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As I awake in the morning I always head down to my kitchen and make myself a cup of herbal tea. The tea I chose this morning was Sweet Cinnamon Spice. Then I settle into my rocking chair in front of my altar, light my candle, cover myself with my Broncos blanket and begin my morning meditation. Our bodies, and even our beings, thrive with a rhythm in our lives. We know what to expect and can relax into it, supporting us in being grounded and peaceful. There’s a consistency and reliability that builds strength over time. Then from this strong foundation, we can step out to explore, be creative and adventurous, and try something new out of our daily routines. But, if our lives don’t have a rhythm or a routine, either due to the circumstances we find ourselves in or because we just don’t like routines, we can find ourselves more on edge, more worried or fearful, more insecure and anxious. We might find ourselves more often in a fight- flight mode and can’t relax or access our higher capacities. Or you might just float throughout the day, realizing late that you don’t have any food for dinner or your teeth never were brushed or you didn’t accomplish anything that day. Having something you know you can depend on every day—whether it’s getting up at the same time every morning for some peaceful, alone time or exercising in the evening after work—will give your body and your being a consistency that it craves  One can ascend to a higher development only by bringing rhythm and repetition into one's life. Rhythm holds sway in all nature. - Rudolf Steiner Balance is key when we work to bring rhythm into our lives. Rhythm is a foundation that brings us strength, yet needs to be flexible and fluid too. It’s possible to become too rigid in a routine that could result in too much contraction which can be draining and deadening, squashing any possibility for fun, spontaneity, and joy. Rhythm is really finding our own way to breathe through the day, to flow within a routine, yet with space for flexibility and an openness for something new that may come. What rhythm do you have? What is it that you repeatedly do each day or week? “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle If you are longing for more strength, calm, and balance in your life, consider the following areas of rhythm in your life: 1. Morning – Mornings are so important! They set the tone for your day. Entering into a new day calmly and with intention can make a huge difference for our entire day. Even if you are short on time in the morning, a few moments to breathe deeply, stretch your body, and focus on your intentions for the day can make a world of difference to how our day begins. Don’t forget to drink a glass of water too and best to not pick up your cellphone until after you’ve prepared yourself for entering into the day. 2. Gratitude - We all know how much a practice of gratitude’s important for health and well-being. But has it become a habit in your life yet? Make it one by including it in your morning or evening routine. 3. Beauty – Take a few minutes to make your bed in the morning, put the dishes in the dishwasher, put fresh flowers on the table or whatever brings beauty into your environment. This affects us in a positive way probably more than we realize! It creates a space where you can relax and enjoy your environment, doing whatever you are at that moment.  4. Mindfulness – How often do we go into autopilot or overstimulation or mind chatter in a day? Set an intention in your morning routine to practice mindfulness throughout the day. Then observe how often you are truly present in the moment, not on autopilot, not overstimulated by excessive noises, screens, and people. Or not relentlessly thinking about the past or the future. Just present with yourself in the moment or with those who are with you. What a wonderful practice to make a habit! 5. Practice – What practice do you have for the health of your body, heart/mind, and spirit? Do you meditate and exercise during your day? Or walk in the morning and chant in the evening? Or something else? How are you nourishing your body, heart, mind, and spirit daily? 6. Nutritious food – We need food that has the nutrients our bodies need to not only survive, but thrive! Eaten at the times we need for our health. What you eat and when you eat are important. Explore what is best for you, what supports a healthy body, and a good night's sleep.  7. Relax and Rejuvenate – Do you take time each week to do what you enjoy? What makes you relax and rejuvenate? What makes you feel alive and joyful? Make this a part of your regular rhythm. 8. Preparing for Bed – As you prepared mindfully for your day, prepare for sleep. Take time to relax, drink a cup of tea, or do some stretches. Turn off screens at least an hour before bed. Meditate or breathe deeply. Pick a routine that works for you, but make it a habit that supports a healthy night’s sleep. 9. Sleep – Take advantage of this time where your body rests and rejuvenates. This is where your body rids itself of its toxins, rebuilds and rejuvenates its organs, and prepares you for the next day. 10. Nature – Don’t forget to get outside every day at least for a few minutes! Take deep breaths, put your feet on the earth, look at the beauty of nature, or take a walk. However you can enjoy the rejuvenating and health benefits of Mother Earth. Longer times are wonderful, when you are able to make those part of your rhythm too.  What’s one area where you’d like to bring more rhythm into your life? Why not try that this month! Then see, at the end of the month, what changes do you notice?
Interested in bringing the chanting of mantras into your spiritual practice as part of your rhythm? Check out my guidebook, How to Bring Life to Your Chakras: 7 Healing Mantras.
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 When you were a child, did you imagine what life would be like as an adult? How did you picture it? What was being a “grown-up” going to be like? Maybe you thought life would be filled with fun, freedom, joy, and all that you ever wanted? Or you pictured traveling, exploring new cultures, and fun experiences? Did things always unfold easily and joyfully in your imagination? Maybe you thought you’d fall in love, get married, live in a beautiful house, and have children – living the American dream of years ago? Or maybe you pictured yourself at the top of your career – as a leader, innovator, loved and respected? Maybe you thought you’d be so free that you could do anything you wanted at any time, anywhere? It didn’t matter what, just that you were free to choose and you imagined you did so with joy and passion for your next adventure?  Now, as an adult, what is your picture of adulthood? Do you cling to any of those past pictures from your childhood that leave you feeling disappointed or deflated now? Maybe you see that you’re not achieving them – yet deep down you still hold a belief or picture that you should be? Do you feel like you’re failing because inside you still hold the view from your childhood that’s full of the “shoulds” – what you think you “should” be working towards or doing in your life. What if you were released from all of these “shoulds?” Whether they came from your childhood or appeared since then. You simply let go of them all. What if you put in new attitudes and a new belief system for the present time? What if you believed you are living your perfect life now? What if you believed…. You are everything and you have everything that you need now. And your path in life is simply accessing and using what you already have within you. What kind of shift would that bring in your attitude, how you perceive your life, how you enter into your life? "Trust that your soul has a plan, and even if you can't see it completely, know that everything will unfold as it is meant to." — Deepak Chopra  Your soul does have a plan for you. Here are a few tips for learning how to trust in your soul’s plan for your life and letting go of what does not serve you now.
Curious about a plan that my soul had for me that wasn’t exactly what I pictured for my life? Check out the film of scene 2 from my performance of Feathers on the Breath of God that is available on YouTube. Watch it here! How is the Divine calling you to shine forth in the new year? What images come to mind for you as you look into 2019? What do you want to create or birth new in this year?  These questions kept coming to me again and again during the Sacred Nights recently. I’m always inspired by the courage and strength St. Hildegard found to bring forth her visions into the world. She always gives me strength to keep on my path to manifest my own visions. One of her greatest visions was when she was called to leave her home of 40 years and build her own abbey. St. Hildegard’s commitment to bring this project to fruition was fueled by the inspiring work she saw from St. Rupert in the 7th century. Her song, O Jerusalem, is a celebration of this new creation, her abbey, and the respect and even kinship she felt toward St. Rupert.  The world is calling us to become creators within our communities. New and courageous solutions and new and courageous ideas are needed! Through our creations, we have the possibility to become a shining and powerful healing force in the world! Become inspired to begin your next creative endeavor! Or what I like to call your Rupertsberg! I invite you to listen to St. Hildegard’s song, O Jerusalem and do the accompanying practice. Click here to access the song and practice. As St. Hildegard expresses so beautifully: Feel the Living Light! Feel the Beauty! Feel the Spark of God! Feel the Warmth which heals. Hear Love calling: “Peace, Peace, Peace.”  What in your life are you being called to create right now?
What is your next Rupertsberg? Meaning, what is your current (or next) creative endeavor that you are being called to birth into this world so that it can be of service? Fill your Rupertsberg with beauty, light, and love as you picture it in your mind. Imagine it bringing warmth and healing into the world. Step into what it would be like to manifest in the world. How would you feel? Picture yourself having already brought this vision into reality. How do you feel now? How can you realize and manifest this vision? If you are inspired by the song O Jerusalem and the accompanying practice, I invite you to check out all 10 Healing Songs and Practices that Will Give Voice to Your Creativity now available here. Bring your creative vision into the world this year!  It’s 2019! Happy New Year! We’ve passed through the longest night of darkness and now we’re seeing more of the sunlight during the day. I hope you were renewed and nourished during the Sacred Nights of winter that just passed! Are you feeling filled with hope, strength, and love? Ready to shine your light out to the world in the new year? To share the gifts that your community is waiting to receive? I hope so!  As you begin 2019, I invite you to engage in a regular practice to heal and balance your chakras so you can show up as your best self in your community in the new year. A practice such as chanting mantras for each chakra can support you in stepping into the new year with……..
Isn’t that what we all would love?! Join me in a regular practice of chanting mantras in Sanskrit to bring renewed energy and vitality to your chakras. What a wonderful way to start your new year! When I chant mantras, my body relaxes and my mind becomes calm. I feel more deeply connected with the Divine. Energy flows to restore my body, mind, and health back to wholeness, back to balance, back to my natural state. This gives me the strength and power to shine my light out into my community. It’s part of my spiritual practice and how I shine my light into the world. By bringing more life into your chakras, you’ll be able to experience…….  Less Anxiety & Fear More Courage & Peace The first chakra, the root chakra, is the one that supports us in finding our resources to survive and take action in really difficult situations. Chanting a mantra related to this chakra can help you calm fear and ground you in safety and security. The mantra associated with Ganesh, the Hindu deity, can support us in the healing of challenges within the root chakra. He is the Lord of Beginnings, and through his power everything is possible. No obstacles can stand in the way. Less Fatigue More Joy & Creativity The second chakra, the sacral chakra, is located in your lower abdomen, a couple inches below your navel. It’s where our emotions reside. Chanting a mantra that relates to this chakra can help you release your fatigue and bring forth your creativity and joy for life. A mantra associated with Saraswati, the goddess of music and arts and also of knowledge and wisdom, can inspire our creativity in life. Helping us to find our own unique gifts to be birthed. Less Stress More Inner Power & Strength The third chakra, the solar plexus chakra, is located between your navel and the bottom of your sternum. This is the home to our light that radiates our personal power and strength out into the world. It’s the awe-inspiring energy of the sun that ignites our power, burning away any blockages that we experience as STRESS that may be getting in our way. Chanting a mantra that relates to this chakra can help to ease your stress and ignite your radiant power, warmth, and light. We can call upon the goddess, Durga, for this mantra. She sits upon her lion or tiger, and battles the forces of evil in the world. She is invincible, as the protective Mother of the Universe.  Less Pain & Suffering More Love & Compassion The fourth chakra, the heart chakra, is located at the center of the chest. It’s the bridge between the lower chakras of matter and the upper chakras of spirit. Chanting a mantra associated with this chakra can help you to heal your hurt and pain and opening your heart to love, compassion, and understanding. For this mantra, we can call upon the god, Krishna, the Hindu god that radiates love and compassion. His playful nature also reminds us to remain good-natured through the challenges that come our way in our life’s journey. Less Negativity More Speaking the Truth Compassionately Our words have great power. Power to heal and power to create anew. This is at the foundation of the fifth chakra, the throat chakra. It’s the source of your speaking, listening, and ability to express yourself authentically. When your throat chakra is balanced and you speak your truth it’ll be experienced as authentic and compassionate. You’ll be able to be open and honest. To stand up for what you believe, yet not be hurtful toward others. Chanting a mantra associated with this chakra can help you to find your voice in self expression and in communication with others. For this mantra, we can call upon the goddess, Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess, of abundance, wealth, and beauty. She can support you in your efforts to speak your truth with compassion and to listen deeply to others, bringing abundance to all. Less Confusion More Clarity The third eye or brow chakra is in the space between the eyebrows, just a little above on the forehead. When it’s in balance you see clearly and understand what you see. You have perspective on events and ideas. You’re open to new ideas and can be quietly reflective. You trust your intuition. Chanting a mantra that associated with this chakra can help you to see clearly, understand what you see, and trusting your intuition. To help balance the brow chakra, we can call upon the Hindu god Shiva who is often depicted with a third eye of wisdom. He sees beyond the obvious with clear perception and shows what is truth. Less Loneliness More Connection The seventh chakra, the crown chakra, is what gives us the ability to “rise above” and access higher states of consciousness, as we open to that which is beyond ourselves. It’s the source of our connection to the divine energy of creation and to our higher self. Also to the experience that we are one with everyone and everything in nature. When this chakra is in balance, you’ll feel grounded and connected to the divine. You have a sense of the deeper meaning of life and feel a deep peace. Chanting a mantra associated with this chakra can help you in connecting to the divine and feeling at one with all that is. To help balance the crown chakra, we can call upon Brahman, for this mantra. Brahman is not to be confused with Brahma, the Hindu deity. Brahman is without a beginning and without an end and yet is within all. Brahman is cosmic spirit and infinite consciousness. The universal principle and eternal truth. If you are interested in learning more about how to chant mantras that will support you in living a vibrant life filled with vitality and hope in just 10 minutes a day in the comfort of your own home, then check out my guidebook, How to Bring Life to Your Chakras: 7 Healing Mantras. It is easy-to-use and comes with 7 audio recordings to help you learn how to chant the Sanskrit mantras. You’ll feel empowered to share the gifts you’re meant to bring to the world! Click here to purchase! Want to try it out first? Download the guidebook and audio for the first chakra at no cost HERE. May you grow in the light of the Divine to become your highest self! Interested in more? Check out my website at www.doctorofthesoul.com  |
About JeannineI was born in London, England, educated in Switzerland, and am fluent in English, German, Spanish, and French. I hold a Doctorate in Ministry Degree and Masters Degrees in Counseling Psychology and Education. Also, I am an accomplished artist and educator. I use all of this and much more when helping others heal their souls. Archives
July 2020
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