I have the ability to really see you, to really see your spirit, when I remove myself from fear. But when I move through this life with the energy of fear fueling my decisions and actions, my eyes can barely see two feet in front of me, let alone far enough to allow your spirit to penetrate these walls. Fear is the prison, and the question is not so much how does one escape, but it is how does someone learn to let go and let in the energy of love. When I mediate and go inward, I find this connection to my spirit, which allows me to connect with you. 

Namaste

My husband sent me this TED talk by Brene Brown, and I loved it. Brene is a human behavior researcher. Her research led her to study the topics of connection and shame which eventually led her to the study of vulnerability. What she found was that vulnerability is the gatekeeper for either shame, fear and disconnectedness, or it can be the fertile ground for joy, happiness and love. 

Vulnerability is a human trait that we all feel. Being vulnerable means allowing your true self to be exposed and it requires authenticity. This can feel very scary. Normally the feeling of shame follows when we feel exposed, imperfections and all. I know I have felt this way and it is in these moments that I have wanted to go run and hide, even if not literally. We run and hide by putting emotional walls up to try to protect ourselves or we may lash out in judgement, directed towards ourselves or towards others. Will I be loved, if you really see me? This is a question that many of us ask ourselves deep within our hearts. The real question should take out the “you” and it should be, “Will I love myself, even when I see all parts of me?”

With everything in life that the Divine has created, an opportunity is created to feel freedom, joy and a true connection to your spirit when we feel vulnerable. This type of vulnerability only naturally leads to deep connections with other people. When you are able to have the courage to show your whole self to the world, imperfections and all, you no longer have to hide, to build walls, to skirt intimacy, and you no longer have to avoid taking the risks needed to live the life your spirit longs to live. 

My definition of vulnerability means being open. When we are open, we open ourselves up to all aspects of life and the emotions that go with every experience. If you close your heart to pain and sorrow, joy gets left out as well. Vulnerability involves a level of acceptance, for yourself and for others. It involves having compassion for yourself as you make your way through life, especially when you fall down, and it involves celebrating when you have had the courage to get back up. It involves taking risks so that you experience intimacy with others and so you especially feel intimacy with yourself. Vulnerability is the Divine.

Namaste

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted. I missed writing but sometimes the life that inspires one to write, overshadows and doesn’t allow much time for the process of writing. And sometimes a transformation or shift in consciousness, deep within, is occurring and it is hard to express this process in words. Both of these are happening right now for me. 

At the physical level I have had a bunch of sick kids, a list of activities that goes on and on, and a back that decided it needed to get my attention with muscle spasms. Let’s just say, my back got my attention. The responsibilities of life and the persistent shouting from my back forced me to sit still and look inward. I was brought to my knees and in doing so I am finally starting to learn to let go. I am starting to learn to let go of anger, sadness, disappointment, control, and false beliefs. This isn’t always a fun process, but gradually the load I have been carrying is getting lighter. I think my back is quite happy about this!

Namaste

I just wanted to give a reminder about the Inspirational Contest I am holding. You can read about it here.

Also, I mistakenly gave Inspirational for Women’s web address, instead of it’s email address. If you would still like to enter, you can email your response to inspirationalforwomen@hotmail.com. The deadline is this Friday.

Namaste

Yesterday, on New Year’s day, my husband, children and I gathered together with a couple of other families and went for a sleigh ride through one of our local Provincial Parks. Although we are now in the middle of winter, with the expected cold weather, we all bundled up, headed outside and had a wonderful time.

It was so cute because at the beginning of the sleigh ride, my five-year old son called to me from the back of the sleigh, to ask if we were flying up in the air. I couldn’t help but smile at the innocence of his question and in the beauty of his belief that magical things could still happen. His belief made me wish I could say yes, but I also know that even when he comes to realize that somethings are just make-believe, my hope is that he will then realize the eternal magic of the Divine.

Namaste

Today I am posting my 200th post! Wow time goes by fast. To mark the occasion, I am going to be holding an Inspirational Contest.

I want to hear about all the inspiring things that you have learnt this past year, in the year 2010. It doesn’t have to be huge, for life has a way of teaching us in the most simplest of ways.

The winner will receive a copy of Loving What Is by Byron Katie. You can post your answer in the comment section or you can email it to me at www.inspirationalforwomen.com. The deadline for submission is January 7th, 2011. 

I can’t wait to hear what has inspired you this past year!

Namaste

Photography by Melissa Holzinger

Recently there was a moment when I choose  to pause and to look up, and in doing so I turned my attention away from my own thoughts, and to my surprise what I found was that everybody else’s head was down the whole time as well.  

Namaste

I am going to be going away for a few days to celebrate the holidays with family, so I won’t have the time to post as I usually do. I will be back home next week, probably a little bit tired and very full!! I hope that you find the special connection between family and between friends, that the holidays can bring.

Namaste

The Art of Nathan Jalani Taylor

For many years I was constantly searching for and asking myself,  “What will lead me to happiness?”. Now I look at this question and intuitively see the error of my ways. I was longing for an emotion and in my narrow mind, I wanted to obtain happiness and naively keep myself in its pocket for good, once I figured out what the magic formula was on how to get there.

As I have lived life, and through experience, I have realized that no emotion remains constant. Life has a way of weaving heartbreak and joy, sorrow and love, in the fabric of everybody’s life. I have finally figured out what I was truly searching for, and that is a sense of peace within my spirit.

The magic of peace lies in our ability to weave its Divine strands through every life experience. Even when heartbroken, you still can hold peace within the center of your being. Being at peace within one’s self is not an emotion, but instead it is a state of being. This state of being radiates from the inside out. When I am at peace, even if I am angry, I will deal with this anger from a place of centeredness. It is in this place of centeredness, that I am most able to clearly find and hear the Divine. I no longer search for happiness but instead I open my heart up, to allow peace to flow into the center of my being. May you too, be open to the gift of peace the Divine has to offer.

Namaste

I just read an excerpt from a book that I am reading, Changing My Mind, that I felt compelled to share with you. The book was written by Margaret Trudeau, a former Canadian First Lady, and it is a detailed account of her struggle with Manic Depression. In one section of the book, she goes to visit her doctor because she has excruciating pain in her shoulder. The doctor gives her a thorough physical examine but he moves past investigating the possible physical causes of her pain, and explains to her that there might possibly be  a different root cause of it (What a great doctor!).

He explains to her that when an area of the body is physically injured, the mind has an innate picture of where to put the pain associated with that particular injury. If you break your arm, your mind puts the sensation of pain around that area, to inform you that physically something is not quite right. On the other hand, the mind does not have a specific outlet for unresolved and painful emotions, and because it is use to storing pain in the body, it will then find a physical outlet to try to release some of the emotional pain. For example, we will essentially experience unresolved grief as physical pain, if this grief is not healed at the emotional level. Although emotional pain can be felt as physical pain anywhere in the body, many times it finds its home in our neck and back. 

I find this all so interesting because I have suffered from lower back pain, and most recently neck pain, for a number of years. I have tried many treatments focused on the physicality of my issues, from a variety of disciplines, but none of them have actually healed the root issue. I am finally figuring it out, that I am unconsciously storing unresolved grief, stress and anxiety in my body, particularly in my back and neck. When you are young, you may only feel a few physical twinges here and there, when unresolved emotional issues have taken physical root. When you add years of unresolved issues, soon the stress on the body will build up enough, so that you can no longer ignore its messages. I am at a point where I can no longer ignore my body’s messages. 

I feel I am on my way to healing my body, by healing my heart.

Namaste