to the situation. As long as you have this power within, you are not a victim!

We met the people, or at the least heard of them, that have gone through incredible life challenges and yet they remain optimistic, they are positive, they live in the moment and most importantly, they are not looking for someone to blame for their life circumstances. They will not be victimized and give their personal power away. Steven Biko states, “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

So I challenge you, especially in those times when you feel challenged by someone or something else, watch your thoughts, your reactions, your word choice. Are you really a victim? Or are you making yourself one? Check in with your power, it will reveal it all and you will quickly see who is in control.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade