Feeling Peace

 
Our often unpredictable and mysterious subconscious drives 96% of our behavior.  It is birthed from a myriad of experiences many of which have been troubling and painful and remain unreleased and unresolved.

And so we carry this enormous residue with us and, whenever it is triggered by an uncomfortable circumstance, our emotions are flooded with a download of the unhealed hurt we have been harboring in our bodies.
 
And it's WHAT we do with that download that is so very important.

IF we choose to do nothing with the download but endure the obstruction, we will catapult into the leaden state of depression...perhaps into anxiety and fear and, for sure,  into the roadblock of numb and icebound inaction.

Bur what IS the antidote to being stuck in what feels like an overwhelming and sometimes paralyzing situation?


The antidote to this difficult situation is to consciously CHOOSE to go to a different place.

Consider what emotion you would LIKE to feel...and I mean feel all-of-the-time.  What emotion would you choose to replace the fear or frustration or anxiety?

Let's say, for example, it's PEACE.  You would like to feel PEACE 
ALL OF THE TIME.   



So take a moment and consider what PEACE would look like to you.
 
Perhaps PEACE to you means a sojourn in a lovely meadow where you can inhale the fresh, dew-laden grass and hear God's woodland creatures in the forest nearby.  Squirrels scampering everywhere, playing hide and seek among the leafy oaks.  Gentle birds chirping in the branches overhead as they track the squirrels' frolicking about.  Bouquets of lilacs blossoming brilliantly in great profusion from several nearby bushes, delicately scenting the air with their dulcet  fragrance.  
 
You are observing and listening to this pastoral scene from a grassy knoll with the sun shining boldly overhead while you sip a mimosa of pristine water and floating slices of succulent strawberries.  
 

That's my take today...in this moment...of what peace would viscerally look like in my imagination.  But what really counts is what would it look like in yours. 

The place that you paint as peaceful...the description of THAT beautiful scene is what YOU need to bring fully into your consciousness so you can evoke it whenever the need arises.


And when would that moment be?  It would be whenever an upsetting download appears from your subconscious. 

But first, BEFORE you replace the default that is playing with a NEW setting...there is something that is very important to do.  And that is to ACKNOWLEDGE the download (upsetting reaction) and THANK IT for showing up because that download represents your subconscious protecting you from fully feeling a flash of pain because you did not have the tools you needed to deal with the hurt at that time.
 
This thoughtful and conscious rewiring of your subconscious that you are about to undertake represents your readiness to release the issues you have been holding.

Now you have developed a SOUL VIEW of this truly loving process and you recognize the beauty of the protection you received during a time of great difficulty and are ready to input your new default setting of choice.   


Your new "setting" in this scenario is a visualization of the concept of Peace.

You have greeted the subconscious "visitor" and thanked it for the protection it has provided and now you choose to place yourself right in the middle of your image of PEACE and you visit the beautiful place in your imagination that represents PEACE to you.



In so doing you are honoring your commitment to BE  PEACE at ALL TIMES.  This means you are choosing PEACE no matter what is going on.   Regardless of what circumstances are occurring in your life and regardless of what you are feeling, you honor your commitment to choose PEACE.



When you freely and fully make a commitment to BE PEACE and to call up in your imagination whatever scene or choice of action would bring you the feeling of PEACE, you have set a course for yourself to flip the 96% of your subconscious out of anxiety and suffering  into the Land of Peace (or whatever beautiful place you choose for yourself).


And  when you are at peace and in peace,  your body and emotions work in perfect harmony and serve you well and bring you joy.
 
YOU are now THE SOURCE...the conscious chooser of your thoughts, feelings and actions...and you have empowered yourself with the ability to live freely and fully the  life you have chosen for yourself.


                                                                               Marie Helena


image from nemcoskyart.blogspot.com

The Ides of March

Let go of the need to defend your position.

       don Miguel Ruiz



It happens so easily to all of us.  We suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a highly spirited discussion and discover that we are face to face with an opposing or alternate perspective and so we automatically step into the role of “defender” of our position, digging in our heels...gently at first and then with increased vigor...as we set out to convince others of our point of view.  

What is it that encourages and even entices us to go for the “win”?  What is it that is driving this behavior that is so prevalent...and even predictable in the human psyche?

And, while we ponder that, imagine how disarming it would be to encounter an individual who has no need to convince everyone of the validity of his position, no need to be recognized by everyone as holding the "right" answer.


I had my own personal encounter with a situation like this a few years ago during a holiday gathering at our home.  It was a very subtle experience but later I strongly felt the significance of the moment.

Several people had been invited over for the holidays and we were chatting happily and enjoying the interchange.  I am not sure how we landed on this topic, but someone introduced the subject of 
The Ides of March.

At that point, I enthusiastically interjected myself into the conversation, remarking that I happened to know that The Ides of March fell on March 12th and that I knew this because The Ides of March was the birthday of a good friend of mine with whom I had worked.  One of our guests commented that The Ides of March was actually on March 15th.   At this observation, I strongly asserted that I was certain it was the 12th and that I had a memory of holding a very specific intention to recall that particular date.  After my interjection our guest declined to assert his belief that March 15 was the date in question and the group moved on past the consideration of the event’s date to its actual meaning.

By the way, Wikipedia describes The Ides of March as "a day in the calendar notable for the Romans as a deadline for settling debts."


This little incident was long forgotten by me until  a few months later on March 15 when I happened to hear a commentator announce that it was The Ides of March.

Oooooops!  I thought and looked online to verify this unexpected piece of information.  As I absorbed the correction, two thoughts circled in my brain.  The first was:  How did I ever confuse this date and become so convinced that I had it right?  The second was:  What a considerate
guest we had hosted at our home that evening during the holidays.  The visitor had obviously known his information was right and yet he chose not to make a point of debating this with me in front of the others.

This gesture of his felt important to me.  I saw this behavior as evidence of his generosity and thoughtfulness and I made a point of telling him so the next time we spoke.


How refreshing it had been to engage with someone who was not harboring a strong competitive need to prove his point.  And, on the fifteenth of March, the point was made for itself quietly and with no aggressive fanfare.


This choice of action of our guest that night most certainly revealed his honoring and understanding of human emotions.  Giving me the opportunity to learn for myself what I did not know was actually very profound.  He clearly saw that the date itself was not the primary issue and neither was emerging as the person who had all of the answers.  

He had no need to engage in a battle of rightness; he just wanted the opportunity to plant the seed of what he knew to be true.

This individual was obviously able to enter into a moment and quietly leave his gentle signature on it, inviting others to engage with the information in the perfect moment for them.  No need to defend...just a subtle awareness and affirmation of how we learn best when we are in the most relaxed and curious frame of mind.

What a splendid idea!  No “debt settling” of The Ides of March...rather just an eloquent exploration.


                                                                                                 Marie Helena

Drifting

Now that the beautiful blush of spring is finding its way onto the universal earth campus, there will be a myriad of opportunities to indulge our awakening senses. 

Gazing at the beautiful blossoms gently emerging on the branches of welcoming trees.  Spying the sprightly, chattering birds returning to their home bases.  And lazily watching the cottony clouds roll by. Rolling in a soft, billowy fashion… Drifting… gently drifting...quietly finding their way.


Just contemplating the drifting clouds feels like a meditation to me.  And I wonder if it has to do with the very concept of drifting.  That word feels like ease to me.  Sprezzatura... the Italians might call it...effortless elegance.


Does the effortless elegance I perceive here manifest itself to me because the clouds have aligned with their nature and are simply...and profoundly... being who they are? 


What if we, like the clouds, were to align with OUR nature:  Divine beings playing on our verdant, lush planet of infinite possibility?


If we could recognize our magical playground, perhaps we would find it easier to embrace our self-designed challenges and gently direct ourselves into a reframing of what feels like difficult circumstances from our earth school view. 
,
Perhaps then we could move on to envision and embrace the gentle changes, the shifts in behavior, which could incrementally bring us into alignment with our Higher Selves.  In the most loving, harmonious way. DRIFTING  back into the beautiful beings we truly are.

                                                                                   Marie Helena

image from pinterest

Divine Feminine Energy

As we celebrate the beautiful occasion of  Mother's Day, my thoughts are drawn to the power and beauty and significance of Love as it is expressed in Divine feminine energy.  This beautiful Grace which streams so elegantly from the hearts of women.  Such an exquisite blessing.  It seems to be their birthright . . . their gift to the world.

Somehow, women intuitively know that when someone is experiencing pain, in that moment there is nothing more powerful, more healing than for that person to feel understood.  To have someone mirror back to them an understanding of the intensity of their pain or distress and how it is affecting them.

This essential longing to be understood is a vital part of the human condition.  Without this loving kindness it is difficult for an individual to move forward into an acknowledgment of what is transpiring.  And, without that acknowledgment, that acceptance, it is impossible to move through the experience to the other side. . . . to the peace that comes through Surrender.

The feminine heart holds the key to the unfolding of this process.  We are all so in need of this exquisite form of compassion.  When we receive it, we find the energy to lead ourselves through the dark night of the soul.  This precious feminine offering is the antidote to loneliness, to abandonment.  It promotes caring, a sense of safety, connection.

Because our world is changing and evolving it is wonderful to note that feminine energy is now being expressed by males as well. And, in return, masculine energy is leading by example the demonstration of the importance and value of steadfastness and devotion.

How wonderful that we an all minister to each other, sharing the precious and pleasing endowments of our earthly lives!


                                                                      Marie Helena

                                                             
image on Pinterest
Joyce Hicks watercolor

A Plum in the Pudding

 
Souls are tempered in the depth of experience, growing in inner strength and unyielding courage.

        Chinese saying




Codependency is the inability to maintain one's boundaries, choosing instead to take on and feel responsible for the problems and concerns of others. 

And it is a wild ride. 
 
Codependency is annoying,  irritating, frustrating...a maelstrom of upsetting emotions.  It is completely exhausting being affected by things that have nothing to do with you.  But, for the codependent, that's how things go down.  


But this "pudding" of ever emerging irritation has a plum in it (and the plum blossom is a symbol of STRENGTH). 

The irritation experienced by the codependent person is so blatant it's difficult to ignore.  No easy sweeping it under the rug.  It's so big, so there, so very THERE.

Depending on others for our well-being IS a tumultuous undertaking in which we relinquish our power to create and control our lives.  And it's not an easy position to abandon, having been led to it by unhealed pain resting so heavily in our heart.


The fact is it is nearly impossible for the codependent who has been TRIGGERED to ignore the emotional chaos and clamor he is experiencing.  And therein lies the plum in this pudding. 


When the pain of codependency becomes so very intense, there is an overwhelming urge to find a solution to the suffering. And the solution begins with acknowledging that the pain is there.

Recognizing, acknowledging and owning our pain is the beginning of a direct path to healing and resolution as there is something very POWERFUL about finally naming our angst.

It occurs to me that this very naming…this "owning" of our discordant emotions...may be the externalizing of a subconscious impulse.  Perhaps it is the impulse…the irresistible impulse… of a highly sensitive person who senses that what is transpiring between himself and another is off kilter on one side or the other or on both sides of the equation.

And, on some level, this highly sensitive person wants to put things right but is not sure how to go about this and, therefore, what emerges, instead, is unease..,anxiety...irritation... or fear. 


Our emotions are the barometer which gives us the reading on our inner weather, indicating when we are off course.  Esther Hicks (channeling Abraham) tells us that when we are upset or distraught or are experiencing anything that feels negative, it is because our actions are not in harmony with Who We Truly Are.  We are not in resonance with our beautiful Source energy.  And it doesn't feel good.


The question is:  What do we do about this upsetting feeling?  Where do we go next to put this anxiety to rest?


It is usually the "codependent" person who is experiencing the most upset in a situation such as this.  That is not to say that the other person is not distraught.  However, his level of anxiety may be less and he may have pushed that anxiety below the surface and is not actively addressing the issue. 
 

Because the highly sensitive codependent person cannot easily ignore his emotional and physical symptoms, this is a perfect time for him to find some relief by taking the lead in solving the problem and, at the same time, introducing an element of healing into the encounter.


In a time of conflict or unease, it is important for both individuals to honor themselves by relating to the other what it is that would be helpful and supportive to them in this circumstance.  The codependent person can begin this process and encourage the other person to join him.  When both individuals do this in a gentle manner without any expectation or attachment to how the other will respond, a beautiful ease is infused into the moment.  Each person assesses his own energy level, communicates that to the other and suggests what he is able and willing to do to help both individuals to get their needs met and find a resolution to the problem.
 

The decision to be present in THIS moment rather than stuck in old patterns of reaction coming from unhealed hurt can propel the codependent person into a new way of response, diffusing old subconscious vestiges of pain that have chosen to show themselves and which now see there is no need for them to be replayed. 

What a BLESSING when the codependent individual can courageously recognize and embrace his discord and use that energy to lead himself and another to a loving and peaceful resolution to a problem which has caused him so much concern.


The sensitivity of the "codependent" person can be a wonderful blessing not only to himself but to everyone he encounters, inspiring creative and loving responses to moments of chaos and unrest, 


And I wonder...
Is it the nature of the Divine Universe to tuck the mysteriously important plums into all of our puddings?


                                                                 Marie Helena

 

image from etsy.com