Somewhere along the Pacific coast line

When You’re Stuck In Fear

Oftentimes when working with clients we come across a situation, and it could be the most mundane situation, and yet the mind can’t seem to loosen it’s grip on it.

Whether it’s from a traumatizing experience, or perhaps the client is already in a stressful situation, or maybe it’s hitting a very sensitive part of the client’s soul – a part of them that needs X to feel secure and safe.

Regardless of how hard the grip is we have to remind ourselves that our brain is programmed to behave this way thanks to how smart we are and the years of repetitive Miracle Combo’ing we do.

What is the Miracle Combo? MC is when you behave in such a way that actively engages the thought with a rush of feeling & emotion throughout the body while repeating this action until it begins to groove a new path in your neural network. It’s the Miracle Combo I’ve seen work over and over again whether you use it to define a new, positive neural pathway or hard-wire a negative pathway.

But back to fear. We need to realize fear is nothing but:

  • a familiar state we innately have within us
  • a state that needs to be acknowledged, not pushed away
  • a state that is trying to protect us

When we objectively look at what is causing us fear, it is typically not even in present RIGHT NOW. It is typically a future state our minds wander to and gets stuck with repetitive thinking.

Fear becomes bigger in our minds because it suddenly becomes the pure focus of our attention. Remember that phrase, “what you focus on grows”? Well, it’s true. So in order for this not to get any bigger than it actually is you need to acknowledge the fearful state and accept it. Instead, what most people do is try to control the fear, not think about the fear, or fix the problem.

Thankfully there are several NLP techniques and coaching frameworks (a hyper focused awareness session is one of my favorites for calming the mind and inducing beta/theta states) to help each individual person identify what works best for them when it comes to their unique fear. For one person it may be simple as shifting their unconscious attention by way of bilateral stimulation, or perhaps it’s tapping the meridians as a way to release stuck energy, or using self hypnosis to speak to the unconscious mind.

If you’re stuck in a fearful state just know there is a way to peace. Let this be a reminder to you that your LIGHT is much bigger than any fearful thought. That your fear is nothing but a small part of you that wants to seek and be in Love. That this fear doesn’t define who you actually are.

You are light. You are divine. You are whole. You are always held by something so much greater than we can possibly imagine.

With love,

Susan.

What To Do If You’re An Empath

  1. Do you find yourself feeling anxious, depressed, or flighty after meeting new people or being in a large group?
  2. Do you find it hard to get rid of these emotions you didn’t necessarily feel before?
  3. Do you oftentimes get confused as to whether or not you really feel any of this and find yourself questioning what is really going on?
  4. Do you feel like a pendulum when it comes to emotions? Feeling all the highs and all the lows?

If you responded yes to any of the questions above it could be an indication of your empathic nature. While it’s great to feel into situations and people so quickly, what’s not great is not knowing what to do when people shed all of their energy on to you to soak up.

As an Empath, you may not know what to do when it comes to releasing what’s not yours. Or may you do know what to do but it doesn’t seem to work.

While every Empath is different from one another, I thought I’d share a few techniques that work for me. Keep in mind you may need to try these techniques a couple of times in order to get used to a new technique or perhaps find a tweak that works perfectly for YOU.

  • Faster EFT. If you haven’t heard of tapping find someone who can teach you or ask Google to teach you. In my case, I found it immensely helpful to learn from someone. Essentially you are tapping on major meridian points along your face and chest to release the specific emotion or thought from the situation that is causing you to feel an undesired emotion. Imagine all the negative emotion draining away from your body! It’s astonishing how quickly it works and you can apply it to just about any situation you come across, not just empathic episodes.
  • Grounding/Earthing. I find this to be therapeutic as well. I wrote about Tree Medicine in an earlier blog post and there are many ways to ground yourself. Energetically we are surrounded my technology and of course other people’s energy and the Earth (think of a magnet) has the ability to absorb that which you don’t need. How wonderful is Mother Nature? Plant your bare feet into the sand, dirt, or grass. Feel the waves of relaxation come over you as you feel every drop of negative energy which does not serve you seeping into the ground beneath you. It’s Mother Nature’s caring way.
  • Connect to the Highest Love. This is by far my favorite and most impactful. Have you ever cried without even thinking about it when something touched your heart so much? Felt the pang of deep stirring within your heart from something you saw, felt, or read? This is connecting to the Highest Love. This kind of Love is so deep and so real you suddenly realize what you are carrying isn’t even REAL. What you are trying to rationalize in your mind doesn’t even MATTER. This Highest Love, which is in all of us, doesn’t care about what just happened, all it cares about is bringing you to the TRUTH of who you are, and only you know what this Truth is. You can connect to your Highest Love in a number of ways:
    • Hugging someone you deeply love and care about
    • Talking to God and letting him know how much you love him/her
    • Breathing deeply and getting still; knowing this Higher Love is within you always
    • Doing something you absolutely love for 15 minutes (yes 15 minutes); for me it’s working with CLAY
    • Last but not least any of the two suggestions above

At the end of the day don’t despair. Nothing is permanent in this world and neither are these feelings.

As humans it is our job to learn and evolve so if you’re new to your superpowers as an Empath or you’ve been on this journey and still trying to figure it out, just know you are fully capable of making positive change in your life. Surround yourself with your own network of guides and teachers, and most importantly believe change is possible.

In wellness,

Susan

Naturally Shed Deer Antler. Hand made with real, high quality crystal beads. Sage cleansed and high vibe.

Divine Prana

What does it mean to live with unconditional love? To infuse this unconditional love with your personal power? Your life force? Just how different would our lives be if we lived from this state?

Not too long ago I completed this mala for a beautiful soul. When choosing the gemstones I found Blood Jasper and Honey Jade to be the perfect combination to help support Divine Prana. Let’s do a quick deep dive into what these gemstones represent and support.

Blood Jasper: Ahh, this stone is special. I love how you can get lost in the depths of its dark green mass mixed with a unique blending and swirling of it’s equally dark counterpart – red. Legend has it that the red represented the tears of an ancient dragon. Blood Jasper is known for its prana, Qi, and life force. This stone supports anyone to develop and harness one’s courage, strength and vitality.

Honey Jade: When looking at this beautiful stone I am reminded of the sweet, delicate drops of natural honey. I choose Honey Jade to complement Blood Jasper due to its representation of the third chakra – the Solar Plexus – the power house chakra. Not only does Honey Jade aid in supporting your personal power, it radiates divine, unconditional love. It is also a grounding and calming stone.

Lastly, I felt called to choose the naturally shed deer antler to complete the piece. For some reason I felt that it represented the full circle of life.

Processed with VSCO with f2 presetProcessed with VSCO with f2 presetProcessed with VSCO with f2 presetProcessed with VSCO with f2 presetProcessed with VSCO with  preset

Very excited for this mala to meet its special owner. May this mala support personal power and living life with integrity, yet showing up in the world with the most powerful force available within all of us – Love. May Love always lead us to co-create with Nature to uplift and raise each other up.

In wellness,

Susan

Reality Is Reality

There’s no right or wrong, but there IS your perspective.

Reality is reality.

How are you reacting?

How strong is your reaction?

Inquire.

Sit.

Be.

Know that you are OK.

Know that IT is OK.

Peace.

Love.

And all is well.

Namaste.

Goat Lake

One of the best things about spending more time in Washington is that these beautiful mountains and trails are literally in our backyard. For example a quick 1 hour drive and I’m deep in Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

This past Sunday was spent hiking up to Goat Lake. Let me tell you… it was GORGEOUS.

Processed with VSCO with f2 preset
Goat Lake

As I made my way through the trail I decided to head up to Goat Lake via the lower trail and come back down to the trail head via the upper trail. The pounding pulsation of the river and numerous waterfalls making it’s way down the mountain was incredible.

2017-06-04 07.54.12 1.jpg

The hike was approximately 11 miles round trip, and it was 11 miles of fresh air that I desperately needed.

The night before I got into a sneezing frenzy due to allergies which always zaps the energy out of me; to the point where my throat is sore and my energy is just depleted from me. When I woke up the day of the hike my nose was so stuffed I couldn’t breathe!

Miraculously when we got to the mountains it was as if the body knew how good the air was and decided to clear the nasal passages for all the fresh air. As soon as this happened I started to breathe DEEP. Deep into the belly with each and every inhale and I could slowly feel my energy coming back.

Processed with VSCO with f2 preset

I don’t know if it was the allergy attack the night before but not only was my energy low, my mood just wasn’t as upbeat either. Honestly, it could have been a whole RANGE of things:

  • Was it hormonal? Time of the month?
  • Has weeks of stressful work hours impacted the adrenals and thus neurotransmitters?
  • Was it the tossing and turning from being unable to breathe last night?
  • Maybe it’s the days of overcast skies that finally got to me.
  • Did I not eat enough breakfast and this is just a dip in energy?
  • Am I putting too much pressure on myself at work?
  • Is it because the weekend is almost over and I didn’t get a chance to eat at my favorite Indian restaurant this week? 😉

I’ve written about this before but it’s so easy to want to place meaning behind everything. Our minds find it inherently necessary to analyze the who, what, why, when, and how, but sometimes that takes us down several chases down several rabbit holes!

Instead I took some time to mindfully investigate each and every thought that came up and most importantly to allow and to BE WITH the emotion behind every passing thought. Fear, sadness, anxiousness, stress… were a few of the emotions that arose with each thought.

I took time to ask, is this really true? And if it is, what would that mean? Who is the one having this thought? What am I reacting to (or what do I think I am reacting to)?

Then silence. Step by step, breath by breath.

And when you’re surrounded by beauty like this how can you not begin to feel shifts as you fall into the wonder, awe, and gratitude of mother nature?

Processed with VSCO with f2 presetProcessed with VSCO with f2 preset

Sometimes it takes a good long bit of time to realize reality from reaction, or a place like this to put you in the present moment. The true present, moment by moment, breath by breath.

How about you? When do you find yourself having ah-ha moments? What helps you bring your awareness to your thoughts?

Cheers to a beautiful start to your week.

Namaste.

Somewhere along the Pacific coast line

Watch It Come And Go

No matter the situation, no matter the emotion, no matter the thought – just remember watch it come and go.

Accept the resistance.

Accept the discomfort.

Accept the need to escape.

Accept the subtle need to want things to change.

Watch it come and go.

Love where you are.

Love yourself.

Love every emotion and thought that comes by.

Love the tiny awakening inside you.

Love the fact that you are OK right here, right now.

Watch it come and go.

This is the practice…

My Morning Cup o’ Joe

I love watching the rhythm and shifts one goes through. I’ve been enjoying my morning green smoothie bowl for quite some time now and most recently this morning smoothie bowl has shifted to a lunch smoothie bowl ?

I’ve been noticing this subtle shift of slowing down even more and wanting to really enjoy the quiet time in the mornings. For me, this looks like spending an extra 30 minutes for breathwork, sitting, listening to a podcast or a mix of all three.

And since these days I’d rather spend the time in reflection I decided to decrease the amount of time spent in the kitchen (even more) PLUS get the benefits of getting enough calories in to start the day via bulletproof(ish) coffee.

Bulletproofish Coffee

This creamy concoction has many recipes out there but lately I’ve been keeping it simple:

  • 2 tbsp collagen (Great Lakes Gelatin)
  • 1 tbsp Spectrum coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream (local & pastured)
  • Pinch of seasalt
  • Coffee (in my case decaf)

It was a drizzly Seattle morning and that always makes drinking this mix extra good!

How have you been noticing subtle shifts or daily routines? Any must dos in the mornings you love to incorporate to start the day fresh?

From my morning to yours.

Namaste.

The Basics

I find it absolutely fascinating and love just how many new programs there are for upgraded nutrition, fitness, vitality,  relationships, next level breathing, meditation, you name it.

However, after listening to a recent podcast by Robb Wolf I became acutely aware of how easy it is to forget the basics.

What do I mean by that?

Continue reading “The Basics”

Tree Medicine

Lately I’ve been changing my “fitness” routine, or rather, preferred activity of moving from crossfit to more slow moving activities. For the most part 5 days out of the week I go to a nearby trail and walk the dog as well as practice yoga.

With work requiring so much of my time I’ve been noticing my stress levels on the rise with a bit of anxious energy from about mid-afternoon into the evening. Having gone through this before I decided to focus on activities that would help ground me but still get my blood flowing and my body moving 🙂

One day, I stopped to stare up at a giant douglas fir tree and stood there in awe of it’s grandeur. It wasn’t until the dog was pulling me to keep going along the trail that I had to tear myself away from the tree. However, I didn’t forget… there was something magical that happened.

Continue reading “Tree Medicine”

Advice From a River

2017-04-12 15.42.09

~ Go with the Flow
~ Immerse yourself in nature
~ Slow down and meander
~ Go around the obstacles
~ Be thoughtful of those downstream
~ Stay current
~ The beauty is in the journey