On rare occasion, less often than perhaps I wish, I live in perfect harmony with the universe.  I feel connected with all around me, paying attention to signs and synchronicities that show me that I am protected and guided for by universal flow.  This, I believe, is a reflection of the presence of love in my life.

When we allow ourselves to stop resisting what is around us (our reality) and we move into a greater state of peace, we become more open to love’s power and to love’s potential.  We are better able to respond rather than to react, especially with others, and to let go of rigid positions in our thinking, overall being less judgmental in our relationships and more generous with giving and receiving love.

Many people think of love as an ideal feeling that they wish to have more of in their lives.  One way to have more love is to cultivate a feeling of generosity in your life, allowing you to give love more freely.  Some people believe that generosity is something they would do only after having all that they need for themselves.  Actually, it is the opposite of that.  For example, in the words of St. John of the Cross:  “If there is no love between you, pour in love and you shall draw out love.”

If you wish to be heard, you can listen generously.  If you wish to be understood, you can seek to understand.  If you wish to be noticed, you can extend yourself to be more present.

It is the love we give away that creates the love we keep.

♥ “In her heart, she knew it was true.”
♥ “It broke my heart to see him so sad.”
♥ “His heart wasn’t into it.”
♥ “This comes from the bottom of my heart.”
♥ “He has a heart of gold.”
♥ “They are middle-aged but young at heart!”

In languages in all cultures, expressions place the heart as important and essential to our connection to life.

Interesting associations with the heart have been held throughout the history of the world.  In Asian culture, it is believed that the body is one’s palace and the heart is the emperor.  All organs are considered lieutenants to the heart, and the heart is considered the “home” of the person’s spirit.

The heart symbol itself can be traced to a time before the last Ice Age when Cro-Magnon hunters in Europe used the symbol, yet it is unclear what meaning it held for them.  Egyptians believed that the heart was the center of morality and life.  Ancient Greeks began to associate the heart with medical connections in approximately 400 BC, holding the heart to be the center of the soul and the source of heat within the body.

In cultures of ancient Mexico, it was believed that every human contained different spirit forces within them, and while some forces leave the body in the dream state, the heart’s spiritual force had to remain in the body at all times or the person would die. In Christian theology, the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, seen as emitting light and suffering, was a symbol of love.

May your heart be filled with love on this Valentine’s Day and wherever you go, may you go with all your heart! 

While a healthy diet and adequate rest are beneficial in building your immune system, a number of natural ingredients can help you heal a cold should you get one.  Here are a few tips:

♥ Get plenty of zinc in your diet (most often found in whole grains).
♥ Pack your meals with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (for example, citrus fruits and vegetables).
♥ Remember that caffeine is dehydrating, so if you are losing body fluids as a result of a cold, choose herbal, caffeine-free teas.
♥ Drink fresh fruit juices.  Grapefruit, orange, and lemon juices are antiseptic and cleansing.
♥ Eat soups, and drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.
♥ Inhaling the smell of eucalyptus can soothe your respiratory system.
♥ Adding garlic to your diet increases antibacterial action and builds your immune system to fight infection.
♥ Honey can relieve sore throats and coughs.
♥ Ginger made into tea is considered both an antiseptic and expectorant.
♥ Echinacea and olive leaf can strengthen the immune system and shorten the bout of flu or cold.

Remember if at all possible to reduce your stress and to get enough sleep since it boosts your immune systems and allows you time to heal.

Here’s to your excellent health!

The Four Agreements, a best-selling book by Don Miguel Ruiz, suggests that four simple principles exist that, when lived, can change your life.

Early on in life we develop concepts of what people and things are.  We learn and are taught to judge ourselves and others.  We are rewarded for following rules and often punished for going against rules.  Our belief system becomes a book of law, and an inner critic uses our book to evaluate and limit us.

Ruiz suggests that your word is the power you have to create, and your intention manifests through your word.  In order to manifest a fulfilling life, he offers us four agreements to follow:

1. Be impeccable with your word.  Mean what you say and say what you mean.

2. Don’t take anything personally.  Don’t assume that everything is about you.  All people live in their own dream in their own mind.  What they say is about them and not about you.  You are not the center of everyone’s universe, only your own.

3.  Don’t make assumptions.  Sadness and drama are created when we make assumptions.  We may think that if people love us they should know what we want or how we feel. Tell people what you need and ask them how they feel.

4.  Always do your best.  Keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next.  Everything is alive and changing all the time, so regardless of your circumstances, simply do your best at that moment.

Always be the best version of you today!

O Great and Holy Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me.

I need your strength and your wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hand respect the things that you have made, and my ear sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things that you have taught my people.  Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes toward me.

Let me learn the lessons hidden under every leaf and rock.

Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others.

Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.

I seek strength not to be greater than my brothers and sisters, but to fight my greatest enemy–Myself.

Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and stright eyes, so that when life fades as the fading sunset, my spirit will come to you without shame.

All my relations.

Source:  A Sioux Prayer

As we are in the year 2012, there is so much in the popular media about what may occur at the end of this year.  A few prophecies are:

• The Mayan belief that the calendar end date is in December 2012;
• A South African shaman who reports that a star with a large tail will soon return, indicating that thousands of years ago it turned the Earth upside down;
• Peruvian elders who say that we are in the “age of meeting ourselves again” and that all worlds will merge into one with the highest level of consciousness possible;
• A Pueblo Indian from New Mexico who states that the Purification process began in June 1998 and continues until December 22, 2012, in which it results in the era of Emergence–a rebirth of the Earth.

More than what may happen in 2012, let this be your year to get “right with the world.”  How can you shift into a heart-centered consciousness?

• Practice a heightened appreciation for life.
• Focus on the present moment.
• Allow yourself to feel worthy.
• Increase your concern for others and have less concern for material things, outer success, and self-image.
• Become less dogmatic with your judgment and more spiritual in your application to life.
• Be kind to yourself and others.
• Above all, be kind to our world.

What regrets would you have if the world were to end tomorrow?  Get right with the world today.  The time is now.

When you are setting your goals for 2012, it is helpful to ask yourself questions:

• What would I really want from life if I were absolutely certain I could get it?
• What would I really want to accomplish in 2012 if I were absolutely, positively certain I would do it?

The most important resolution is to change any attitude that could be undermining your achieving your desired goal.  Know that you have to change your mind before your behavior and life will change.

You can start with small ideas and small steps and work toward achieving the larger experience.  Imagine where you would be this year if you had made one small change in your life each week last year.  Better yet, imagine where you will be next year if you start the process now.

As you set your goals, make your resolutions manageable, specific, and measurable. Then stay motivated.

Manageable:  Cut your goals into small steps.  Focus on the desired outcome and work your way backward.  Get out a pen and paper and write down the steps you’ll take and make a plan.

Specific:  Define your steps and exactly what you will do today to take the first step toward your goal.  How will you keep track of your success? Be specific.

Measurable:  Your plan must be measurable.  What are you going to do each day to reach your goal?  How often will you exercise, when, and where? How will you get the support you need?

Motivated:  Connect with an accountability partner and check in periodically on designated days to report how you are doing. You have to cheer yourself on and celebrate even small successes.

Finally, you may want to create a “theme” for this year to remind yourself of your positive goals.  What is one feeling, idea, or state of being that resonates with you the most for this upcoming year? Is it action, balance, change, strength, love, freedom?  Place your word where you will remember your theme–on your car dash, medicine cabinet, water bottle.

Make this year your best year ever!

Dear Hearts:

I am thinking of all of you on this December 31 and reflecting on the past year.  I have sincere gratitude for all the spiritual work you’ve done and continue to do.  Thank you so much for allowing me to help you in any way that I have.  I feel humbled by your trust.

At the beginning of the New Year, I often spend an hour or so doing an exercise alone that allows me to reflect with hope as well as provide insight for the coming year.  I want to share with you what I do and a method I have used in case this would interest you. I have done this for many years.   If you read this after the start of the year, no problem, since this can be done any time of year.

You can choose a divination tool (deck of divination or spiritual cards, etc.) or more than one tool.

Divination Session

(1)     First, I light a candle, use incense, and/or listen to soft music and spend about 10 minutes quietly reflecting on the previous year.  I ask that my actions from that year be blessed and purified to seed new actions in the coming year.

(2)     Next, I focus on the coming year.  Using a chart or written sheet with questions and spaces for answers (people have created neat ways to record), I ask the following questions and draw at least one card per question to see what the “energy” of that question might bring.  I then record my answers.  I am able throughout the new year to reflect on the questions and cards drawn that I drew in this exercise.  Here are the questions I ask and maybe some of these may inspire you:

• What overall energy best describes the teachings for me in 2011?

• What overall energy will best help me in the New Year 2012?

• If (when) faced with challenges for growth in 2012, what is the best energy for me to remember?

• To balance my daily living for 2012, what do I need to remember (regarding doing/being)?

• In order to manifest my heart’s desires for 2012, what energy would be helpful?

• For each month (I list them out), what will give me insight into the energy of that month?

• What energy best reflects the “mental” picture for 2012?

• What energy best reflects the “emotional” picture for 2012?

• What energy best reflects the “physical” picture for 2012?

• What energy best reflects the “spiritual” picture for 2012?

I post this sheet with the completed questions and comments on a bulletin board or back of a door simply to glance at it periodically throughout the year for reflection.  (By the way, if you are in a relationship, you can also choose individual as well as joint cards for certain questions.)

Many blessings to you in 2012!  –Cynthia

We are in the season in which miracles are celebrated.  Whether it is the long-awaited birth of the Savior Jesus in Christianity or the famous “oil story” of Hanukkah in which oil to light the sanctuary for one day, miraculously, lasted for eight days, the season abounds with magic and possibility.  An old Jewish proverb states:  “He who does not believe in miracles is not a realist.”

Instead of holding our breath for the next cosmic miracle, we can realize that our lives abound with miracles if we just look.

On any given day, you wake up and are still breathing, a baby is born,  a flower blooms through the snow, you bring a tear of joy to someone’s eye whom you’ve helped, you make a deep connection with your dearest friend.  The secret is to find the miracle in the everyday.

When you begin to live your life with this awareness of the divine in the ordinary, it is from this viewpoint that your heart lightens and you are filled with gratitude.  This is the real meaning of the season.

Families gather over the holidays, and even the most “healthy” families can have difficulty trying to balance getting along with each other and not feeling stressed by expectations.

A few suggestions may go a long way in helping you create a happy holiday:

1. Don’t strive to be perfect or have a “perfect” holiday.  While you can plan and prepare that special dinner and event, allow things to flow and don’t worry so much about controlling outcomes.  Not everyone is going to live up to your expectations (probably not even yourself), so let go of those expectations for perfection.  Remember “all is well” in the greater scheme of life.
2. Reach out to others. If you feel lonely or isolated, seek out people and events that can support you.  Or volunteer to help someone else or an organization.  This can be a good way to lift your own spirit while you are helpful to another.
3. Practice healthy boundaries. Be sure you are saying “yes” to what you really want to do.  Many requests can come during a holiday, so be selective and don’t overload yourself and your schedule.  Commit to what you know makes sense and keep those commitments.
4. Manage your time. Keep a notepad in a designated place to schedule errands, items needed, etc.  This will be the “go to place” for new thoughts and ideas that come up.
5. Don’t abandon healthy habits. Be sure you are taking good care of yourself, whether it’s continuing to exercise, meditate for 10 minutes a day, or whatever helps you stay grounded.  Even though many more delectable delights are available, you can still eat in moderation or make a different choice one day over another.  Let go of guilt and know that you may eat a little more home-made sweets if that is your tradition.  You will get back on track through intention.
6. Allow yourself to trust your feelings.  If something has occurred (loss of a loved one, divorce, illness) that has made you sad, it is normal to feel and to express your feelings. You can’t make yourself happy just because it’s the”season to be jolly.”
7. Be love.  I like to think of the holidays as a special time to be kind and loving to all people you meet on your path, whether it’s the person at the grocery store in front of you in the long line, or the one who takes the last item you really wanted in the bin at the department store.  Know that “things” are just things and that how you are being is what counts in the greater scheme of life.

Happy Holidays!