Do You Share?

We raise our children telling them that it is nice to share. Yet, when it comes to our gifts in adulthood, many turn to self preserving of their gifts instead of sharing them. Do you hoard your gifts and blessings, saving them for a day of need?

We worry about being deprived or being taken advantage of. But that truly has nothing to do with the willingness to share. Being taken advantage of has to do with not have strong boundaries and clear intentions. Fear of deprivation causes us to disengage and pull back.

Our soul does not flourish in that fear. It does not shine brightly when it is hiding or in isolation. We begin to feel even more fearful, alone and disconnected. Our inner flame grows smaller and smaller and our essence feels weaker.

When we hoard our gifts, whether they be of love, guidance, support, wisdom, insight, healing, energy or the like, we hold this belief that we will be richer for not spreading them too thin. Yet the truth is the more we share these the richer we and the world around us becomes.

Sharing our gifts, allowing them to ripple out, not only is how it is intended by Source for it to be, but it also is quite generative. The best way to increase the blessings within your life is to share. The surest way to feel abundance is to give. The wisest way to live is by offering freely.

Our soul will expand in its fullness as we embrace this truth. Others will see our model and join in with the sharing. The Universe will celebrate as the connection of this generosity spreads from heart to heart and soul to soul.

This act creates inspiration. It births energies that are creative in nature and responsive to need and necessity. This practice of sharing brings into play our deepest truth. It opens the door to a world where connection to others blesses our life. It sheds light onto the service we can bring to our path and it causes the vital force of the nature of our soul's harmony to align with that of others. What will you share with the world today?

Blessings, Lisa

Keeping the Spark Alive

My connection to life has much to do with keeping my inner fire lit. The more "awake" I am the more connected I am to Source, to my soul and to others. I have learned over time that different activities that I do stoke this inner fire.

I am a learner. I love being taught new things that I can apply to the skills I use in my life. I love going deeper in my skills and knowledge and learning new ways to apply them. This learning brings newness to what becomes familiar and old. It also brings challenge so that I stretch.

Other benefits that I had not anticipated is that it brings new people into my life and my community expands. It also opens doors to possibilities I had not anticipated. Life gets richer and richer each time I step into the role of a learner.

I am good at doing. It comes naturally to me, so to balance that I seek things that give me opportunities to expand and grow. Learning sometimes means struggling a bit or even failing, but I always gain tremendous lessons from these moments.

Recently I signed up to be a student of one of the world's leaders in online cooking school programs. I am enrolled in their Professional Plant Based Program. I have been a vegetarian and vegan for over 20 years. I have used my passion around this and my belief in honoring the body temple to my work. Many of my offerings, such as SOUL Food and VegVitality incorporate this passion.

Taking this course will keep my fire alive! It will add to my current skill base, expand my community as I work with others in my class, introduce me to many Chefs that I have admired, and offer me possible teaching opportunities down the road as a graduate of the program.

This is just one example of what I do to stoke that fire within me. Challenging myself helps me be very present in this beautiful life. It encourages me to bring my best to each day and it keeps me in the energetic flow of my passions and my skills.

What are you doing to keep your spark alive?

Blessings, Lisa

You Are All

Can you really accept that you are complete? Can you lean into the truth that everything you need you already have? Can you trust that where you are is exactly where you are meant to be, right here, right now?

It is sometimes hard to embrace this. Especially when we are struggling or lacking. It is a challenge to believe this when we feel inadequate or become impatient. It is almost unbearable when we are in pain or lost. Yet, it remains a fact.

We are who we are, in this moment, exactly who we are meant to be. We are not a practice version of ourselves. We are not a prototype. We are not a sample. We are not a version to be improved upon. We are who we are whole and complete and on our way to the next moment, place and time.

Embracing this can bring a grace and peace to our mind. It adds a sense of contentment in owning the moment and our place in it. We stop looking into the past at what we may have left behind or missed. We stop projecting to the future longing for what may be. We live this very moment fully. We stand still, we bring our awareness, we observe, breathe and take it all in.

Sometimes we may be present with pain; taking in the energy of loss or unknown, learning from it and then releasing what we no longer need. Sometimes we are present with celebration; and feel the joy and delight flow through us, relishing the beauty of the moment. The spectrum that each moment in life brings us is wide and varied, yet the moment of now is a space we all can hold and be fully present in. We all start from this point, where we are currently and move forward from there. When we accept this we open the door to inspiration and our creative energies awaken our soul. With that we expand into our truth and our beauty.

Blessings, Lisa

Embracing the Grounding in Your Life

How do you keep yourself from getting caught up in the chaos of life? How do you keep grounded? What do you do to not let the frazzled energies creep into your own vibrations? How do stay true to you, your choices, your vision and your truth?

Over time I have learned that there are definite ways that I keep myself grounded. It has taken consciousness and awareness. But it is also so aligning to what I want and hope for that the choices become easier and easier to make as my life shifts more and more toward what I want and need.

Living simply is step one. I choose to not get caught up in the drama of the frantic life. I purposefully slow down, create pause in my life, and make time for simple pleasures. I invest in relationships that support this lifestyle.

I embrace my soul and all its messages. I lean into my personal soul growth, looking for ways to expand and learn. I listen closely to the messages and lessons. I take an active role in my spiritual development.

I give back. I find sharing with others helps keep me grounded. Rippling out the energies of love, the act of giving, the sharing of life brings a beautiful balance to my days.

I censor what I take in. I often go on news fasts, I rarely watch movies, I am selective about what I read and what I listen to. I pay as close attention to what I feed my mind as to what I feed my body.

I no longer look at struggles as problems. I embrace challenges, knowing that these are opportunities for me to grow, become more of my truest self and to learn so much about what life has to offer me.

I also am an active member of my community. Many of the members of my tribe are like family to me. My heart is invested in our relationship. I seek to offer my support and lean into them when I need their guidance or celebration. Having a solid network of people in one's life adds a richness to each life experience.

Everyday I seek the beauty of my life. It is a shift in perspective that makes a difference in the way that one views life. There is beauty in everything around us, we just often do not take the time to notice it, to appreciate it or to celebrate it. Slowly with time we become blind to it. Within this beauty are the everyday miracles that surround us.

Finally, I find grounding energies to tap into when I seek the silence in my life. Stillness and pause are a vital part of my day. Without them I cannot recharge, I drain, I make poor choices and I am not my brightest self. Silence and stillness are now a part of each and every day for me. Some days, it is only a few minutes, but quite intention filled. And then there are the other days where I consciously choose to set aside a date with myself in glorious stillness, quiet breath of nature and little to no outside interference.

My life is fuller and richer these days. I am not scattered or overwhelmed. I rarely find myself feeling at a loss or shutdown. These simple steps of awareness and focus have brought a grounding to my days. Within this energy I find vibrancy. I find grace. I sit with peace and contentment. I see beauty around me.

Blessings, Lisa