Month: April 2022

Inhale the BEST, Exhale the Stress!

On By Heather Wiest 
A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 8oz to 20oz. She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed–incapable of doing anything.” It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses…don’t carry them long…remember to put the glass down! Source: Science is Madness

When we slow down and pay attention to how we are experiencing our lives, we are more likely to make wise decisions and act from a centered and calm place. When our intentions arise from such a place, we create less stress and more harmony in our lives and the lives of those around us.

What is a stress or worry you can let go of today? Through observation and awareness we learn to be more calmly responsive and less emotionally reactive.

“Pour out all your worries and stress upon Him and leave them there, for He always tenderly cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:7 TPT

How do you deal with stress & strong emotions? How do you discharge the energy? There are 3 general ways…
1. Numbing: alcohol/drugs, food, sex, shopping, gambling, technology/screen time, anything excessive
2. Lashing Out: expressions of anger, aggression…physically, emotionally, verbally…especially to those we love & trust the most
3. Lashing In: negative internal dialogue, self pity or blame, depression/anxiety…Anxiety is owning a crisis before it arrives & focuses on the improbable. Do not worry about your life.

What’s your “go-to” emotional release?
Honestly listen to the story you are telling yourself.
Receive it without blaming, shaming or judging.
Let it filter through the soft gaze of awareness & grace.
Change can only come through observation & awareness.

What are some healthy stress management techniques that work for you?
Choose one or two that come to mind and incorporate them into your life this week. Remember to put the glass down!

~ Let’s turn our pain & sadness into compassion.

~ Our anger & aggression into motivation; aggression is often stuck energy wanting to move forward.

~ Our anxiety & worry into healthy concern which focuses on the probable and produces positive action.

~ And turn our apathy & unfocused thinking into passion & purpose.

Burn the Rope: by Danna Faulds

Burn the rope of
past conditioning,
or slice right
through, awareness
like a blade that
cannot be stopped
by any obstacle.
Without the history
of who you’ve
been, what is the
essence of your
soul’s expression?
When you allow
the moment to
offer up its perfect
response, what is
the free and true
experience of you?

5 Most Beautiful Things ✨

On By Heather Wiest

5 Most Beautiful Things Meditation:

What are the 5 most beautiful things in front of you right now? They could be precious people, prized possessions, powerful symbols or words, or priceless moments.
Picture them clearly in your heart & mind.
Feel all the emotions.
What sensations do you feel in the body?
Where do you feel these sensations?
Label your emotions with one word.
Label the sensations felt with one word.
Tuck these words deep into your memory account of beautiful experiences. ✨

“That’s what we do with beautiful things. We tuck them away. We use them when we need them, in our bear like way. We use them as fuel. We breathe them. We give them away. We remember them as long as we can. What if we walked around looking for beauty instead of looking for things to be stressed about or offended by? What if we became beauty hunters? What if we told more beautiful stories? Our lives need beauty. Relentless, unremitting beauty.” ~ Jennifer Pastiloff

I fall in love regularly,
with each person whom
passes me in the streets,
or who sits beside me on the bus.
Not in the romantic way;
No, we hardly even speak
a word to each other.
But I sit, quietly observing
all of their body language and all of
their expressions.
Their smiles, and gestures;
the way they lift their coffee,
or smile as they read
that new text message,
or count the change in their hands.
I watch vigilantly, tracking
the manners and movements,
and appreciating all that
these people are.
I spend some time thinking about
their families and lives,
and the lives that they lead.
I consider what they might do
for work, and what they
went to school for.
When they woke up that morning, and
how they did their hair.
I study the details of these people,
that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Researching each of them,
noticing our similarities, and
rejoicing in
the beauty of human nature.

~ Author unknown

Philippians 4:8-9 The Message (MSG)

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Transformation ❦

On By Heather Wiest

Butterflies go through an incredible journey. They start out as larvae, next they become caterpillars, and finally they attach to a leaf or tree and enshroud themselves with a fine and strong cocoon. Then they appear to sleep. But, during this time when they remain out of sight, they are silently TRANSFORMING. Nothing is visible to the eye that observes from the outside. An inner process of transformation changes an earthly caterpillar with its belly on the ground, into an extraordinary creature with beautiful, iridescent wings. The old form must die or be released for the beautiful, new creature to emerge and take flight. With people too, very often inner, silent transformation is continually taking place, mostly beyond our usual realm of conscious awareness. Through healing practices such as yoga, it is possible to transform the worm-like qualities and shed them like an old cocoon. It takes courage and a willingness to grow and change. What old cocoon would you like to shed off today? What would help you transform, grow, and fly? You are free when you are fearless.

Journaling Questions ❤️

How do you want to feel?
What are you opening to?
What are you closing to?
What are you inviting in?
What are you letting go of?
How are you transforming?

Set a fresh intention for the coming week.

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly. ~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Do you think the caterpillar knows what it will become as it retreats from the world into its cocoon? Or is it a grand gesture of faith, and simply trusts everything will be OK in time? ~ Nigel Coates

Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. ~ William Newton Clarke

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~ Maya Angelou

Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time. ~ Deborah Chaskin

“Just as the world around us changes and evolves, so do the circumstances and situations in our lives. We live in a universe that is alive, vibrant, and constantly evolving. Change is the way nature, the universe, and the Divine move us through each period of our lives. We are led to our next lesson, our next adventure. There’s no need to deny change, to fear it, or fight against it. Change is inevitable. Just as the earth is in constant motion and transformation, so are we. Growth can be gentle now. Growth can be fun. Breathe in new air. Breathe in new energy. Exhale the past, its feelings, beliefs, and toxins. Let it go. Let yourself be transformed.” ~ Melody Beattie

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message
Butterfly Meditation 

As you take in a deep breath, start to visualize the ground below you filled with the color of your choice. This color extends 50 feet down into the earth. Now, begin to imagine the energy centers on the bottoms of your feet opening up. As you inhale, visualize the soft color you have chosen filling up your feet. When your feet are completely saturated with the color, bring the color up through your ankles, legs, pelvis and lower back. Each time you exhale, witness the color leaving through your lungs, carrying any tension and stress with it. See the tension dissolve into the air. The color is now reaching your abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, neck and head. Exhale the color slowly out of your lungs.

Imagine you are a caterpillar. You are crawling on the tree where you live. Attaching yourself to a branch of the tree, you slowly start to form your cocoon. Gradually, you surround yourself with a golden, silken thread until you are totally hidden. You are inside the cocoon, completely surrounded by the softness of silk. You rest in the warmth of the golden darkness. You are not fully aware, so you do not know what is happening to you. However, you somehow sense that in this apparent stillness the Divine is at work. See if you can sense what is happening to you. At last, the cocoon breaks open, and a ray of light penetrates through a split in the cocoon. As the light touches you, it makes you feel a sudden surge of vitality, and you realize you can shed the cocoon that is around you. As you feel the cocoon falling away, you begin to discover that with it you have shed the defenses and supports of your safety net, and your past. You are freer than you ever dreamed you could be! You are now a beautiful, multicolored butterfly. You realize your boundaries have widened, and you can fly wherever you want. You feel light, fearless, and free.

Santosha 💜

On By Heather Wiest

SANTOSHA, the Sanskrit word for contentment, requires our willingness to enjoy exactly what each day brings and to be happy with whatever we have. We can easily practice santosha in the beautiful moments and joyous experiences of our lives. But true contentment means being equally willing to embrace difficult moments. Only when we can be content in the midst of difficulty can we be truly free. Only when we can remain open in the midst of pain do we understand what true openness is. In our relationships, when we accept those around us as they truly are, not as we want them to be, we are practicing santosha. ~ Adapted from Cultivate Your Connections by Judith Lasater

Enjoy a portion of a poem written for me by my husband.

She has santosha with the One True God
In full body worship
In constant course correction
All the way to shava

I love her for exactly who she is 
For who she was and who she’s gonna be
Every new thing I come to learn about her
Is further proof she’s the only girl for me

Contentment is a mental decision, a moral choice, a spiritual discipline. Are you truly content today my friend? Let’s draw inward, explore, and seek true SANTOSHA. 💜

One of the most difficult aspects of SANTOSHA is being content in this present moment. Oftentimes when we experience boredom or loneliness we seek distractions from the emotional discomfort instead of exploring root causes. We crave something to occupy the mind or somebody to engage our personalities. As we grow in our yoga and spiritual practices, we are able to draw inward sooner, see our true self in the moment, connect to our spirit and Divine Source, and through acceptance and love we gently smooth out the rough edges and become our best self.

“Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our heart and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are.” ~ Rolf Gates

“Change is not only inevitable, but is always happening. When you truly embrace this concept of change being constant, the only thing left to do is grow, detach, venture inwards, touch the spirit and find your Source — the one responsible for keeping you grounded through the ever-changing seasons of life.” ~ Julie Weiland

Shalom, the familiar Hebrew word for peace, does not refer to the absence of chaos but rather to an overall, deeply entrenched sense of harmony, health and wholeness in the midst of chaos. In fact, true peace is best detected and measured against the backdrop of commotion and confusion—when instability abounds, yet you remain steadfast; when disappointment and confusion are near, yet you’re still capable of walking with Spirit-infused confidence, stability and steadiness. ~ Priscilla Shirer

Soft Belly Breath Exercise

Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth a few times. Place one hand on your heart, and one hand on your belly. Then as you begin to breathe slowly and steadily through the nose, visualize inhaling into your belly receiving acceptance, contentment, love — and exhaling out through your heart giving it all away. Continue for a few minutes. The breath is the most important tool in yoga — it is the bridge between the body and the mind — it draws us inward and into the present moment.

The Soul of Yoga by Danna Faulds

What is the soul of yoga?
Follow your heart into the
center of the pose and find
in the midst of detail and 
precision, in breath, alignment,
balance, bliss, fear and sadness —
at the very core of all of this
is love. Touch upon your
truest nature even once and 
the experience of what you
really are sears the psyche
like the surface of the sun.
The soul of yoga, the gift 
within the pose is the 
moment of communion,
resting in pure essence, 
the awakening as if from 
sleep to the face of 
unmistakable divinity;
the ineffable wonder and 
living reality of spirit — oh, 
yes — the soul of yoga is love.

May you experience SANTOSHA, true contentment, no matter your circumstance or season of life. Rest and trust in the Divinity deep within.

“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” ~ John 14:27 NLT

OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti-hi — Peace, Peace, Peace 💜