Your Guide to Self-Empowerment and Positive Change

As you can see I haven’t posted in awhile. Been a busy summer! This post is an excerpt from my report, “Secrets to Sustaining a Love Relationship” which you can find on my website.  It offers some tips. Hope you find them helpful.

Being in a love relationship can be wonderful yet also challenging.  Fortunately there is a lot of information available to us now offering relationship guidelines. The following are a few suggestions that can help improve your relationship.

In order to nurture and sustain a love relationship it is important to practice what I call the three A’s to one another as often as possible. The three A’s are acceptance, acknowledgement, and appreciation. For example, “I love you for who you are. Thank you for taking out the garbage. We’re so lucky to be together. ”

Acceptance means letting go of the need to be perfect and honoring your humanness.  So much of the time couples try to change one another.  This comes out of an unconscious need to control life in order to feel safe.  However, it is fear based and does not foster love.  Since our partners are mirrors for us, our lack of acceptance for them may be a reflection of a lack of acceptance for ourselves.  In order to sustain your relationship you need to accept where things are right now.  This includes accepting yourself as well as your partner.

Acknowledgement inspires positive behavior and therefore fosters growth. When people feel acknowledged they feel encouraged. This creates a desire to want to do more. When you acknowledge all the little things your partner does that bring you joy and support in your life, it will lift your spirits as well.

Appreciation opens doors to communication and to the heart. No one likes to feel taken for granted. Begin to express appreciation for all the little things that your partner does. Look around you and notice all that you have to appreciate in your life.  Self-appreciation is a must as well. Learn to balance criticism with appreciation for all that is good in your partner and in your life.

In what ways do you nurture your love relationship? How do you nurture your relationship with yourself? Although these tips have been geared towards a love relationship, any relationship especially a primary one needs to be nurtured. How do you nurture your relationships in general? I am looking forward to hearing from you about this topic.

All the best,

Susan Eller

http://www.healingfromwithin.com/

Recently on Twitter someone asked me what the difference was between self-care and being lazy. I thought that was a great question. One that was deserving of exploring as I believe self-care to be of the utmost importance.

First of all I believe that for most of us the word “lazy” is a term our ego uses to push us into doing something our spirit doesn’t really want to do at the moment. It’s a “should” statement/ a judgment that can throw us out of alignment.

Self-care means taking care of yourself – body, mind and spirit. You practice self-care by following your energy, tuning into your body’s messages and taking time to relax and rejuvenate when your body directs you to do so. By doing this you will have more energy and vitality to accomplish the projects that are awaiting your attention.

You may ask, “How can I tune into my body’s messages and that of my spirit’s?” Taking time to be silent is one way. Begin by quieting your mind. For example, take a few moments right now to close your eyes and pay attention to your breathing. Let go of any thoughts and notice how you are feeling. Practice doing this on a regular basis and you will become more in touch with your inner being.

Practicing self-care will help you maintain health, well-being and balance. Have you ever noticed how great you feel after a spa treatment, a nap, a soothing bath or a massage?

As you learn to tune into your body and spirit you will become more aware of how to take better care of yourself. I am reminded of a statement by Wayne Dyer, “ We are human beings not human doings” How comfortable are you with ‘being”? Or do you think you have to be continually “doing” in order to feel worthy?

The teachings of Abraham (http://www.abraham-hicks.com) has helped me to be more in touch with the flow of life and what Abraham calls “the stream of well-being”. If you have never seen this video I highly recommend it. You can view it here.

Abraham on: THE STREAM – Esther & Jerry Hicks

I encourage you all to nurture your body and spirit, honor your “beingness” and appreciate life rather than push against it. Take good care of yourselves by practicing “Self-Care”.  By “tuning in “ to your body and spirit you will tap into your inner guidance which will lead the way to more balanced living.

In what ways do you practice self-care? I welcome your comments here.

Blessings,

Susan

Back in the late 1970’s I practiced Vipassana meditation  with Dr. Rina Sircar, a Buddhist nun who teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). At that time CIIS had not been established yet and the school was called the California Institute of Asian Studies.

Every morning, five days a week, a group of us gathered with Rina to meditate for an hour. Vipassana meditation, also called Mindfulness or Insight Meditation, consists mainly of focusing on your breath.

We would focus our attention on the in and out movement of the breath and sometimes on the rising and falling of our abdomen as we breathed… breathing in and breathing out.

If thoughts arose we silently noted, “thinking thinking thinking” and brought our attention back to the focus of our meditation, our breath.

Towards the end of the meditation we had built up a lot of positive energy. We would then focus that energy into a prayer on loving kindness for the sake of all sentient beings.

When I learned this prayer the wording was such that we asked to be free from suffering and to be happy, peaceful and liberated. Because of my understanding of the Law of Attraction I have adapted some of the wording. For example, instead of focusing on freedom from suffering,  the focus is on feeling free to flow with wellness and ease.

Here then is the Loving Kindness prayer. Notice that you start with your self first. This is because you have to love yourself first before you can love others.

Loving Kindness Prayer (called Metta in Pali)

May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be liberated.
May I find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May I live in peace and harmony with life. .
May I feel free to flow with wellness and ease.

May my family be happy.
May my family be peaceful.
May my family be liberated.
May my family find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May my family live in peace and harmony with life.
May my family feel free to flow with wellness and ease.

May my friends be happy.
May my friends be peaceful.
May my friends be liberated.
May my friends find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May my friends live in peace and harmony with life.
May my friends feel free to flow with wellness and ease.

May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be liberated.
May all beings find happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings live in peace and harmony with life.
May all beings feel free to flow with wellness and ease.
May all beings be happy, peaceful and liberated.

I have always loved this prayer. It is a wonderful way to send positive, loving energy to yourself and others. And, of course, you can say this prayer mentioning a specific person or group. You can also offer it as a blessing at any time and to any one.

You might want to try this Loving Kindness prayer yourself. Simply focus on your breathing a few minutes then repeat the Loving Kindness meditation either out loud or silently to yourself. Spread some loving kindness to yourself and others and see how it makes you feel. I’d love to hear your experiences here.

In what way do you practice mindfulness and loving kindness? I welcome your comments.

Namaste,

Susan

Susan Eller
www.healingfromwithin.com

Today I cleaned up my Hotmail account. Believe it or not I had over 800 messages piling up in that account. This is not my primary account and is actually only one of several email accounts I have. But this account is where I get most of the news from email lists I have joined.

Although these newsletters provide lots of wonderful information I was definitely feeling “Information Overload”. So I deleted just about all of it. And, it felt SO GOOD to do this. I can’t begin to tell you how much it freed up my energy.

I have also been clearing out my closets and office. I don’t know about you but I tend to be a collector. Mostly I am a collector of informative resources.  However, clothes rank pretty high as well.

What mostly inspired me to tackle my Hotmail account today was a message I received from my body. I was getting signs of physical stress so I tuned in for body messages. That’s when I realized I was on information and clutter overload.

So if you have been feeling loaded down or overwhelmed I highly recommend clearing out clutter from your life. It is emotionally, physically, spiritually  and energetically freeing. And, you will be making room for something better to come in as the Universe hates a vacuum.

I also suggest tuning into your body whenever you feel stressed. Just ask questions like:  “What is going on? What do I need to know? “What do I need to be aware of? What are you trying to tell me?  “What is the message?” Once you get a message, act on it.

Do you tend to hold on to things? Have you ever noticed how that makes you feel? I would love to hear your comments and experiences. So please feel free to  comment here. I always love hearing from you.

All the best,

Susan

For any of you interested in planetary meditations there are three major spiritual festivals that occur annually at the time of the full moons of spring. They are the Festival of Love, the Festival of Wesak and Festival of Good Will.

Each of these meditations provides a period of increased accessibility to the highest spiritual energies available to humanity. Their purpose is to restore peace, cooperation and balance on our planet.

By participating in these meditations you will be joining millions of others around the world at the same time. You can also make contact with great spiritual beings called the Ascended Masters or the Great Ones. These beings through the process of evolution have triumphed over matter to achieve the level of self-mastery. They now work to carry out the Divine plan. By tuning into their powerful emanations you can receive as well as transmit their special blessings for the benefit of all lives on earth.

The following is a brief explanation of each of these festivals.

The Festival of Love

During this full moon meditation you can tune into the vibration of Divine Love. During your meditation open your mind and heart to receive divine emanations of love, then ask for love to be sent into the hearts of humanity. This festival occurs at the time of the Aries full moon.

The Festival of Wesak

This is the festival of the Buddha also called the Festival of Light. During this time it is as if a door is opened wide allowing you to contact energies which are otherwise not easily accessible. At this time a great expansion of consciousness is available.

During this full moon when the sun is in Taurus it is said that a great ceremony takes place in the Himalayas involving the Ascended Masters. During this ceremony the Buddha makes an appearance in order to bestow special blessings on the world. He joins with the World Teacher of Love to transmit Divine Light and Divine Love. See below for this year’s date and time.

The Festival of Goodwill

During this full moon people from every spiritual path call upon those who guide humanity to send the light, love and spiritual direction needed to create a world of unity, peace and cooperation.  This festival occurs at the time of the Gemini full moon.

Although this year’s Festival of Love has passed you can still tune into the other festivals. This year’s Wesak festival is on April 28th at 12:20 PM GMT and the Festival of Goodwill is on May 27th at 11:08 PM GMT.

Thanks to the work of Alice Bailey along with Lucis Trust Publishing and the Orin and Daben site for spreading the word on these festivals.  If you would like further information on them let me know. Also, feel free to add your comments.

May all beings be happy, peaceful and liberated.

Susan

www.healingfromwithin.com

“Abundance is not a dollar amount in your bank account. It’s not cash. It’s not how big your house is. Abundance is a Vibration. Abundance is actually a feeling. You know – joy, happiness, prosperity. A feeling and a vibration that you can tune into.” -Carol Look

Wow! that is a pretty powerful concept. That quote is from a recording I recently heard of an interview with Carol Look. Carol is a Law of Attraction and EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) expert who has written quite extensively on how to raise your vibration and abundance level. Her website is http://attractingabundance.com.

In her article “The Vibration of Abundance” (http://www.thetappingsolution.com/the-vibration-of-abundance.php) Carol emphasizes four very important methods for raising your vibration and, therefore, your state of abundance. These are:

Expressing gratitude

Acting as if

Yes, Thank you

Blessings.

So with Carol’s inspiration let’s look at these four essential ingredients to lifting our vibration and therefore our abundance.

Expressing Gratitude

I’ve talked about this before in other posts. Carol suggests keeping a daily gratitude list. I have found that expressing appreciation and gratitude on a regular basis boosts how I feel as well as brightens my outlook on life. I often acknowledge simple yet wonderful things in my life that make me feel good such as my home, my marriage, my cat, my neighborhood, my health, my family, my friends and so forth. No matter what your state of being and affairs you can find something to appreciate. Focusing on gratitude and appreciation helps attract more of the same.

Acting as if

Our subconscious mind does not know the difference between our current state of affairs and our imagination. When you “act as if” you are focusing your attention on what you want and imagining it as if it already exists in your current reality. As Carol says, “You are bringing the future into the present”. On a universal level everything we want and desire already exists in the universal mind or what Abraham-Hicks calls our “vibrational escrow”. A powerful exercise is to thank the Universe for what you want as if it was already here in the present. For example, “Thank you Universe (God, Great Spirit, Higher Power) for bringing me wonderful opportunities” or “Thank you Universe for bringing me four new clients.” Or, “Thank you Universe for bringing me a windfall of cash this month.” Play with it and have fun!

Yes, thank you

Notice how good and expansive those words feel – Yes, thank you! Let that feeling vibrate through your being. Say it and breathe it in. Feels good doesn’t it? It does to me. I breathe better and it puts a smile on my face. Now you can make some statements starting with “Yes, thank you”.  For example, “Yes, thank you Universe for resolving this problem.”  “Yes, thank you Universe for helping me to feel better.”  “Yes, thank you Universe for clearing this block. ” “Yes, thank you Universe for healing this upset.”

Blessings

A blessing means to infuse holiness and divine will. Feeling blessed brings more blessings to you. Bless everything and everyone you can. Affirm that you are blessed because you are. We all are. Bless your life. Bless your loved ones. Bless your home. Bless friends, Bless strangers. Even bless situations and people who you do not like. I experience blessing as healing and freeing. In blessing others I bless myself as well.

And, finally here’s a wonderful affirmation from Carol.

“I raise my vibration and feel good”

Simple yet delightfully powerful.

I would love to hear your experiences with these four methods for raising your vibration. How did it feel to practice them? I welcome your comments.

“Everything is about the way you feel. Practice scenarios that feel good – and never mind reality. Reality is only a brief moment in time that you keep repeating. “ ~Abraham-Hicks

What a statement! This concept is far different from what I (and probably all of you) have been conditioned to believe. Remember the old saying – “Seeing is Believing”! I bet most of you believe that reality is the truth of a situation.  Yet from a non-physical, broader perspective this is not the case. And now science has backed this up via the research of new physics revealing that we are in constant communication with the Universe via our vibration and feelings.

So how do you go about feeling good when you are experiencing less than desirable situations? Here are some suggestions. Look for the good and positive in your life and begin to appreciate everything you already do have. Use the power of your imagination to dream, to picture what you want. Connect with your inner being, your authentic self and know that the point of power is always in the present moment.

If you are feeling down, look for something to help you feel a little better. It is not realistic to expect that you will go from depression to pure joy. However, find things that bring you some relief, such as listening to your favorite music and reading something uplifting. You may find writing in your journal to be beneficial. There are also many wonderful healing tools and techniques that can help. The following is a method I learned from spiritual teacher, Jo Dunning.

Exercise: Quiet the mind. Sit for a moment and be with your feelings. Let go of any thinking. Just be with your feelings and notice the base line feeling such as loneliness, sadness, fear etc. In about three minutes the energy will rise up through your Chakra system. The feeling will lift and go away. When that happens you will feel better and find yourself in a higher vibration.

Remember that everything is always changing. Nothing stays the same and that this too shall pass. The more you can feel good the more you can attract good things into your life. And it’s never too late to start. So practice feeling good as often and as best as you can. Here is a list of things that help me feel good.

• Being with my husband.

• Enjoying my home.

• Watching my cat’s antics.
  

• Listening to the birds.

• Taking walks in nature.

• I love when I see a cotton tailed rabbit, quail and other critters.

• Listening to uplifting CD’s and MP3 recordings
  

• Getting lost in a good book.

• Appreciating the mountains and sky around where I live.

• Connecting with inspiring, supportive and like-minded friends.

Now it’s your turn. What works for you? Let me know.

All the best,

Susan

www.healingfromwithin.com

Do you have difficulty following through with your intentions? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by a goal? Manifesting your goals is a step by step process that can be mastered by almost anyone. The following guidelines will help you actualize your goal in a more balanced way.

1. Create Goals That You Truly Want

In order to actualize a goal you will be putting a certain amount of time, energy and effort into that endeavor. Make sure that what you are intending to manifest is aligned with what you truly want; otherwise you may find yourself unconsciously sabotaging your efforts in some way.

Sometimes people set goals based on what they think they should do rather than what feels right for them. When something is right for you it will give you energy, you will get excited and feel a sense of aliveness. This, in turn, will help you feel motivated to take action. When you do something that doesn’t feel right to you, you can feel confused, resentful, resistant and unmotivated. You can see how following what feels right for you can help keep you clear and on track with your goal.

2.  Set Your Priorities

In order to manifest your goal, you need to identify and pay attention to the steps, stages and processes along the way towards its manifestations. This means setting your priorities then taking one small step at a time. Ask yourself, “What step can I take right now towards the actualization of my goal?” Then take that first step.

3. Acknowledge Your Accomplishments

See each step you take as an accomplishment and acknowledge every accomplishment along the way. This will enhance your self-confidence as well as strengthen your resolve. It’s what I call stabilizing your foundation.  Since you are the creator of your goal, how you feel about yourself provides the foumdation for your goal’s success.

4. Stay in the present.

You can have your goal in mind and let that be your guide but be careful not to jump too much ahead of yourself or take on too many tasks at once as that could overwhelm you and throw you off track.

Each time you manifest a goal it will affirm your ability to succeed. Simply follow the guidelines I have given you. Create goals that you truly want and that are aligned with what you truly want. Set your priorities. Acknowledge every step as an accomplishment and stay in the present. As you take one step at a time, you will find that you are well on your way to manifesting your goal.

One final reminder – remember that the journey along the way is just as important as the manifestation of your goal. It is the journey that provides you with the most growth, learning and richness.

What are you envisioning for your life? Do you have your own method of carrying out its manifestation?. I welcome your comments.
Namaste,

Susan

The end of the year provides a wonderful opportunity to create a ritual where you release anything that does not serve you anymore -  any outworn beliefs or patterns. This ritual will help you get clear on your vision and any plans or goals for the new year.

1. Have a pen and journal ready.

2. Light a candle

3. Clear your space using smudge (the burning of sage, cedar, sweetgrass or copal), incense or Aura Cleanser.

4. Ground and Center * (See below for a grounding meditation)

5. Imagine that you can gently and safely float above your body, above your room then above the place where you live. From this perspective look over your life. Observe your day to day activities. Notice how you feel and what you see. Then ask yourself, “How do I feel about my life? What serves me and what hinders me? Are there any changes I would like to make?”  Now look towards the next few months and year and ask yourself, ” What would I like to see manifest for myself and my family in the upcoming months? Are there any dreams, visions or goals I would like to fulfill?”  When you feel ready gently return your awareness back to your body

6. Record your observations in your journal.

7. Now imagine a light emanating from your heart. Send this light to your vision. Surround your vision in a bubble of brilliant white light then send it out into the universe. Trust your Higher Power to guide you towards its manifestation.

8. Give thanks for all that you have.

9. Add whatever else you might like to this ritual.

*Grounding Meditation

Grounding is a simple exercise for connecting with the earth, as well as the universe around you. It is a helpful exercise for anyone to do as it provides protection and helps you be more present.

Stand or sit with your feet placed flat on the ground.  Line up your body so that your spine is straight and your chin is parallel to the floor.  Take a slow, deep, cleansing breath. Imagine that a golden light descends from above and enters your body through the top of your head. Imagine that this light makes its way down the center of your body. Imagine that it flows down to your hips, down your legs, then out through the soles of your feet, extending down to the core of the earth and anchoring your energy to the earth.

Next, imagine that you draw up the energy of the earth. You can imagine it as the color green. This energy enters your body through the soles of your feet and flows up your legs, up through the center of your body then out through the top of your head, extending up to Source above.

This is a basic grounding meditation. You can also create a bubble of protective white light around you by following the directions below.

Focus your attention on your heart center. Imagine a ball of white light surrounding your heart, small at first like the size of a baseball. Imagine that this ball of light grows larger so that it is about the size of a beach ball. Then imagine that it grows larger and larger until it surrounds your entire body, all around you, above and below you, extending out about three feet all around you.

You have now created a bubble of protective white light. You can imagine this light at any time throughout the day to form a protective shield around you. Try it out and see how it feels and works for you.

What rituals do you use at the end of the year? Please feel free to share here.

Namaste,

Susan

http://www.healingfromwithin.com

http://www.equinoxgifts.com