Can we talk for a minute?  I feel like we haven't been communicating very well lately.  It seems like we aren't really hearing one another, like we aren't listening to each other anymore.    

​     Can you feel that?  Is there anyone in your life that you could have that conversation with?  It seems as if communication should be so much easier these days with all of the technology we have at our fingertips, but it seems to only be making things worse.  We've stopped listening, really listening to one another.  We're so quick to have a reply at the ready instead of just sitting back and...listening.  Giving full attention to the person in front of us and acknowledging their words.  I stepped away from Facebook several months back, in fact it was around election time.  Every day when I would get on to see what my friends and family were up to, I was seeing awful words being slung at people-left and right.  Friends were unfriending one another over different political views and reasoning.  It was vicious and repulsive at times.  People weren't even stopping to listen to what others had to say because they were 'listening' with their eyes and fingers.  Click, click, click went their keypads with their instant replies as they skimmed through a comment they didn't like or that didn't resonate with them. 

     How much could have been solved if, instead of that quick reply, they stopped to acknowledge the fact that their friend had different views because they had a different life experience, with different emotions, feelings, knowledge and thoughts about a specific event?  Maybe just by acknowledging that, a confrontation could have been prevented.  A nugget of wisdom could have grown into a golden opportunity to understand someone a little better and opened up their world view a little more.

​     Let me just say this-you can't have a good conversation if the only words that you are hearing are your own.  

​     We can be so quick to confront anyone who doesn't hold the same beliefs, feelings, and agenda that we do.  How is that going to solve anything?  It's having all of those different beliefs, feelings and agendas that lead to the ability to fix situations, to expand insight and gain forward progress.  Ingenuity, invention, creativity, problem-solving-they all didn't come out of everyone thinking the same thing.

​      Consider this-what if those beliefs that you are holding so tightly to, aren't even your own?  We often absorb our beliefs from those around us, or from what matter we are subjecting our senses to on a regular basis.  What do you need to release to become a better listener?  Are you staying true to yourself in your beliefs, or are you placating someone or something else?  

​     Politics are tricky.  It's not something that I like to talk about or even, honestly, learn too much about.  I'm thankful that there are those who have deep insight in that arena.  I can learn from them-whether I hold the same beliefs as them or not.  These days, the political arena is extremely dicey-there are a lot of decisions being made that affect mass numbers of people.  These people could very well be your next door neighbors.  I urge you to listen to them, I mean truly listen to them-ears, mind, heart.  Listen to their stories and their struggles.  Maybe some nugget of wisdom that you can offer them, if you really listen, can help turn that struggle into a challenge that they can overcome.

​     We're all in this together.  We all live on the same planet and breathe the same air.  We all have to choose how we are going to live with one another and choosing to beat one another down for opinions and beliefs will not solve any of the issues that are at hand in this world today.  Open up your ears, your hearts and your minds...and listen.  There's so much more to words than just what is being said.  Words carry the emotions, thoughts, feelings, vibrations and life experience of the person that is saying them.  Take it all in, patiently and respectfully listen to all of it.  I guarantee you'll learn something new about someone that you thought you knew very well.  It's all in the listening.

Love and Light~
Mandi

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     This year has been...interesting.  It has been a lesson in what it means to 'heal.'  What is the actual meaning of 'healing?'  It is so important to understand that it is a process and not an overnight victory for most.  Hopefully, everyone that reads this can relate in some way and can find comfort in knowing that we are all on a journey of healing together-we are in this as a collective, not alone, not by ourselves.  If you need help on your journey, reach out.  You are never alone.  

     The healing journey is not always easy, it's not always pretty and full of beautiful revelations and epiphanies.  Sometimes, it hurts.  Sometimes it takes going through even harder stuff to get to the sunshine.  We are always looking for that 'easy' way of getting through, the quickest means to an end that can bring relief.  When you've been through pain already, why do we have to go through more to heal?  Consider it like the grand finale, the body, mind and even the spirit sometimes need to go through one last hurrah before letting go of whatever baggage has been hanging around.  An epiphany is just a discovery, it's not always the answer.  It's a guide post on your journey.  Not every discovery will lead to an answer-but in every discovery there are nuggets of information that are needed to get to the root of the issue.  

     When we talk about 'healing' we are not just talking about the physical, we are talking about the physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and energetic.  Healing can happen in any one of those capacities.  It may take a combination of lots of different types of work to make it happen, but it can happen.  It also takes a lot of commitment from the self, and this is where we see that people don't always want to do what is necessary.  Healing takes opening up and digging down deep, getting to the nitty-gritty underneath and cleaning it out.  Sometimes that can be very intimidating.  That's completely understandable!  That's why it's good to have someone there with you along the way to help guide you and support you.  

     Your journey starts with trust.  You have to trust your own body to heal.  It doesn't matter what the issue is that you are trying to heal, but if you don't have trust or faith in your body to heal, that journey is going to be really long.  A daily meditation, prayer or mantra practice of sending love and trust to your body is a good place to start.  A combination of the three is even better!  A simple mantra of "I trust my body to heal" is a very powerful one to say, out loud while sending love to the part of your body that needs healing. 

​     As you begin your journey, you'll find that not every part of it is easy or meant to be easy.  You can consider it a 'struggle' and stay in the mindset of constant battle with yourself.  Or, you can call it a challenge and discover ways to overcome those challenges and make it a little further down the path of your journey.  It's okay to spend some time taking care of you-you may want to simply pull the covers over your head and sleep, or lie in bed and watch Netflix all day.  There's nothing wrong with that!  It only becomes a problem when this happens day-after-day-after-day.  The one thing that helps anyone out of the deep despair of hurt is making progress in something.  It doesn't have to be something monumental, just making some progress can feel like moving mountains to the spirit. 

     A relationship with someone or something bigger than you can help as well.  Only you know what that belief or faith is, but it helps tremendously.  My own belief is in God and I know that he works to help heal me all of the time-it just depends on whether I let that healing come through or whether I am blocking it.  When things like anger, guilt, sadness, depression, frustration, doubt and shame overwhelm the system, healing becomes difficult.  All of those emotions belong in the past-these are ones that we have to release in order for true healing to happen.  Sometimes getting to the source of those emotions is necessary to allow the body to begin that healing journey.

​     We are just beginning the month of September and this is a month that is full of productive energy.  Take advantage of it and use that energy to start your journey.  Begin a healthy eating regimen, start an exercise program that is in tune with what your body needs-make time to meditate, work on that creative project that you've been putting off.  All of these things create the energy of progress and help heal.  Be gentle with yourself.  I will be on this journey with you-I am currently working on my own healing journey.  I've been battling with a recurrence of debilitating migraines and back issues.  Whatever your healing journey is, there is support for you.  It will require some work, some prayer, meditation, patience, deep breaths and lots of care and love for yourself-you will get there.

​     If you need help or guidance with getting rid of the baggage that might be holding you back from your journey, check out my SERVICES page and contact me if you have any questions!  I am available for sessions no matter where you live-distance energy works just the same as if you were sitting in the same room as me.     

​Love and Light~
Mandi

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