A Call for Joy by Erina Patrick

Photo by Sarah McMurray

Every year, I come up with my own unique version of a New Year’s Resolution.  For 2013, I’ve resolved to, “play more and rediscover my joy.”  I am happy to report that it’s been a very successful so far and things keep getting better as we move along towards the end of 2013. In my opinion this is the wisest one I have come up with yet.  And I must say, the universe has met me more than half way. It never ceases to amaze me that all I have to do is open the door to my imagination and invite life to join me in the fun and wondrous adventures abound in the most spectacular and serendipitous ways.

This year’s manifestation of my intentions took the form of a new job as an activities agent; a general step up from my previous day job. Plus, it also boasts many playful perks, to boot, such as free helicopter rides, snorkeling excursions, horseback riding, zip-lining, jet-skiing and parasailing to name a few. By the way, I have already engaged in all of these activities (plus a few more).

I have also been blessed to be able to take some of my best friends along for these good times.  After all, what is fun without friends? I have recently received an invitation from one of these friends to go sky diving; hey, why not roll with it?  The sky's the limit is what I say! What my experience has shown me is the more I am open to the prospect of joy and let go of the old fears that inhibit and impede, the more I receive opportunities to set my heart free and let my spirit soar.

A question I keep asking myself as of late is, “how free do you want to be?” And the only caution that wells up from the spring of my soul is, “don’t let your fear hold you back!” Both freedom and happiness, I believe, are choices we make within ourselves.  And the less these states of being depend on outside circumstances, the more genuine they are. I recently had an epiphany that I am full of hope and faith that there is no room left for doubt and fear to linger. Looking back on my life, that is an astounding statement, as there once was a time when I wanted to hope, but honestly was afraid to as I was sure I was only setting myself up for future disappointment. Pessimism is simply an impenetrable form of fear marked by a profound lack of faith and utter absence of hope.

I can see so clearly now how limited my perspective was then, and that my views guaranteed continued disappointment rather that deflecting or preventing it.  I was constantly affirming that life is a let-down and then somehow surprised to find that I got what I thought.  My former folly all seems so obvious and silly to me now. If luck itself were a coin on the one side would be pessimism associated with poor or bad luck, and on the flip side would be optimism the bearer of good fortune. Charisma is a form of joy, positive energy, personal magnetism, or in more modern terms that x-factor that enables us to influence our lives and the lives of those around us for the better.

To change my world I simply need to change my perspective.  For I find what I seek, and the more I radiate joy, the more vibrations of joy surrounds me and in turn emanates from those I encounter, both known and unknown. Life can either be a game or a chore, the choice is yours! I chose to be happy, joyous and free today and that doesn’t mean I shirk my responsibilities in life. It just means I meet them with a sense of equanimity, balance, and place it all in a spiritual perspective.

"I am a thirty three year old woman, born and raised in Bend, Oregon and current resident of Maui. I moved to Maui to pursue my yoga path and passion for teaching,  while helping people to practice self-care and guiding them on their personal journey towards wholeness. I love the way yoga engages my creative and spiritual nature, I am involved in other creative projects and interests as well, such as writing and creating hand crafted jewelry."

More than Words by Charyn Gant

 “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice [and heart] to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” 
― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Goodreads.com)

I stared at the 10 words I had chosen blankly, not sure how to begin. I had never really done this before and was already judging myself as doing it wrong before I even got started. I felt a bit ridiculous and silly. “Yep,” I thought to myself, “I am totally out of my comfort zone here. I can feel it”.

Not sure how to begin, I started the only way I knew how: logically instead of intuitively. I am proud to say, however, that I did resist the urge to look up my words up in the online dictionary because that obviously defeats the purpose of the exercise. I began with what I thought my first definition should be. However, rereading it, I felt odd. Everything sounded oh so proper, canned and way too formal. It was ego-mind crap. I shook my head; this was not going to work. As usual, I had to get out of my head.

And that’s about when I hit the edge of my comfort zone and stepped off into a field of space that was outside my self-limiting personal picket fence.

The 10 words I’m speaking about are 10 Power Words or Values that resonated with me out of more than 200 as a part of a business boot camp exercise (yes, I said more than 200 words; so NOT an exercise to over think). And as part of that exercise, I had to define what those words meant to ME. Self-definition is in no way a new concept; you’ll find plenty of references and exercises out there on the Internet and you may have done a few on your own. For me however, this was uncharted territory.

You see, I really didn’t know, deep, deep, down, that I actually HAD PERMISSION to write my OWN definitions and in the process, define my own set of values for all areas of my life. This means a long suppressed voice is eagerly waiting to emerge and speak directly to challenge old limiting beliefs and programs that keep me hitting an internal glass ceiling, swimming in a small fishbowl, unhappy, depressed and resentful. So if this sounds like you, you’re not alone. :-)

If you have not already claimed it, know you HAVE PERMISSION to self-define YOUR Power Words and thus what you value, which can give you massive insight and clarity into how you tick in your inner most being. Then you can begin to connect those definitions with your daily life.  And when you make those connections, those words then carry more weight, have greater meaning and act as a built-in guidance system for how you choose to show up in the world everyday in everyway. And what’s more, everything you do and everyone around you can benefit. What a cool ripple effect!

One of my selected words is “Community”, which I defined as: “giving & receiving; sharing; support; gathering & bearing witness to the fabric of life; validation of experiences; releasing judgment; happiness; feeling good; celebrations”.  For right now, this is MY definition; I can continue to build on it, or not. So if Community is something you value, how would you define it? Or maybe one of your words is Gratitude, Prosperity, Purpose or Passion.

Whatever your Power Words are, by choosing to define them from a heart-centered, In-powered space, you can begin to shift the very fabric of what you see as your life. You can gain confidence and have the courage to live fully and accomplish your goals. And by focusing on how we show up as those Power Words or values on a daily basis, those things will expand tremendously. And that is where the real magic begins.

Charyn Gant is the founder of the blog/site When We Listen to Trees: a platform to share information, stories and tolls of how we can improve our quality of life, especially our emotional health as it relates to our physical health. Charyn has been in the alternative healing arena for more than a decade. You can also find her on Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Soul Care from Within by Erina Patrick

 

Photo by Sarah McMurray, from Muse Camp 2013

 Soul Care is a subject that seems to be growing in importance and popularity. For far too long the spiritual aspect of existence has been absent from most people's lives, but there seems to be a growing awareness and concern for a balanced life that involves a deep spiritual dimension. A few of us are awakening to the sad fact that possessions (like shiny new electronic devices) don't bring us lasting happiness.  Instead of instilling a sense of peace or well being they only seem to further fracture the minds ability to focus. If the latest and greatest can't bring any sense of satisfaction, then all we are left with is that vague feeling that something is missing.  For some the spiritual quest begins as we search for a deeper meaning to our experiences and a larger frame to place global events and personal tragedies in perspective.

The more deeply one peers into the inner workings of their own heart and mind, the more clear it becomes that contentment comes from within and that our reaction to people, places and situations are simply a reflection or projection of our inner state of being. 

The point being that the external stimulus is secondary to contentment, so it follows that soul care is mostly a solo endeavor in the sense that it's "an inside job." That is not to say that you cannot have people in your life to provide a support network, or even a trusted guide who can share their experience, strength and hope.  Naturally these resources can be invaluable when it comes to healing core issues. Compassion and self-acceptance are really the key to unlocking your hidden potential and empowering the soul; by practicing unconditional love and acceptance with yourself first you are then able to do so for others. Since we project our inner state onto the world, how we feel about ourselves is how we feel about the world at large.  "Change your attitude and your whole world changes."

This axiom of the inner reality being reflected by the exterior also applies to the teachers who are only there to remind you of what you already know to be true within yourself.  This is why the Latin root of the word knowledge essentially means to remind, or remember. An astute teacher knows that they are simply a mirror reflecting your inner wisdom back at you, because the truth lies within you. That inner knowing is often obscured by erroneous assumptions, predispositions, predilections and ideologies.  This is why many of us need an outside source to help us sift through the illusions (Mya), the personal history and wreckage of the past (Karma), and the ego (Ahamkara) that obscure the clarity of the soul. Once you see yourself as an intimate and intricate part of the living universe that is the divine, caring for yourself, and in turn others, seems like the only sane option.  For any form of hatred or harm inflicted stems from unconsciousness or delusion.

      Real soul care involves rigorous honesty, humility and compassion, with regards to where we are on our spiritual journey at any given moment. You cannot rightly say you love someone (yourself included) unless you truly know them and accept them exactly as they are. Humility is the realization that we are no better, yet no worse than anybody else regardless of wealth, education, age, gender, ethnicity, or religion. And this is the very core foundation of all spiritual principles. For when we see ourselves as right sized (i.e. equal to our fellow human beings), all of that self-imposed sense of importance, disempowerment and competition vanishes into thin air.  All of this was never based anything real to begin with, since it’s the ego’s way to oscillate from one extreme to the other.

The hero/heroine's quest always boils down to self-discovery, and only when we learn to love ourselves first are we capable of giving or receiving love from another.   

By caring for your soul, you invariably come to truly care for others, as the other is just a part of the wholeness that includes you too. When we see ourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience, then it only follows that the same is true for all those around us. This is important because the world is no longer divided into friend/foe, even those we would choose to see as standing in our way are simply teachers presenting us with the opposite of what we seek, which in turn clarifies that which we are after.

I believe that the "great way has no gate and there are a thousand paths that lead to it." The spiritual journey is the path that leads you back to your authentic self; stripped of all illusions that separate and divide the self, the world, and the universe and obscure the wonder and miracle of all that is. I could create a list ad infinitum as to the various ways people seek spirituality, but I believe far brighter spirits have already written countless volumes on this subject.  So instead I decided to touch on the aim rather than the means and hint at the larger truth behind the individual varied quest for it. Acceptance, awareness and compassion is what soul care means to me.

I am a thirty two soon to be thirty three year old woman, born and raised in Bend, Oregon and current resident of Maui. I moved to Maui to pursue my yoga path and passion for teaching,  while helping people to practice self-care and guiding them on their personal journey towards wholeness. I love the way yoga engages my creative and spiritual nature, I am involved in other creative projects and interests as well, such as writing and creating hand crafted jewelry.

Can a Story Change the World?

Can a story change the world? That was the question I wrestled with in the car on my way to Muse Camp, a women' retreat on activism, creativity and community where I was teaching a creative writing workshop for young muses. I began thinking about stories that had been highly significant in my own life - the film Hotel Rwanda,  young women's coming of age stories like Christy, Anne of Green Gables, Sue Monk Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, and Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese" poem - stories that shaped my life in a big way.

This past weekend 100 women gathered in the woods of the high Cascades for Muse Camp - a retreat on creativity, yoga, activism and community and like much of life should, it started with intentions. We wrote our intentions on our hearts and verbalized them out loud to the the community. And then we jumped in to a weekend of writing, yoga, creativity and community.

What amazed me most was the bravery of young muses from a local boarding school for troubled teens who shared their stories, who fought for healing in a big way. Each of us has profound moments of brokenness, joy, adventures and mystery. Our stories are can change the world. Yes. Absolutely. What makes us stand out is how we choose to move forward and learn from our stories. That is what changes the world.

What story do you need to hear? To release? To begin?

The August Slow Down

Self-care is a challenge. I'm a woman who likes to be busy; I suppose I place too much of my self worth on what I accomplish. But when my doctor told me I had to chill just over a month ago, I finally took it seriously. I've almost made it a month in my quest to relax, heal my adrenal fatigue and adjust from my old job to freelancing part time for now. Telling a overly productive woman to slow down, rest and chill out is worth laughing at, but I'm learning. August has been a month of fun, play and rest. I went to antique markets with my mama, sat in coffee shops and read creative blogs and wrote, started working part time for creative venues as a content writer/photographer/teacher...let me tell you, it's hard to go from work 50/60 hour weeks to 20ish.

I took myself on a solo-camping trip and discovered just how hard it was to just be and not feel like I should be working on a million writing projects I'm dreaming up. (I did have one published on Elephant Journal.)

It rained but I still enjoyed it.

Then a week later my family went to the Oregon coast where we spent summers all of my childhood playing on the beach, exploring the small towns and window shopping.

We strolled, laughed and spent time together, and although it was only a few days. I came home feeling refreshed despite a few mishaps with food allergy issues. I'm learning to admit my weaknesses, and that rest is okay and letting go is even better. But most importantly, I'm learning that life doesn't always look like the vision you had in your head - yes, absolutely I could work my butt off to have the job with the fancy title, the cute home, or the perfectly assembled outfit, but is it worth it for me? No. (My adrenals tell me no anyway...I'll get there too.) Joy, community, rest and play far outweigh a big paycheck.

Today I leave for one more self-care adventure for this month - a 3 day creative/yoga retreat in the mountains - and after that I'll have to think more seriously about how to maintain balance while adding in some more work hours. But for now, I'm enjoying rest.

I hope you all practice great adventurous self-care this weekend.

Letting Go As Self-Nurturing by Heather Lindsay

**Welcome to the She-Tribe Project's first round of six month guest bloggers, an opportunity for women's voices to inspire, share and create community through the written word. Please be sure to stop by our guest blogger's links to their websites/blogs etc. You won't be disappointed! Xo - Sarah**

Photo from Sarah McMurray's garden

 Hi everyone!  It’s so wonderful to be given a “new voice” to share with what promises to be a vibrant community connected through a beautiful form of creativity: the written word.  This surely is one of the most steadfast and true ways to connect to the World.  I am so happy to be here with each of you!  I have started writing this post several times and it never seemed to be the right moment or words.  Then I happened to have the most unusual experience.  YES!!!  Unusual experiences are the best rabbit holes to go down! 

After brutal heat here in Maryland over the last few weeks we are experiencing the most lovely, cooler weather as I write this.  Perfect garden weather!  I was outside with the veggies and flowers - very far away from my pen and paper (or so I thought!).  I went to flip over my underused, adorable snail garden stake when off fell a luminous but dead dragonfly.  I was enthralled with this little fellow or gal!  I felt the immense need to hold this beautiful, lithe, once flying gem.  I examined her (we’ll say her).  After all - I’ve never held a dragonfly before!  She was tiny...  I couldn’t help but wonder if this is what a fairy looks like!  “Am I holding a fairy?!”  Her thin body looked like a ribbed reed.  It was a spectacular iridescent green.  Her big, black eyes looked as clear as if she could still see.  Her wings were lacy, black as night, and shimmering.  They folded delicately back against her body.  In my hand she was weightless - like the wind must be. 

I thought, I will never forget this moment... this clear, pure, fine moment.  I could actually imagine how this dragonfly just let go.  She simply let go.  No whimper, no cry, no regret.  Her spirit, soul, whatever you want to name it - just one moment left! 

Completely let go. 

Wow...  if only we could all let go this easily of the daily irritants available to each of us.   Then everyone would be able to glimpse and ultimately experience what a grand World we inhabit together.  Let go of hurt, pain, judgment, sadness, distress, anger, grief, distrust, and onward.  On a near daily basis I see these stuck emotions in my clients.  I KNOW these emotions personally! 

Why do we let all our unhappiness get in the way of ourselves? 

This is only an answer each person can find within (and jeez it’s a constant practice!).  BUT if you even have the awareness that you CAN let go, this will begin to unravel all that has been pent up inside you.  Try this the next time a similar experience happens to you.  Smile, just smile!  Smile at that person who just blew their horn at you “for no reason” or someone who just had unkind words to utter.  INSTANT freedom when you chose that smile instead of reacting.  Instant letting go!  That distress is not yours and you hold the space for the other to let go too. 

It begins with giving yourself permission to experience any and all emotions, but then to know you have the freedom to let them go.  Here’s another powerful thought - letting go is the ultimate of self nurturing.  As you let go and this way of life opens up more and more to you, distress and sickness will loosen their grips on you and you can finally release.  Though this method is not all that should be used in the event of illness, it’s possible to greatly dislodge disease due to the fact that at its root disease is very stuck emotions.    Hummm...  Let me know how it goes.  Please share other ways you “let go” too.

In ending, I had a little funeral for the dragonfly.  I was planting a pink vinca vine so I buried her beside the flower in the pot.  I had a brief moment of sadness, and then I thought, “That is enough.  This lovely insect didn’t even know grief.  How beautiful to be free instead.”  A little while later I looked over at the porch plants near where the vinca was and saw a gorgeous, yellow butterfly!  A fine thought followed.  “Wow. That was fast!  Perhaps it’s her in her next movement of life.”  When we let go anything is possible.

Heather lives in a cozy bay side town in Maryland with her boyfriend, Ryan, and their three fur baby kitties - Tigger, Ophelia, & Willow.  Heather's private practice, Natures Of Light Acupuncture, is the fulfillment of her dream to create a healing place for all in need.  She lovingly practices Acupuncture, is an Integrated Energy Therapy® practitioner and teacher, and incorporates the power of flowers into her sessions through the use of Flower Essence Therapy.  You can also find her on Facebook.

Thrive or Bust! My 6 Month Adventure To True Health by Rosalyn Fay

Author's own photo.

There I was proudly pushing my loaded shopping cart of colorful, organic produce through the isles of Whole Foods wearing sunglasses and getting the occasional quizzical look from other shoppers. Next stop, the supplement isle! As I scanned the rows of bottles looking for Milk Thistle and Vitamin E, a clear voice sounded in my head. “When you thrive, your body will thrive.” Whoa... I stood there looking at my stocked cart, and my heart sank. It was one of those rare Voice of God moments of truth that shake you to your core. The words continued to echo in my head. “When you thrive, your body will thrive.”

The truth was, I wasn’t thriving in my life. Far from it. The sunglasses were hiding a bad case of hives that I’d been battling for months. The itchy, red welts were concentrated around my eyes and spreading. The swelling was so bad some days I could only laugh, then cry, at my resemblance to a beluga whale. I’d tried numerous over the counter creams, ointments, essential oils and herbal supplements. Not only were they not working, many of them aggravated my skin. My next line of defense was my diet. I had nearly finished a 10 day cleanse and was certain that if I kept up a strict diet, clear skin was just around the corner. But toward the end of the cleanse, the hives flared up again. As I researched obsessively, I discovered that hives could also be triggered by stress, anxiety, depression and sadness. Sigh…It resonated.

Intuitively I knew my emotional and mental state were the cause. The stress had been building. My dance instructor had just asked me to perform a complicated choreography the following week, solo! My relationship with a soul mate was coming to a tumultuous end and my bank account had fallen into the red. I was experiencing signs of hormonal imbalance and adrenal fatigue. The combination was too much. My body was rebelling. The hives were my body’s way of saying, “Things have to change…now! 

One morning after waking up with my eyes nearly swollen shut, I called a dermatologist for an emergency visit. She prescribed cortisone cream. I had really wanted to heal the hives naturally, but I was desperate. Feeling a bit defeated, I applied the cortisone. In three days the hives were gone. While my hives had healed, I knew that the root causes were still very present and that if I didn’t get a handle on those, the hives would resurface, or worse.

Through this crisis (blessing) I came to deeply understand how intimately linked our emotional, mental, spiritual and physical health are. Something that I understood intellectually suddenly became very real and I was forced to apply that knowledge in my life. I knew that if I was going to truly thrive and create the kind of life I really wanted, I could no longer allow my negative thoughts and beliefs to run the show. It was time to face my fears of rejection, of not being good enough and lovable enough, and beliefs that my productivity and bank account balance somehow defined me.

I began the deeper work. I sat down and asked myself… “If I truly loved myself, how would my life change?”

Soon after I ended my relationship and I opened myself up to another man (whose love has been immensely healing), and I committed myself to creating and following a plan of self-love and true, holistic health. I came up with the following list of 5 tools and practices and plan on integrating them into my life over the next 6 months with the intention they become a permanent part of my life.

Adopting a daily yoga and meditation practice

Adopting a greener, more alkalizing diet

 Expressing myself more creatively and playfully  

Making self-love, self-care a daily priority

Getting business/financial coaching

So, for the next 6 months I invite you to join me on this adventure! I can use all the support I can get and perhaps it will inspire you to make changes that will help you stress less and thrive more. Please leave me a comment and let me know where you are at on your journey to thriving and whole health!  

 "Rosalyn Fay is Founder and Producer of True Colors TV, an online inspirational video network for women. She is passionate about women's stories of transforming their lives and how those stories can inspire change in others. Over the past few years she has interviewed numerous women with extraordinary stories of healing themselves and transforming their health. Through that process she has been privy to leading edge information on holistic health, however, she has come to realize that knowing how to live optimally and living optimally are two very different things. So, over the next 6 months, she is committed to putting that knowledge into practice and adopting habits that will result in a holistically healthy lifestyle that is sustainable. She is very excited about sharing her journey to true health with you."