As living beings, we all have an innate desire to move.  In order to stay awake or conscious, something in our bodies or minds has to be moving at any given point in time.  For most of us, our bodies just cannot stay still for long.  If we are limited in action - for example, if we’re seated in a car - we may activate our mouths and start yakking or activate our eyes and start looking around.  Even when we sleep, our brains are still working on healing and rejuvenating us.

Did you ever notice that when we stop some actions abruptly, our bodies and minds immediately start to find the next best thing to do?  Some people develop habits such as nail-biting, stub-plucking or leg-shaking.  We are really creative beings!  I will give you another example.  A few years ago, my daughters were seated in the back seat of the car and they started bickering.  Nothing would stop them, as both wanted to win the fight.  So I told the girls - whoever keeps quiet for five minutes, wins!  Immediately, there was silence.  As I watched from the rear view mirror of the car, they started getting restless before the first minute was up (try it for yourself, five minutes really isn’t that short when you are dying to talk!).

The remaining four minutes was really fun to watch.  They started to discover that they could communicate with their eyes.  Then they started using hand signals.  When things got boring, they started hand-dancing to the music on the radio!  At the end of five minutes, not only were they high in creativity, they also discovered that whatever they had been bickering about, didn’t quite matter!  They got distracted from the negative energy of bickering by shifting their attention somewhere else!  The world inside our car was peaceful and fun again.

We are energetic beings seeking balance, so when we bring down our physical actions, we bring up the mental load - and vice versa.  I know a lot of high-level business executives who do heavy physical workouts to destress … when the body is working, it off-loads the mind somewhat.  It’s difficult to exercise hard and think hard at the same time!  I am a person who is always in motion.  If I’m not doing something physically, then my mind is the one that gets the load.  If my mind decides it wants a rest, then my body will ache for activity.  When I sleep, my body goes into healing mode - that’s energy in motion!

Meditation is one good method that shifts your energy focus to your mind.  While you sit still and keep your eyes closed and your breaths shallow, your mind is the only thing that’s “moving”.  The interesting thing about this “moving” of the mind is that we try to keep it still by disciplining it.  We use mind energy to center and quieten it, so some part of the mind is constantly busy working on the stillness!

Personally I have reaped some benefits from still meditation methods.  I think it’s lovely, but I have come to realize that I get pretty good results from active meditation.  I feel good when I go for early morning walks, or when driving.  My body is kept busy, so that takes away the excess energies from my mind, and it lets down its “guard” and starts to rest.  When my mind is at rest mode, that’s when my intuition comes, or when my Guides decide to communicate with me.  These are no longer my egoistic or crazy thoughts injected by my mind.  They are thoughts that are finally allowed to come through loud and clear from my sixth sense - while I’m moving.

So if you’ve attempted still meditation and haven’t had much luck so far, try getting active and let your mind relax.  You may be surprised at the insights you get!

Blessings,
Irene

This is easy.  There’s not a single person I know who hasn’t been able to successfully block Divine guidance from their lives.  Hey, I’m one of them!  Some are so successful in doing this … we should be creating medals for them!

I thought it’ll be easier for me to start this post discussing about some of the things we do that block us from receiving Divine guidance.  Sometimes, we all need to ponder over our own weaknesses first before finding our own unique ways to work around them.  So here we go!

1. Let the ego rule!  Yeah, that’s a good one that definitely works.  Live a fear-based life.  Take pride that you know what’s best for others.  Get busy trying to look good in front of your friends.  Plot a revenge against that silly guy who stole your limelight in front of the boss.
2. Try too hard - yup, if whatever you’re doing to connect to Divine guidance isn’t working, try till you combust!  Focus till you get cross-eyed.  Meditate till you hallucinate.  At the rate you’re trying, it’s bound to hit you at some point, right?
3. Impatience.  Hellooo, it’s been a week so where’s my knight in shining armour?  I tried what you suggested for two days and I’m not seeing anything, I’m going to give up and move on to the next thing.  Give me that guidance NOW or else!

So what’s wrong with ego?  All it’s trying to do is manage your life well, keep you safe, fit you in nicely with society.  There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s doing its job!  But when you allow ego to rule your life, that’s a different story.  In its zest to “protect” you and make you look good, it narrows your mind sometimes.  It prevents you from opening up, from listening, from receiving guidance that’s aligned to your highest good.  That silly guy you just met at the boardroom could become your future boss and your stepping stone to success, but you failed to see that.  Your ego decided you had to teach him a lesson for stealing your limelight, because you felt insecure in front of your current boss.  Ego can sometimes turn an opportunity into a trap.  It’s your choice how open you want to be.

So what’s wrong with trying too hard?  People often mistake hard work with trying too hard - there’s a huge difference there.  When you go way beyond your limits on something, your body and mind starts to wear out and your energies shift into repair mode.  The more you wear yourself out, the more you’ll find your senses shutting down.  You become unproductive, but being the go-getter that you are, you won’t acknowledge that.  It starts to feel like a constant uphill climb that never ends.  You give 120%, only to find you’ll reap only 80% at best.  I play golf and sometimes it’s interesting to just watch golfers practicing at the driving range.  You see seasoned players swing with grace, driving the ball to the other end of the fence with hardly any effort at all.  Then you see amateurs who hit hundreds of balls, swinging their clubs with all their might, sweating and cursing profusely, but the balls will barely get past the first flag.  So what’s the secret?  Experience, hard work and knowing that there’s a momentum to leverage on.  Relax and go with the flow of Divine guidance, and you may realize that it’s not that hard to get there after all.

And what about impatience?  Don’t we all get involved in dire situations that need urgent help sometimes?  Sure we do.  We can choose to get a mediocre quick fix, or we can choose to wait a little longer for something that could be much better.  Waiting can be a test of faith, and it’s not fun.  When faith starts to run low, we get into a panicky mode.  We start cursing and complaining about the wait.  Some will start running around, picking up the next thing they see … doing something - anything - is better than waiting.  But while we’re busy keeping ourselves distracted, sometimes we miss out on the signs.  It’s like driving too fast and zooming right past the corner that leads to the nice little shop you’ve been looking for.  By the time you realized you should have gone slower, you now need to take a big detour and drive several blocks before you can come back to the same spot.  The irony of it all is we sometimes take even longer to get there when we get impatient.

Divine guidance is all around us, and is always with us.  Our Spirit Guides are always talking to us and sending us little signs.  Are you doing anything to block that guidance?

Blessings,
Irene

A dear friend of mine recently bought a singing bowl and was very pleased with the purchase.  I’ve always liked singing bowls but just never got one of my own … it was one of those things that’s on my to-buy list indefinitely.  My friend’s excitement rubbed off on me eventually.  Yup, I finally got myself a nice small singing bowl.  Its crisp, harmonious tone resonated so well with me.  It’s my new toy and I love it!

I showed my singing bowl to some of my family members and asked if they’d like to play it.  They all found it fascinating and took turns swirling the mallet around the outer rim of the bowl, trying to figure out how to make it “sing”.  It was interesting to see each person’s reaction to this brand new experience.  My sister got it right the first time … the bowl sang beautifully and she chose to strike it slow but loud - like church bells.  My brother-in-law had fun with the bowl.  It didn’t sing for him immediately, but he was patient and kept trying.  While waiting for a reaction, he decided to hum a similar tune, perhaps hoping that would entice the bowl to sing!  My mother liked to swirl the mallet real fast.  The bowl didn’t sing for her (well, eventually it did, a little) and she got discouraged.  She felt perhaps her energies were not “clear” enough for her to play with the bowl right now, but she had a little fun anyway.

My family’s reactions to the singing bowl are varied and individual.  Just like how each person around us would react to spirituality.  Some will resonate with it and embrace it as it is.  Some will be curious and will try various ways of figuring it out.  Some will feel they’re not quite ready for it yet, but will give it a poke to see if they get a reaction.  Some will fear it and ask if it’ll explode in their face.  And of course there’ll be some who will look at it and say “what’s the big deal about it?”.

There is no right or wrong reaction.  The choice in how you want to experience your life is yours.  It all boils down to good ol’ free will.  We can’t truly determine what choices will make others happy or sad, good or bad.  We can only seek to open our minds and learn from others, and hopefully use our accumulated wisdom to make the right choices for ourselves.

For now I will just enjoy my new toy and “sing” with all those who care to do so with me.

Blessings,
Irene

I sat down one day, in a meditative mood, and asked my Guides - what is compassion?  I waited for the meaning to pop into my head, but I didn’t get any dictionary definitions, nor any religious slogans.  Instead a scene came to my mind’s eye … a memory that was tucked away, but not forgotten.

I saw my elder daughter, Beverly, as a three-year-old chubby little girl, many years ago.  Beverly was extremely shy, but she was absolutely adorable (and still is!).  Strangers would come and want to squeeze her, and the poor girl would squeal and bawl her eyes out.  LIke most children, Beverly loved the playground, and in this scene, we were in a shopping mall and she was drawn to a vibrant Little Tikes play corner.  There were kids running everywhere, and I saw her eyes gleam with excitement.

As I sat and watched her in action, something else caught her gleaming eyes.  There was another child in a corner, alone.  He was much smaller than her and it was clear that he was eager to join in the fun, but was afraid of a mini stampede.  Beverly stood there, observing him for a few seconds, then slowly walked towards him.  She sat with him in the corner, said nothing, then offered her little hand.  The boy looked at her, took her hand, and off they toddled to the middle of the playground.  I watched in wonder for the next 15 minutes or so, how Beverly took the little boy on a mini tour.  She showed him the little slide, urged him to try it, and when he stumbled, she pulled him up.  When bigger kids ran past them, Beverly would use her stout little body to shield the fragile boy.  She continued to be his little guardian, until the boy’s father came to take him home.  There was a tinge of sadness as the two little ones waved a silent goodbye and went separate ways.

When the boy was gone, I asked Beverly if she’d like to spend more time at the playground, now that she’s free to do whatever she wants.  She shook her head, took my hand and got ready to go home.  As we walked away from the play corner, my little girl was smiling to herself.  She was beaming with satisfaction and joy!  It was like she had accomplished a mission bigger than life.  I looked at her and my heart was filled with pride and love.

I couldn’t have taught a three-year-old all that, could I?  Where did that mega shyness go?  Wasn’t she afraid of the mini stampede too?  Even if I could teach a young child compassion, it would have been just a concept.  When compassion comes in the form of action, it’s no longer a concept in the mind - it’s love from the heart.  Compassion is all about actions from the heart.  Children can indeed teach us great things, with very little words.

When I did a Soul Profile reading for Beverly, was I surprised to find that one of her Soul’s most defining characteristic is compassion?  Most definitely not.  I have beautiful daughters, each with their own special gifts to bring to the world.  They still teach me a thing or two every now and then.  I am shamelessly proud of them.

Blessings,
Irene

Welcome to my blog!  As I’m writing this, I’m consciously aware of the energies that surround me.  These are energies of new beginnings - the start of my blog and site, the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and feeling the first waves of courage sweep through me as I finally decide to come out of the closet and embrace my spiritual path.  All good.

The Universe truly works in the most magical ways in bringing you the resources you need when you’re ready.  “Teachers” appear out of nowhere, and just this year alone I’ve received more meaningful guidance than I’ve ever had since I discovered Sesame Street decades ago … ok, I’m not THAT old, maybe just 3 decades ago.

All good teachings inspire thoughts, and so as I receive more guidance, I’m encouraged to think more and it’s become apparent that my brain isn’t such a great storage box after all!  I figured a blog would be a good tool to share my thoughts as well as help keep them organized!

I’m not exactly sure what my blog agenda is at this point in time … I’ll leave that to my ”team” (that’s what I call my Spirit Guides collectively) to figure out.  I do seek to connect with like-minded people and to exchange learnings and experiences as I go along.  This should be loads of fun!

Till the next post, do feel free to browse around my site - you may want to check out the free report on Connecting With Your Higher Self. 

Blessings,
Irene