 We had our first days of snow come quite early here in Colorado this year – many days before Halloween. As I watched the snowflakes fall peacefully outside in the bitter cold air, I warmed myself in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea and contemplated how through the seasons the Divine Mother calls us to awaken. I hear her calling us to awaken to the imbalance in the world that has caused suffering. It’s time, time to bring it into balance. The Divine Mother, with her healing and nurturing ways, shows us that we can find peace and an end to suffering.  The Divine Feminine as Mother is accessible to all. She’s nurturing, forgiving, sensitive, powerful, and intuitive. She creates, giving birth to the new in the world. She’s all-encompassing and all-embracing, reaching her loving arms out with compassion and strength, without judgment. I remembered the wise words of St. Hildegard from Scivias on The Queen of Peace, an image of the Divine Mother that came to her long ago. As I listened to these words once again, they warmed my heart and embraced the suffering I feel in the world. So, I invite you to do the same to access the nurturing and embracing compassion of the Divine Mother in St. Hildegard’s Queen of Peace. You can access the audio recording here. Sit comfortably in a quiet location and take a few deep, slow breaths. Light a candle and breathe in the peace of the candlelight. Begin the audio and close your eyes, letting the following words from St. Hildegard of Bingen speak to your heart and mind: “Imagine you are a woman of great size – just like a great city. You have your head crowned wondrously, and your arms are covered with the long sleeves of a tunic which glistens from heaven right down to the earth. Your womb is full of holes, much like a net, and a great crowd of people are moving about in it. You do not have any legs or feet which can be seen because you are standing in front of an altar which is before the eyes of God. You have your hands stretched out around the altar, and you are looking most keenly throughout the heavens with your eyes. You cannot look at your garment closely, except that you notice that it shines with a very bright peacefulness. Your breasts are surrounded with such splendor that they shine as a reddish dawn full of reddish lightning. And you hear various kinds of music being sung ‘as intensely as the reddish dawn.’ You spread out your splendor as if it is a garment, and you say: ‘It behooves me to take in and to provide for.’ And then as if in a flash of lightning, a multitude of angels run to you. The angels perfect you by making various seats and steps on you for people to sit on. Next you see some suffering infants near the earth, but in the air. They are like fish swimming in the water. These infants enter your womb through the many holes that are in it. You then sigh, drawing the infants up to your head where you breathe them forth through your mouth, remaining pure in the process. Then a peaceful light appears to you. This peaceful light takes the suffering skin from each of the infants and throws that skin beyond life. You then uncover the peaceful light for these infants and cover them with a beautiful garment.”  At the end of the meditation, sit quietly for a few moments. Then consider the following:
Where are you suffering in your life right now?
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One of my favorite artistic traditions comes from Japan and is called Kintsugi, the mending of broken pottery with gold. It reminds me of the deep wounds of the heart that we all have experienced in our lives. Even though we’re unique as individuals in how our paths unfold and how we move through our challenges, all of us still experience wounds of the heart. A Kintsugi artist, instead of hiding or disguising the past that has caused the break in the pottery, transforms the piece’s damage and history into something beautiful. The piece of pottery glimmers with cracks that are filled with gold, giving the pottery an appearance that is unique to itself, unlike any other piece. A creation of a glorious, new life!  What suffering, with deep wounds of your heart, have you experienced? Have you suffered grief, betrayal, or jealousy? How do we make sure that our deep wounds of the heart don’t cause us to become hard-hearted or without forgiveness or compassion for ourselves and others? How do we make sure the pain we feel doesn’t lead to feeling ill will toward another? Keeping them at a distance as we struggle with trusting or connecting with others.  How can our wounds of the heart be healed? Opening up to compassion, love and understanding. In Scivias, St. Hildegard shared about the person we can become “…who is without any blemish of hard-heartedness, ill will, and unfairness.” As this person, your heart is open and flows with love, empathy, and compassion, in and out like your breath. You accept others and yourself. You forgive easily. You are open to love. St. Hildegard also spoke about her vision of a person in sapphire blue who’s surrounded by light and warmth. “Imagine a very bright light, and inside it there is a person who is the color of sapphire. This person is completely surrounded by a very pleasant fire of reddish color. The very bright light completely surrounds this fire of reddish color, and at the same time this fire completely surrounds the light. Both the fire and the light surround the person, existing as one light with one force of potentiality.”  We can imagine this bright light and reddish fire coming to infuse the wounded cracks of our heart with warm, healing gold. Our hard-heartedness melts away. We are able to, once again, feel love and compassion for ourselves and open our arms to let it flow to others in the world.
Consider the following in your own life:
Hold these questions in your heart within your meditation or before bed. See what bubbles up to help you to heal the wounds of your heart. If you would like support to heal the wounds of your heart, I invite you to contact me for a free 30 minute initial consultation. Challenges are a part of life. Whether we embrace them or try to avoid them, we all come up against roadblocks in our life from time to time. They could come from other people or circumstances that enter our path. Or a tragedy or devastating event that brings us pain. Or they may even be internal challenges – our own lack of energy or motivation, inability to focus, or limiting beliefs.  Often like a bolt of lightning, challenges come into our lives and jolt us awake. How can we learn to stay strong, instead of crumble under the pressure? How can we learn to see the opportunity or gift that may be presenting itself within the challenge? Obstacles that come into your path are opportunities for you to grow beyond your current state. To break through the ceiling of your perceived limitations. Yet they may be difficult to view this way when you’re in the midst of the storm and feeling trapped or ready to drown. How do we transform them to help us move forward instead of being stuck in the current circumstances?  Obstacles, if not overcome, can overwhelm and stop you from moving forward in the vision for your life’s journey. They can keep you stuck, usually in fear, unable to take action in order to grow. St. Hildegard, in the second part of Scivias, shares a vision that we can use when coming up against challenge, “lmagine a very bright fire which is….wholly living, …and it is blazing violently... And imagine this flame lighten in color and give forth a bolt of lightning.” And she continues, sharing how this bolt of lightning that may come into your life actually leads to a clearing and a cleansing of the air, “Behold, the air…– suddenly rising up, and the flame sending sparks into the air, thereby leading the air to perfection. The air sparkles and is put in order...”  And this even brings a gift, a new creative force into being, “After that, this flame sends forth some of its fire to a little clod of muddy earth which is lying on the ground. This flame makes this little clod warm so that a body and blood are brought forth. This flame breathes into this body and blood, and a person is brought forth. With this finished, the bright fire… brings the whitest of flowers to this person…” Take a moment to look back into your life. Where have you had challenges that now, you can see were creative opportunities for growth in your life? What were the “whitest of flowers” or gifts from the situation? What do you appreciate now, looking back? Be grateful for your own resiliency to come out of the darkness and grow! Celebrate – with joy and love – the you that has evolved through these moments! Offer appreciation and gratitude for the enduring light that shines in your life – the “whitest of flowers”, as St. Hildegard says.  Now that you’ve considered the past, come to the present moment. What obstacles present themselves to you today? How can you see them as creative opportunities for growth? Let me offer some contemplative questions for you.
Use this practice for several days in a row and see what “whitest flower” arises in your life. Check out the many resources available to support you on your spiritual journey in my Free Healing Library here. “Instead of asking “what’s the problem?” ask “what’s the creative opportunity?” Deepak Chopra The Universe supports you in ways that you may not even fully realize. Yes, it does! You may not realize this each and every moment in the day. You may even feel quite alone in the world at times.  But in truth, the Universe supports you each and every moment because you’re not separate from it. You’re one within it and it is one with you. That means that love, wisdom and peace that’s the nature of the Universe is also your nature. And the support that is offered can show up in the world as angelic beings in many forms. It may be that sometimes you have certain people or events that bring something good into your life. Or maybe you’re protected from something harmful that might’ve crossed your path. Or possibly you have an inspiration for an idea just when you need it most. It might even seem that the Universe is conspiring to support you! Just ponder that idea for a moment. The Universe is conspiring to support you! If you can open yourself to this idea, this possibility, the Divine oneness that you’re a part of becomes more apparent to you. You see that these moments aren’t accidental, but actually support and guidance coming to you. St. Hildegard shares in her 6th Illumination in Scivias how heavenly spirits are like a crown of light radiating to support us.  “Imagine….heavenly spirits on high…They are shining very brightly….they have faces that are like the faces of people. The looks on their faces appear as if they are pure water. (They) also have wings on their shoulders…The looks on their faces appear as if they are the image of the Word of God shining in a mirror….arranged in a circle as if they are a crown. But all…are resounding with wondrous voices – accompanied with every type of music – all the miracles which God performed in the blessed souls.” Imagine this crown of light that shines in the Universe for your own unique life – divine guides conspiring to support you in each and every moment. And if you turn your energy and attention to this Divine support and presence, then they’ll even manifest more and more in your life. One might even say miracles arise!  What if we were to expect miracles like these in our lives? Expect that angels surround us and are available to support us if we simply ask? How would that shift our view of our own life? Moments of miracle appear in your life often. Cherish these moments no matter how small they are. Don’t limit, in your thinking, the ways that you think miracles may appear. Open yourself to all possibilities. Miracles come to us in many forms. They could be a healing. Or a person who comes into our lives. Or an opportunity that presents itself. Maybe an adventure or an experience in nature. Or many pieces falling into place in just the right way for you to take the next step. Put on your “miracle glasses” for a moment with me and look into your life’s journey so far. When in your life did you have moments of support or goodness? Where and how did those arise? Who were the people, as angelic beings, involved who brought goodness into your day? When did you feel protected by harm that could’ve arisen? Almost as if a circle of angelic beings were protecting you?  I invite you to explore this practice for the next week. Each evening before bed, review your day. Identify 5 ways that you felt supported by the Universe that day. Consider how that help arose. Express your gratitude for these miracles – both big and small – that you received.
Check out the many resources available to support you on your spiritual journey in my Free Healing Library here. All of us have people who come into our lives with messages for us. Sometimes they’re inspired teachers who we welcome into our lives as it’s clear they’re there to teach us something that we need in just that moment in order to align with the divine vision for our life.  Others come into our lives to help us learn something that’s needed but we don’t feel so inclined to welcome them with open arms. The message they bring makes us uncomfortable. We don’t want to see or hear it. We want to hide. Yet later, in hindsight, we see the importance of what that person brought into our lives and how it was needed at that time. Who are the inspired guides who have come into your life to help you at just the right moment? What did they share with you? Was it hard to hear? Looking back in your life, how did that message change your path in life?  In the Fifth Vision of the First Part, Scivias, St. Hildegard speaks of the prophets who are showing us their signs. These prophets help us to see the direction we need to go. They are messengers to guide us on our path. Who are the prophets or inspired teachers in your life right now? Who have come to guide you in the right direction? St. Hildegard also had people in her life who shared with her messages that she needed to hear. One such confidant in her life was the monk, Volmar, who supported her in following her divine calling, even when she felt incapable of doing so at times. It was Volmar who was the first person to validate her visions as divine experiences. He recognized her rare spiritual gifts and became a good friend and mentor for many years in her life. She shared her experience and her self-doubt with him, and he strongly encouraged her to write. Over 10 years, she shared her experiences in the text that would become her visionary work, Scivias. Volmar became her secretary, writing down the words she dictated.  He also encouraged her to campaign on her behalf to have her visions recognized by the Church as a divine message of God. This led to Pope Eugenius III approving of her work and moving her forward into the public light as a spiritual and intellectual leader – something that was unheard of during these times, and even prohibited for women.
Volmar, St. Hildegard’s priest, confidant and secretary, was in her life for over 60 years. St. Hildegard shows us how the steps on our journey can become a little easier to follow when we recognize those in our lives who come with important messages for us. Who’s bringing the message that you need to hear in your life today? Listen with an open mind and heart to what comes. These often are messages from the spiritual realm, bringing the news you need as guidance to align with the divine vision in your life. I would be honored to be a guide in your life. Check out the many resources available to support you on your spiritual journey in my Free Healing Library here. You’ve been given a great gift, an incredible gift – your life – but what will you do with this one, precious life? Do you know? Are you clear? If you enter into a deep space of listening you can hear the Divine’s highest vision for this precious life you have. Be open for what will come into view, trusting and sensing that the Divine will show you. This visioning isn’t simply visualizing what you may want within your life. Visioning is something much greater. We open ourselves to being a vessel or vehicle for manifesting the highest divine intentions in our life – this great gift we’ve been given.  St. Hildegard shared, in her 4th illumination in Scivias, a vision that we can see as a metaphor for aligning with the radiance that we are as divine beings. “The setting sun and the setting stars should not be bright in my tent, but angelic glory should be. The foundation of my tent ought to be made of topaz, and its structure should be made all of gems. Its stairs ought to be made of crystal and its floor should be gold. I ought to be a companion of the angels since I am the living breath which God sent into dry dust. I ought to know and understand God.” And yet, she too had moments when she experienced obstacles on her path. But alas! My tent is full of eyes which are able to see everywhere... I have been attacked and plundered with the eyes and …..completely torn….I was led into another place which lacked any beauty and honor …Those who had seized me, struck me with blows…  Sometimes we experience obstacles where we lose touch with the vision for our life. We may feel we’re just drifting along in a vast ocean. Sometimes this is a moment of pause in our lives as we shed what we need to – maybe our limiting beliefs and false ideas about life. It’s part of our transformation as we await the emerging of a deeper dimension of our being.  Other times, we lose touch with the vision for our life and we drift along, attached to our limiting beliefs and false ideas. We convince ourselves we don’t have time to align with our higher vision. Or the money. Or the skills or ability. Or something else that stops us. We lose touch with our spiritual nature, leaving us fearful, frustrated, or bitter. We may desperately try to control the external world in order to find security and a glimpse of happiness. We’ve lost touch with the divine vision for our own unique life. If we can catch ourselves in this downward spiral and enter into a space of deep listening, we can become aware that we’re surrounded by unconditional love. Our being lives within this unconditional love if we can simply open ourselves to experiencing this. It’s in this state, we can offer questions to our spirit guides. Questions that come without an attachment to a specific outcome or judgment of an answer. As we listen inwardly, we begin to hear at deeper levels what we’re being called to be in this lifetime and what we need to embody to realize it. When we begin to understand our purpose for being here, we can start to open ourselves to the Divine’s vision for us and our own unique path for unfolding that vision.  In this work, we become more aware that we are spiritual beings, not separate from the Divine, and that our unique and divine vision is within us already.
Michael Beckwith, spiritual leader and creator of Life Visioning, offers these questions to access the power of visioning in your life.
“I believe that you’re great, that there’s something magnificent about you. Regardless of what has happened to you in your life. Regardless of how young or old you think you might be. The moment you begin to ‘think properly,’ this something that’s within you, this power within you that’s greater than the world, it will begin to emerge. It will take over your life. It will feed you. It will clothe you. It will guide you, protect you, direct you, sustain your very existence. If you let it..” – Michael Beckwith Check out the many additional resources available to support you on your spiritual journey in my Free Healing Library here. Life’s full of challenges and sometimes they surprise you on your life’s journey. Some are dropped into your life, beyond your control, and even shock you. A serious illness of a friend. The death of a loved one. A natural disaster like a hurricane. Just to name a few. Although these challenges may help us to learn and grow, that doesn’t mean they’re easy! How do you face the challenges that come to you in the world? With confidence? Or do you struggle to get through them? What ones are in your life now? How are you facing them?  If you’re faced with the same challenges again and again, not sure how to move through them, you may start to lose your motivation to face the issue and the possible learning that exists within it. You can begin to spiral into despair and frustration. You may know inwardly that you can overcome these challenges, but how? It may be hard to see in the midst of the storm. St. Hildegard shares in images in her 3rd vision in Scivias what we may experience in the midst of a challenge, “This gloomy fire is shaking…with all of its strength – full of sounds, storms, and very sharp stones... and the wind and the air …are being shaken…”  It’s at this time that we need to remember who we are and why we are here upon the earth. We need to reconnect with the Divine for support. What St. Hildegard describes as, “… a caressing rain with softness… a certain wind (that) also blows out its turbulence from this air.” Then, you’ll remember that you’re on a journey to a higher state of consciousness where you can see your challenges as opportunities to get a glimpse of your highest self. These 4 virtues are gifts that St. Hildegard shares as a foundation of support as we strive to discover how to bring forth that “caressing rain” and “wind that blows away the turbulence.” Stay Grounded You’ll find your stability if you remember to stay grounded. Breathe in, breathe out. Don’t forget to breathe! Our breath is the source of life. Better yet, go outside and put your feet upon Mother Earth and breathe deeply for a couple minutes. A wonderful way to stay grounded.  Connect with the Divine Remind yourself of the higher wisdom that is the foundation of all of life. Reestablish or strengthen your connection through prayer, meditation, study, or time in nature. Discover Your Strength and Fortitude Find inspiration and strength to be present with this challenge in the image of St. Hildegard holding her abbess staff as she speaks, “God created me… God is also my strength… Through God, I have living spirit. Through God I have life and movement. Through God I learn, I find my path…” As you stay grounded and connect with the Divine, you discover that center that’s still and quiet within the whirlwind of turmoil. You can access your inner strength and power for your life’s journey. Here you can be open to guidance and discover what you need for this moment in your life.  Access Peace Within
When you enter into this still and quiet place, you can access a greater wisdom within yourself and in the universe. You open to listening for communication that can come from the Divine. A sense of calm and peace can flow through you. Challenges are your opportunities to grow in life. They guide you to awareness of yourself and your potential which is infinite and active in every moment. If you want to explore getting my support as you navigate a storm in your life, I encourage to sign up for a free 30 minute consultation with me. Summer’s beginning to wind down and a chill has come into the air in the early mornings. It’s harvest time! And the gifts of the season are abundant. As the time of daylight decreases and the darkness of the nights increases, it’s a time for us to keep our inner radiant light shining, as we move into the darker time of the year. With St. Hildegard’s Feast Day this week, September 17th, I’m once again inspired by what courage she had to overcome her own fears and anxiety about recognizing and living her soul’s purpose in the world. Shining her radiant light into the world!  As you’re journeying down the path of your soul’s purpose in this phase of your life does fear or anxiety rise up within you? Do they become stumbling blocks to moving forward? Fear that maybe you’re inadequate or not enough? Fear that you’ll fail or that others won’t want what you have to offer? Does this cast a shadow on your shining light that stops you from moving forward on your path?  Fear is a natural part of being human, of course! But we can take charge of how we respond to our own fear. Whether we let it paralyze us or overwhelm us or whether we work to move beyond it so that we can bring what the world is waiting for us to share. Be curious about the fear or anxiety that arises in you. Why’s it here? What’s its origin? Does it remind you of a fear that served you in the past? Is it serving you now? After understanding this better, remember that your soul’s purpose is waiting to be shared in the world. Now’s the time to gather your courage to move beyond any fear or anxiety. To overcome your own inner dragons that may manifest particularly during this season. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson With this impulse of courage to let our own light shine, we can bring about new and powerful ways of thinking and living in our communities that will be fruitful. And others will find their own inner strength to do the same. I hear St. Hildegard’s words from her Second Vision in Scivias, as she shares, “And again I hear that one speaking: ...For when the land is tilled with a great deal of labor, it brings forth a lot of fruitfulness. It is similar with the human race because after the fall of humanity, many virtues rose up to help...  This week let’s explore 3 virtues that we can call upon to help us with the hard work of “tilling the soil” or gathering our courage to move through fear and anxiety to shine our light in the world. In so doing, our harvested fruits can be shared, and even grow and flourish in the world as others receive and feel empowered to do the same. An abundant harvest, creating transformation in the world! 1. Compassion – as you struggle with your own anxiety and fear, take a moment to find compassion for yourself. Be gentle and kind. Offer loving kindness to yourself for who and all that you are. Then offer loving kindness to others in the world. Know that they too struggle and experience fear or anxiety. Feel compassion towards them on their paths in life. 2. Tranquility – When a surge of restlessness or anxiety or anger flows through you, search to find a place of peace and tranquility. Lean upon the help of Mother Nature who will calm us. Then do some slow, conscious breathing. As a wave of tranquility moves through, think of others who may also be in need of this. Recognize that they are also in need of tranquility at times of anxiety or anger. 3. Generosity – As obstacles arise in your path, be especially generous in love for yourself at this time – generous with compassionate understanding and kindness toward yourself. Generous in self-care and recognition of the light that longs to shine. And then extend this generosity to others – offering understanding and kindness as they work through their own obstacles. As we call upon these virtues to support us in walking the path of our soul’s purpose, our light will shine through the darkness. And an abundant harvest we’ll have! The fruits of our labor.  If you are feeling stuck in fear or uncertainty, I invite you to sign up for a free initial consultation with me!
Have you found what is your own bright light to shine forth in the world? Your purpose in life? What you were meant to create in this life? Do you know that you have a purpose, one that is unique to you, one that only you can contribute to the world? Are you clear on what that is? The world is waiting for you to share it!  Your soul has a yearning to live your purpose, whether you choose to follow it or not. Whether you’re resistant to it or not. Know that your soul will continue calling to you to live your soul’s purpose. This will always be within you throughout your life. Life will, of course, continue to move forward, whether you follow your calling or not. For life, by its very nature, lives and breathes within humanity and within the universe, deriving its energy from the Divine. Yet, if you wish to share in this abundance in life, to truly thrive within this divine flow, you must give of yourself in a meaningful and committed way to your purpose in the world. For you are part of the Divine. But you have the freedom to choose if you’ll dive into this divine flow or not. Every morning you awake, you’re given another opportunity to respond to this inner yearning, to realize it. Yet it’s your choice to engage or not.  St. Hildegard of Bingen inspires us to drink from this fountain of divine abundance. In her first vision shared in Scivias, she encourages us to “…extend yourself in the fountain of abundance” and to share the “flowing of your water” with the world." It’s time to dive right into the fountain of Divine abundance. Hear the calling of your soul’s purpose and understand what it is! Then respond to the call. Follow it with courage, shining your bright light with others in the world. St. Hildegard continues, “For you do not take the understanding of this profoundness from humanity, but you receive it from above by celestial justice…With a bright light this serenity will shine forth strongly among those people who dare to shine forth.” St. Hildegard calls us to rise with boldness to commit to our own individual purpose in life, seeking support in the Divine. She encourages us to not hide and not be afraid. We’re born as radiant beings longing to find our purpose upon earth and live a meaningful life. But, we may experience obstacles. Fear or shame in expressing our true self. We might hide our gifts rather than risking failure or disapproval. We may believe our thoughts and contributions aren’t good enough or that we’re not good enough to contribute anything noteworthy to the world. Still, we must move forward, St. Hildegard encourages us to commit to our true purpose that is our soul’s yearning. For it so longs to find its way in life. Only you can share what you have to give to the world. Only you can discover who you are and what you’re meant to bring forth into the world. The world won’t discover that and bring it to you. As you begin to shine your light of your soul’s yearning into the world, it might feel like only a small spark. Tend to it with care and it’ll grow into a crackling fire ready to warm and awaken others in the world!  St. Hildegard encourages us further to “Arise therefore, cry aloud and say what is revealed to you with the strongest power of divine help.”
Do you know what needs to arise and be spoken from you? The world’s waiting for you to share! Your radiant nature is always there, even beneath limiting beliefs and thought patterns. These will dissolve over time if you spend time being open to listening to your soul’s yearning. Take time to find and explore the purpose that you’re meant to live. Commit to manifesting this in the world! Here are 3 useful tools to help you discover what the world’s waiting to receive from you. 1. Sit in quiet contemplation. Listen for your soul’s yearning. What do you hear? What’s it longing for? What’s it calling you to bring to the world? Bracket your quiet time with a song. Sing it quietly to yourself. One of my favorites is :"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" Pick a song that speaks to your soul. 2. Ask the Divine for support. The Divine’s always available to support you but you must ask. For it’s your choice. So, ask for guidance in discovering your soul’s yearning. And when you think you might’ve discovered it, ask for guidance about whether you’re on the right track or not. One technique that is especially potent is to take a blank piece of paper. At the top of the page write the sentence: "God, show me my soul's purpose." Then with your non-dominant hand write out or draw whatever thoughts, feelings or images that come to you. 3. Observe and listen over time. As you sit in daily quiet contemplation and as you go about your day-to-day activities, observe and listen to what comes to you. In your thoughts, in your feelings or in what someone else says to you, or what simply arises in a moment. What response comes that helps you to see with more clarity what the world’s waiting for you to bring? I look forward to seeing what you bring! Know that I am always available for private sessions if you feel you need support in how to discover your soul's purpose. Contact me to explore private sessions. Do you sometimes think that maybe you missed your true calling in life and now you’re too old to follow it? Do you feel it’s too late to discover your true purpose? Maybe you feel a burning fire within that wants to be fulfilled but you feel your time has passed already and you’re too old to satisfy it? Or you remember your childhood dreams that never have been realized but now you feel like it’s too late?  Whenever thoughts like these float into my mind, I remember St. Hildegard and how much her life inspires me. She lived to the ripe old age of 81 following her calling in a time where a typical lifespan was half that! She worked with determination to bring her gifts into the world despite many obstacles including even her own limiting beliefs about women and herself. When she was 52 years old, she felt called to leave her home of 40 years, the Abbey of St. Disibod, and take the bold step to build her own abbey where St. Rupert’s church on the Rhine River had been destroyed. The inspiring work of St. Rupert in the 7th century fueled her commitment to move forward with this project.  And yet, she was faced with many obstacles along the way. The monks at St. Disibod strongly objected that she was leaving. Understandable, as many sisters leaving with her meant that the monks’ financial support would too. Yet, she continued to find her courage to do what she felt called to. And she moved forward. She built Rupertsberg, a place for her to manifest the Power of the Living Light. The early years on the Rupertsberg were difficult ones. Some sisters even left. Still she persevered with the passion she had for the project. And then at the age of 67, marching forward, she created a second abbey! Even as she entered into the last decade of her life, she stayed active each and every day - writing texts that would share with others her plant remedies for healing, developing her own forms of worship and dress at the new abbey, and writing letters to the Emperor and the Pope. She stood up for a revolutionary youth who, upon death, had repented and so she agreed to have him buried on her property, in spite of the consequences. The authorities were upset and her convent was placed under interdict. Yet she fought against this injustice and won yet another battle, shortly before she died at age 81.  What wisdom and experience, alongside determination, courage and action she displayed in her later years! St. Hildegard is such an inspiration to me as I enter into this period of my life. We’re never too old to take up a passion, to find meaning in life, and to try something new! Here are a few tips for thriving, not just surviving, in your later years of life, that I’ve learned from St. Hildegard in my life. May they support you too! 1. Have a purpose or a reason to get up in the morning – something meaningful in life. Consider where you can share your experience and wisdom gained over the years. Consider what you have longed to do in life and haven’t yet. Then take steps to begin it! 2. Celebrate and cultivate social connections – Loss of loved ones is inevitable as you grow older. Make new friends and not just ones your age. 3. Keep a rhythm and routine in your life – having rhythms helps to give you strength. Wake up and go to sleep at the same times each day. Eat meals at regular times. Find some consistency throughout the week of time in nature, exercise, and social activities. 4. Don’t be defined by obstacles – Remember how you crashed through obstacles when you were younger with idealism and eternal optimism? Maybe you’ve grown wiser since then but hold on to an attitude of positivity and gratitude, not bitterness, as you age. Don’t let yourself be defined by an illness or your age. 5. Try new things – it keeps your mind and body flexible! And you may discover a new passion! 6. Let go of the limiting beliefs of old age - There are numerous stories of people living their passions in their later years. Read a few of them to inspire you! You’re never too old. In this third phase of life, when the busy time of raising children and building a career passes, we can begin to savor the moments of life in a new way and not let them rush by. Friends, family, new experiences, and nature can be more deeply enjoyed. Passions that have been dormant can now begin to blossom!  May you find meaning and purpose that fuels your passion in this phase of your life!
Check out the many resources available to support you on your spiritual journey in my Free Healing Library here. |
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
February 2020
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