4 Steps to Setting Intentions

     "Our intention creates our reality."  ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer, The Power of Intention 

     A client recently asked me "What does it mean to set an intention?"  Excellent question! You may have heard the phrase "set an intention" and wondered what it really means, why it is important, and how you do it!

Being Clear

     Moment to moment, it's important to be clear about what your intention is in your actions and words. Because if you aren't conscious about your intention, your intentions are usually unconscious and feeding your lower self.  This is also known as having a "hidden agenda."

   It is important to be conscious of your intention, because energy follows intention. The lower self state of being is associated with compromised health, ineffectiveness and disempowerment.   The higher self state of being is associated with enhanced health, effectiveness, and empowerment.  So if you want to live an effective, healthy life - shine a light on your intentions and agendas! And then set your intentions from the heart for the highest good.

Hidden Agendas

     The area where I most frequently see hidden agendas at work regard actions that are meant to be "helpful." Here are some phrases I've heard that contain a hidden agenda.  I've included the unspoken, hidden agenda in parenthesis:

• I'm only trying to help (myself)
• I'm doing this for your own (my) good
• This is the way I did it, so you should do it this way too (and feed my ego!)

     Are any of these statements truly from the heart and for the highest good?  NO!  In each case, the "helpful" person is actually making it about themselves and being defensive.  Defensiveness is a red flag indicator of the lower self.  I'm sure that making helpful actions about self wasn't the conscious intention, but that's the point! When you aren't conscious about what your intention is,  your lower self takes over!  If you truly want to be helpful, it should be about what the other person needs, not about what YOU want to give.

The Lower Self

    We make things about ourselves when we live in a lower self state.  In that state we feel powerless and will make attempts to feel more powerful.  But the power you seek comes from living from your heart - your higher self for your highest good.  

    I share this information with no judgment!  Judgment is also a red flag indicator of the lower self. The purpose of this article is to increase awareness, not to make you feel guilty or ashamed for your words or actions.

    If you recognize yourself in this article, and feel guilty or ashamed, let's stop for a moment. Take a deep breath, and say this: Even though I may have been making helping others about myself, and that realization makes me feel guilty or ashamed,  I love, accept and forgive myself.  I now choose to offer my help to others for the highest good of all.  Now let it go.

     Guess what?!  If you said that affirmation, you just set an intention!  It's that simple. You just stepped into your true power!

The Four Steps

    Setting an intention is:

1. Bringing your words and actions into the light to see the truth 
2. Acknowledging your feelings
3. Accepting and forgiving yourself
4. Making a choice for the highest good

   The first 3 steps are how to get clear about your intentions.  The 4th step, making a choice, is setting a conscious intention.

     You can see examples of hidden agendas every day in the media. You can see political leaders who say they represent the people, but whose decisions actually represent themselves. You can see people who say they care, but their actions are very uncaring. Yet the world is changing, and it begins with each of us becoming conscious of our intentions.  Don't underestimate the power of one person raising their consciousness.

     Click HERE for a story about the surprising power of intention!

                           VIEW THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE HERE.

      For more energy healing solutions for sensitive and creative women, subscribe to this blog and go to my website to subscribe to my newsletter and receive a FREE recording "3 Keys to Removing the Blocks to Getting What You Want in Life" and a power-packed Energy Medicine Resource Bundle with handouts for my most effective energy healing skills! While you are there, check out my award-winning books and energy healing online courses that can teach you everything you need to know to live a healing way of life and awaken your greater health.


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4 Signs That Your Anxiety Isn't Yours

   "Anxiety is conductive. It wants to travel from one person to another person." ~ Mike Monteiro, Design is a Job

      If you are a highly sensitive person, likely you experience anxiety.  But sometimes the anxiety you feel isn't even yours!  How is that possible?  Anxiety can be "contagious."  Just as anxious dogs have anxious owners, and anxious children often have anxious parents, anxiety can be "catching" - especially if you are empathic.

    Empathic persons are like sponges who can take on anxiety from situations and people they don't even have direct contact with.  It can happen just by feeling sorry for someone, talking to them on the phone, or watching events on the news that are impacting people in a negative way.  To find out if you are an empath, click HERE.

    If can be difficult to recognize when anxiety isn't yours, given that it feels the same as your own! But there are signs that can help you determine the difference.

     When anxiety isn't yours:

1. You feel a generalized sense of anxiety, but can't identify the cause.  
2. Your anxiety seems out of proportion to what you are currently experiencing in your life. 
3. You go to sleep feeling peaceful but wake up shaking and anxious
4. You become suddenly anxious around certain people

 

 Let's take a closer look at these signs. 

Generalized, Out-of-Proportion Anxiety 

     Some empathic people pick up on anxiety related to current events, especially when large numbers of people are having a fearful response. Highly sensitive people can feel general unrest and angst amongst the population, which can make them feel uneasy and unsettled without understanding why.

     If people can have that much of a negative influence on you, just imagine the positive influence you can have on them if you choose an empowered response!  In Power Vs Force, David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D estimated that one empowered person could counterbalance the energy of 90,000 disempowered individuals!

     Before I get into more about that,  let's look at the other signs that anxiety isn't yours.

Nighttime Anxiety

     Some of the clients I have worked with have told me they sometimes awake during the night with their body shaking and their heart racing.  I've had this experience as well.  It can be ascension symptoms (more about that HERE)  Or it may be that they have absorbed the anxiety of others.  When we are asleep, we are in a right brain dominant state that gives us greater access to the collective consciousness, and collective emotional states, including anxiety.

     I have clients who become anxious during the night while sleeping at hotels, because they are unconsciously tapping into the anxiety of others asleep in the building. Or they may have anxiety at home, picking it up from family members asleep in other rooms, or in the same room.

Anxiety Around Certain People

     If you feel anxious when you are around certain people, and then the anxiety dissipates when you are away from them, this is a sign that the anxiety you feel is theirs, not yours.  You can especially feel the difference if you are away from them for a period of time,  as this time apart allows their anxiety to dissipate from your system.  When the anxiety reappears again with contact with this person - whether that is in-person contact, phone contact, or thought contact -  it becomes clear that it's not yours.

     This effect can happen with people you don't even know.  For example, you get on an elevator with a stranger and suddenly feel anxious.  When you get off the elevator, the anxiety may linger for a while, but eventually dissipates.

An Empowered Response

    Anxiety that isn't yours will eventually clear on its own.  But you can move it along faster, and help others in the process!  It's important to understand that it doesn't serve others to take on their anxiety. Doing so can become debilitating and interfere with you actualizing your life purpose. And if you are a empathic person, you likely have a very important lightworker life purpose!

     Now that you know the signs that your anxiety isn't yours, here's how you can serve others in a way that is in your highest good and theirs. By saying this powerful affirmation:

     "If it is in the best interests of ______, please remove their fear and suffering. If it is in my highest good, please clear all my energy centers, meridians and energy field of anything dark, heavy, toxic or disruptive that doesn't serve me and doesn't belong to me. Please cut any dysfunctional cords between me and _____ that cause me to take on their anxiety, and fill us both with self-knowledge, self-love, divine light and spiritual power." 

     Then take a deep breath and let it go.

                            WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE HERE. 

      

      For more energy healing solutions for sensitives and creatives, subscribe to this blog and go to my website to subscribe to my newsletter and receive a FREE recording "3 Keys to Removing the Blocks to Getting What You Want in Life" and a power-packed Energy Medicine Resource Bundle with handouts for my most effective energy healing skills! While you are there, check out my award-winning books, oracle cards and guided meditations that can teach you everything you need to know to live a healing way of life and awaken your greater health! 

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How to Release the Fear of Letting Go

     "Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on."
~ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now  

     Many years ago, my family briefly had a pet cockatiel named Angel.  He was named Angel because of his beautiful white plumage.  But Angel was no angel!  He started out as a pet belonging to a friend. But Angel did not get along with my friend's other cockatiels. He was a bit of a bully! When my daughter expressed interest in having a cockatiel, my friend happily gave him to us.

     It was agreed that Angel should stay in my daughter's bedroom, next to her 2 parakeets.  This arrangement worked well for a few months.  But when the parakeets died, Angel was alone in my daughter's room while she was in school. We became concerned about his isolation and moved him to the family room.  However, the family cats agitated him. And his daily periods of loud screeching were disruptive to the household.  Even my daughter agreed that it wasn't working out.  But she was very reluctant to let him go, for fear that she would never see him again.

Restoring Flow

     When we are in fear, we are in our lower self. Our lower self experiences life as "not enough" because when we are in our lower self, our energy state is disrupted and feels not enough.  In a state of "not enough" we don't trust in the flow of life.  We fear that if we let go, we'll be left with nothing.  In this state of not enough, our energy isn't flowing and we aren't experiencing the flow of abundance.

     One exercise I use to restore energy flow I call "release-receive breathing." Spend ten minutes in slow, deep breathing while focusing on releasing what no longer serves you with each exhale, and focusing on receiving with each inhale.

     Here are some examples of what you could say out loud or silently with each exhale:

• I release fear
• I release stagnation
• I release lack
• I release mistrust
• I release control

    Here are some examples of what you could say out loud, or silently to yourself with each inhale:

• I receive love
• I receive energy
• I receive abundance
• I receive trust
• I receive support

     This is a slow, rhythmic exercise that re-establishes your natural energy flow and builds your trust in the flow of life.

A Loving Solution for Angel

     I had no idea how I would rehome Angel in a way that was acceptable.  I didn't want to just give him away to anyone.  I finally let go of the situation and asked that a solution present itself. And the solution came right through my front door!

     I held Girl Scout meetings in my home and the girls all admired Angel.  One of the mothers took a special interest in him. As the meeting was breaking up, she asked me a lot of questions about what was involved in owning a cockatiel. She was looking for a pet for her son with special needs. And it had to be a pet without fur due to allergies in the household. She wanted to know how much it cost to own a cockatiel, and how much the cage, toys and food cost, as she was on a tight budget.

     It suddenly occurred to me that this was the perfect solution for Angel.  He and his paraphernalia  could go to a loving family where he could be outside of his cage and not be bothered by cats; a family who might not have been able to afford a pet otherwise; a home where he would help a little boy with special needs.  And my daughter could still visit Angel.

     It was a win-win situation for us, Angel, and his new owners. And it was a solution I did not have to seek.  I only had to receive.

     My daughter did visit Angel in his new home.  And he remembered her, gently rubbing his beak against her cheek while making contented clucking sounds. Once she saw how happy he was in his new home, she trusted that we had made the right decision.

     I recently ran into this Girl Scout mother and she said Angel is still alive and well, albeit with some arthritis in his claws.  It's as if Angel was always meant for them and we were simply the vehicle to get him there.

                        WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS BLOG POST HERE.

      For more energy healing solutions for sensitive and creative women, subscribe to this blog and go to my website to subscribe to my newsletter and receive a FREE recording "3 Keys to Removing the Blocks to Getting What You Want in Life" and a power-packed Energy Medicine Resource Bundle with handouts for my most effective energy healing skills! While you are there, check out my award-winning books and energy healing online courses that can teach you everything you need to know to live a healing way of life and awaken your greater health.

     Thank you for supporting this blog by using the amazon link embedded in this article for ANY purchase.  Your support is greatly appreciated! 

Awaken Your Greater Health Wins 2017 Independent Press Award®

     "When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, 'I am going to produce a work of art.' I write it because there is some lie I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention..." 
~ George Orwell, A Collection of Essays

    Awaken Your Greater Health: How Energy Medicine Opens the Way to Healing has been recognized in the category of Alternative Medicine as Winner in the 2017 Independent Press Awards.

      The competition was judged by experts from all aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Award Winners and Distinguished Favorites were selected based on overall excellence.

     This is the 13th book award for Awaken Your Greater Health, which has also received a 2015 Nautilus Book Award and a 2016 Readers' Favorite Book Award.  These awards help level the playing field for independent authors. They give readers confidence in indie titles that are comparable to traditionally-published titles. And they help spread the word and connect readers with books they might not have heard of otherwise.

     In Awaken Your Greater Health, readers learn that health at its highest expression is not just the absence of disease and illness symptoms. It comes from living from your heart instead of living in fear, or living small. The stories, techniques and information in Awaken Your Greater Health can help readers unleash the energy being used to just survive, enabling them to thrive and experience true power, health and happiness.

     "In 2017, we had worldwide participation, from London to Australia, from Portugal to Hong Kong, and are so proud to announce the winners and favorites in our annual Independent Press Award. Independent publishing is alive and well, and continues to gain traction worldwide," said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.

     For more information about Awaken Your Greater Health, and its award-winning predecessor The Other Medicine That Really Works, visit the author's website HERE.  Heidi DuPree is a holistic nurse, Certified Traditional Naturopath, award-winning author and founder of Energypathy Healing® who works with sensitive and creative women such as healers, coaches and nurses.  She teaches them how to master their energy, restore their vitality and improve their health through her coaching, writing and courses.

     Thank you for supporting this blog by using the amazon link embedded in this article for ANY purchase.  Your support is greatly appreciated! 

How to Trust in Divine Timing

       "When you think about the success you desire, don't forget that God's 'not yet' doesn't mean 'not ever."  Tiffany L Jackson, 12 Keys to Success for Misfits, Weirdos and Introverts 

     A few months ago, I met with a women's group I belong to.  In their presence I had a sudden insight that was almost magical.  ( click HERE to read more about the magic that happens in women-only groups)

     I was coming up on a self-imposed deadline that I knew I wasn't going to make. The project felt blocked. As I contemplated this situation in the presence of the supportive women,  I had a vision of a date circled on a calendar. I recognized this image as the deadline I had set for myself. And then I had a vision of a clock with no hands. I understood that it represented divine timing.  By setting my own deadline, I had taken myself out of divine timing!  And that was why nothing was flowing.

     Now setting a deadline isn't an issue in itself.  The problem is when we set the deadline from the will of our lower self and then become attached to meeting the deadline.  When we do this,  our lower self takes over and tries to force it through. This takes us out of divine timing and out of divine feminine energy.  It also takes us out of our inherent oneness, out of sync with our spirit selves and out of the flow of life.  Because life doesn't unfold according to deadlines!

Lower Self Issues

     When I set an arbitrary deadline and became attached to it, I became out of touch with my higher self.  I fell back on old programming and old messages that say success comes through "making it happen" and "pushing it through." But even so, the idea of being forceful created so much dissonance in my energy systems, those phrases literally made me cringe!  Trying to force things creates tension because it is toxic masculine energy. Tension and restriction happens because forceful approaches carry old energy that doesn't work in higher frequencies. And using force certainly doesn't work for spiritual women, highly sensitive women, or healers or coaches.

  When we try to force situations, it puts all the responsibility on self.  It takes us out of our higher self that is connected to something bigger than ourselves and sets us up for failure. And if and when it fails, we blame ourselves.  Because the small self thinks someone has to be blamed!

What is Divine Timing?

     I believe in divine timing, but sometimes such phrases seem like over-used cliches until I have a real life example that makes me aware of how I'm not in divine timing!

     To understand divine timing, we only have to look to nature. The seasons arrive in divine timing. Flowers bloom in divine timing. Animals live their lives in divine timing. And babies arrive in divine timing, if we don't interfere with the process. But it is humans who take themselves out of divine timing by imposing their will.

     Living in divine timing requires:

• Patience
• Detachment from outcomes
• Trust
• Receptivity 

Setting a new pattern

   A few months after this insight, I was invited to become part of a group of women launching products simultaneously.  I noticed that once I became part of this group, everything flowed toward the deadline set for the group.  Because it was a deadline I received, not a deadline I imposed upon myself, or had any attachment to.

  Here is a healing affirmation to help you shift from lower self and toxic masculine energy, to higher self and divine feminine energy:

Even though I've been trying to make things happen in my life by pushing them through with force, I now choose to trust and receive all that will unfold in divine timing. 

                   CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE!

     

     

      For more energy healing solutions for sensitive and creative women, subscribe to this blog and go to my website to subscribe to my newsletter and receive a FREE recording "3 Keys to Removing the Blocks to Getting What You Want in Life" and a power-packed Energy Medicine Resource Bundle with handouts for my most effective energy healing skills! While you are there, check out my award-winning books and energy healing online courses that can teach you everything you need to know to live a healing way of life and awaken your greater health.

     Thank you for supporting this blog by using the amazon link embedded in this article for ANY purchase.  Your support is greatly appreciated! 

6 Birthday Rituals to Refresh Your Spirit

     "Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. "

~ Maya Angelou, Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer 

     Today is my birthday. And if you've read my previous post on birthdays HERE, you know that birthdays are a really big deal! Your birthday is your personal New Year's Day.  It's the most magical day of the year to set intentions and make wishes. I wanted to share with you the 6 rituals I did today to set intention for my new year.

1. Take a walk or a hike on your birthday asking spirit for signs and messages about your new year.  What you find will be metaphors. Think about what each thing you find represents and that will help you discern the meaning. You can also search for meanings on the Internet.  On my birthday hike I found lots of feathers, which are considered spiritual communication and a sign of angels. My found feathers were black and white, which represent protection. I also spotted a penny embedded in the dirt.  The year of the penny was a year during my adolescence when I experienced a significant life change and the birth of a sister.  It will interesting to see what this sign foretells of my coming year!

2.  Light a candle in honor of your birthday and say your birthday wishes into the flame. 

 

     3.  Write each of the things you would like to leave behind as you begin your new year, onto strips of paper and burn them with gratitude. 

4. Plant seeds as if you are planting the "seeds" of your birthday wishes.  I planted thousands of marigold seeds on my birthday, harvested from my marigold plants last fall. As I planted them, covered them with soil and watered them, I repeated my birthday wishes. I plan on tending to these new seeds and plants throughout the growing season, and harvesting more seeds in the fall for next year.  Read about what happened to those seeds HERE!

5.  Set up an altar area to place objects that represent your birthday wishes, and to hold your affirmations for your new year. I received this beautiful Buddha statue for my birthday and placed him on my altar with my birthday wishes at his feet. 

6. And lastly, as you begin your new year, clear your energy with a bath by adding 1 cup of epsom salts and several drops of lavender essential oil to the bath water. 

I hope you remember these rituals when it's YOUR birthday and I wish you endless blessings! 

      For more energy healing solutions for sensitives and creatives, subscribe to this blog and go to my website to subscribe to my newsletter and receive a FREE recording "3 Keys to Removing the Blocks to Getting What You Want in Life" and a power-packed Energy Medicine Resource Bundle with handouts for my most effective energy healing skills! While you are there, check out my award-winning books, oracle cards and guided meditations that can teach you everything you need to know to live a healing way of life and awaken your greater health!

 

     Thank you for supporting this blog by using the amazon link embedded in this article for ANY purchase.  Your support is greatly appreciated! 

How to Follow Your Inner Wisdom

   "True wisdom gives the only possible answer at any given moment." ~ Liz Gilbert, Eat Pray Love

     In the memoir Eat Pray Love author Liz Gilbert finds herself crying on her bathroom floor in the middle of the night, praying for guidance on what to do about her failing marriage. In that moment, she hears an inner voice filled with "the warmth of affection". This voice says simply, "Go back to bed Liz."

      When we are faced with a difficult life situation that seems unsolvable,  the guidance that we receive can be these little bits of wisdom, what I call "the breadcrumbs." These breadcrumbs form a trail, and if we follow each one, over time it will lead us to resolution. Because we can't solve big issues in the middle of the night on the bathroom floor.

     Recently I was sitting in my backyard feeling overwhelmed by some big issues. I asked for guidance for my highest good.  Here is the prayer I use: "I call on my higher self, my spirit guides, my guardian angels, animal allies and ancestors to come forth and bring me guidance that serves the highest good."  At that moment, I had a vision of a pile of salt.

     It happened in a flash. A nanosecond. I could easily have missed it. But I've learned to pay attention to my thoughts and the images in my mind after asking for guidance.  But salt?  Was I supposed to eat more salt?  A whole pile? And then I realized ....epsom salts!  Yes, a bath with epsom salts! It's a powerful and effective way to clear energy and was just what I needed to gain some clarity.  That was my bread crumb of wisdom to follow. Because I wasn't going to solve my big life issue ruminating in my backyard as the sun was setting.

     I make "breadcrumb lists" in my journal of the insights, images and words I get when I ask for guidance.  As I check them off one by one, I get new ones.  And over the course of time, I can see how following these breadcrumbs of wisdom moves me in the direction of resolution.

     When you are knee-deep in a life crisis, resolution can't begin to happen until you are first centered and calm. This can come through taking a break and resting, having some fun...or taking an epsom salts bath!

                           CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS POST

       For more energy healing solutions for sensitives and creatives, go to my website to opt-in for a monthly energy report to receive a FREE recording "3 Keys to Removing the Blocks to Getting What You Want in Life" and a power-packed Energy Medicine Resource Bundle with handouts for my most effective energy healing skills! While you are there, check out my award-winning books, oracle cards and guided meditations that can teach you everything you need to know to live a healing way of life and awaken your greater health!

     Thank you for supporting this blog by using the amazon link embedded in this article for ANY purchase.  Your support is greatly appreciated!