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Have you ever caught yourself sighing at the end of a long day? This is one way that your body naturally relieves stress for you. In your life, you’ll take millions of breaths, often without even thinking about it. Breathing is essential for life, yet we often take it for granted. Your mind and body are deeply connected, and they influence your breath. And your breath can also influence your thoughts and feelings. The ancient yogis learned through their experience that by breathing consciously and learning how to control the breath, you can influence every aspect of your life. Access my Free Healing Library to find several audio recordings with guidance that I’ve created to support you in your spiritual practice to manifest your most creative and best self in your life today.  Research has even documented the benefits of a regular practice of simple, deep breathing which include:
For a spiritual practice, you can build upon your breathing practice to ignite love within your heart whenever you’re needing it for yourself or others. A deep love for yourself. An all-embracing love for others. In St. Hildegard’s song, Kyrie, a favorite of mine, the music and the lyrics move like the waves on the ocean, gently in and out. As your body begins to resonate with this calming movement, your breath slows down and moves in rhythm to the music. Take a moment to read the Greek words and my English translation of them below. Lyrics Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison. (English Translation) Creator of life, awaken love within us Christ of love, awaken love within us Creator of life, awaken love within us Creator of life, awaken love within us Now close your eyes, holding those words in your heart and mind. Imagine yourself on the beach in the warm sand, relaxing, as you hear the waves of the ocean gently lap against the shore. One after the other as they roll in and out. Continue this until you feel your breath naturally slow down along with the gentle waves on the shore. Now deepen your breath. Inhale into your belly, breathing in life and nourishment for your mind and body. Breathe out slowly, allowing love from your heart center to be shared with the world. When you enter into this space of gentle and calm breathing, you can access a greater wisdom within yourself and in the universe.  As you feel Love flowing throughout your whole being, raise your hands to your heart, palms facing outward to the world, as in St. Hildegard’s Illumination, The Person in Sapphire Blue, shown here.
Let your love flow out from your heart and hands to the world. To your family, to your friends, to your neighbors. Then, let your love continue to flow to your coworkers, your community, and beyond. Is there anyone who you don’t feel loving towards? Let your flowing love of the Divine dissolve this anger. Ask for divine guidance to show you how to love this person. Then let your love flow toward this person. Bring your hands back to your heart and open your eyes. Breathe in and out slowly. Now you’re ready to do the practice with the music. You can access an audio recording of me singing the song here for free LINK. Sing along with the audio recording, if you’d like! Use this practice on a regular basis and discover how easily your Love can awaken and flow! As you feel Love flowing throughout your whole being, raise your hands to your heart, palms facing outward to the world, as in St. Hildegard’s Illumination, The Person in Sapphire Blue, shown here. Let your love flow out from your heart and hands to the world. To your family, to your friends, to your neighbors. Then, let your love continue to flow to your coworkers, your community, and beyond. Is there anyone who you don’t feel loving towards? Let your flowing love of the Divine dissolve this anger. Ask for divine guidance to show you how to love this person. Then let your love flow toward this person. Bring your hands back to your heart and open your eyes. Breathe in and out slowly. Use this practice on a regular basis and discover how easily your Love can awaken and flow! Now you are ready to do the practice with the music! Sing along with the audio recording, if you'd like. Access the audio recording with a description of this spiritual practice in my Free Healing Library. There you’ll also have access to many other audio recordings and guidance for how you can be empowered to manifest your most creative self in your life today.
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How do you start your day? In a way that supports you or in a way that makes you tired and irritable by noon? Do you grab a cup of coffee and run? Or do you eat a nutritious breakfast while seated? St. Hildegard shared much wisdom about what nutritious foods to eat. Her ideas were like seeds planted that continue to flourish into our current times in the field of nutrition and holistic medicine. Many of her thoughts were written down in her book, Physica, including recommendations for specific foods with health-giving nutrients. She wrote about the benefit of many spices, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and also specific grains. You may already be familiar with what she shared about spelt, but she also wrote about the health benefits of oats. She said, “Oats are a happy and healthy food for people who are well, furnishing them with a cheerful mind and a pure, clear intellect. They also provide good color and healthy flesh. They are not suitable as food for those who are very ill and cold, since oats always require heat…” This is the 5th article in my series of nourishing foods and recipes. A way to support you in taking care of yourself. Did you miss the other ones? You can find them here: Increasing Your Vitality in Winter with St. Hildegard's Greening Power A Powerhouse Drink to Support your Immune System Easing the Discomfort of Illness in Winter An Easy, Nutritious Snack to Help Curb Cravings  What are Oats? Oats are a whole-grain food that is commonly eaten as oatmeal for breakfast. Delicious oatmeal starts with oats cooked in a little water or milk topped with some wholesome ingredients. A wonderful and healthy way to start the day. You’ll have many choices when buying oats and be careful that you choose a healthy one. All of them stem from oat groats which are the whole oat kernel. But you’ll want to look for packages that are simply oats, not ones filled with additives of sugar, flavoring, and other unnecessary ingredients. Types of Oats Here are your best options to buy at the store:
 Oats are an incredibly nutritious food packed full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. A true powerhouse! Today, through research, we know that eating oats has many health benefits. Here are some of them:
 Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl
Combine first 3 ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cooking the oats for about 5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the oats are soft. Stir occasionally. Serve with your choice of toppings and a splash of milk or water. Here are some favorite toppings, but you can also create your own! Toppings
Here’s to a healthy Springtime for you! I hope you are well and taking care of yourself. Looking for my recent articles on nutritious foods with recipes? You can find them here: Increasing Your Vitality in Winter with St. Hildegard's Greening Power A Powerhouse Drink to Support your Immune System Easing the Discomfort of Illness in Winter An Easy, Nutritious Snack to Help Curb Cravings Despite the recent dusting of snow, there’s a promise of spring in the air here in Colorado! We’ve had some warmer days, and the ground is thawing. I hear the animals coming to life in the sunlight – the birds singing and the squirrels chasing each other. I look forward to seeing the crocuses and tulips poke their heads out of the earth, sharing their brilliant colors.  Interested in receiving support in manifesting your soul’s longing this spring? Access my free class on 5 Steps to Mastering Your Creativity available here now. Just a few weeks ago, the cold, blustery wind chilled our fingers, as snowflakes drifted down to blanket the earth in white. There was a sense of quiet and stillness in the air, as Mother Earth seemed to rest in the outer world that we can see. But deep in the earth, the forces of life were incubating and preparing for the journey of growth and expansion in the spring. Very soon, that new life will spring joyfully all around us! St. Hildegard called this greening power, viriditas, the divine life force that lives and breathes within all living beings. This powerful force is bubbling with vitality, especially in the spring! We too, as human beings, have been incubating during winter. Our longings have been percolating within our thoughts, dreams, and feelings. Now, as spring approaches and the sunlight returns to give us warmer days, it’s time to allow them to break through the surface and see the light of day.  What longing has been incubating within you this winter that hasn’t been manifested yet? Spring is a perfect time for manifesting as the natural world bursts forth with life. I invite you to take a moment now to turn inward in contemplation. What’s calling to you to manifest this spring? Maybe it’s a big dream you have. Maybe it’s just to get started on something you’ve been putting off. Whatever it is, envision it now. Imagine how it might bring joy, love or healing to you and the world.  Now expand that vision. Make it even better. What if there were no limits? No fear and anxiety. No obstacles. What would your vision be then? Imagine that. How can your vision begin to sprout and grow in this season of spring? How can you make it come to life?  If you have some colored pencils and crayons, pull them out and draw a sketch of your vision. Or get some items from around your house like colored paper, stones, sticks and more and create a 3D model of your vision.
Get started on making your longing a reality today! “When you have a vision that is strong enough and powerful enough, nothing can stand in your way.” Lewis Howes Interested in receiving support in manifesting your soul’s longing? Access my free class on 5 Steps to Mastering Your Creativity available here now How often do you feel like your life has shifted out of balance in some way? Maybe too much activity and too little sleep? Maybe an excess of drink or food? Or did you forget to eat today? Maybe too much social activity or maybe too little?  When I’m in this place, I often sense St. Hildegard whispering in my ear. She shares the words that she wrote in a letter of correspondence to a young Benedictine nun, Elisabeth of Schöngau, about moderation as a key to a healthy life. I always smile as I hear her remind me to take care of myself! “Listen, then, …..and learn moderation! For moderation is the mother of all the virtues for everything heavenly and earthly. For it is through moderation that the body is nourished with the proper discipline…. When there are unseasonable downpours, the fruit and vegetables growing on Earth are damaged; when a field has not been plowed, you do not find good grain springing up  It’s the same with a person who lays herself more strain than her body can endure. This is a sign that the effects of holy discretion are weak in such a person…” -St.Hildegard of Bingen With these words, St. Hildegard uses nature as a metaphor to remind us of the virtue of moderation and how to find a healthy balance in our lives. In nature, we can see the effect of too much or too little. Too much or too little sun, rain, and activity. They all affect the plants in a negative way. Without balance, the fruits and vegetables would be damaged. A lack of activity in not plowing the field would lead to the grains not sprouting. So, we see the wisdom of the balance that exists in between the extremes. Where is it that you might need to consider more balance in your life? I know for me, I hear St. Hildegard whisper in my ear about moderation when I’m out of balance in my time for work and relaxation. Like many, I can just keep going and spend more time working with less relaxation. I pay for it when I do! So, I’ve learned to schedule my time for relaxation to achieve more balance in my life. It helps!  Remembering moderation supports us in finding balance in our lives. When we’re in balance, we’re empowered to be our best self. We’re guiding our own path in the world. The excess of activity or inactivity doesn’t take control of us. Excess at either extreme can lead to unhealthy aspects that take control of your life – addiction, self-centeredness, and disease/illness that interfere with your health spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Developing your own self-discipline to not venture in to excess or inactivity, guides you into a place of balance. Today, I want to invite you to take a walk outside. Observe the plants that you see on your journey. Yes, even if it’s winter where you are!  In the winter, the plants are resting some. Consider their life cycle throughout the year. How does balance arrive through the seasons for the plants? And, during the year, when it’s very hot and sunny or even very wet and rainy, how do plants adjust to try to maintain balance for their health? While you’re walking and observing the plants, have a dialogue with your higher self or spirit guides. Where would moderation benefit you? Where could you bring a little more balance in your life to be healthier and happier each day? See what answers arise for you. Finding balance in our lives nourishes us. It helps us to recover from challenges, rejuvenate our energy, and be receptive to what comes toward us as new possibilities. Balance resonates within us. We have a feeling of harmony with what is outside of us in life and what is in our inner life. We experience how balance is a creative and dynamic relationship between ourselves and in the world.  Energy for life bubbles up within us.
Inspirations arise. Illnesses are healed. And all of us would benefit from that, of course! Remember that each time you head outside, Mother Nature, as a wise teacher, can be our reminder about finding balance in our lives. And St. Hildegard might whisper in your ear too about the queen of virtues, moderation. So many guides are here to help us! Interested in discovering a deeper aspect of your creative self? Access my free class on 5 Steps to Mastering Your Creativity available here now. |
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
November 2022
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