The greatest thing we can unlearn is the impulse to approach our healing from a place of shame, guilt, fear or judgement.

For example, we may aim to follow a path of self improvement because we believe that who we are right now isn’t good enough, or we feel there is something inherently wrong or bad about what we are experiencing.

However, shame, fear and guilt, and judgement will only block your inner wisdom and hide your spark.

When you can shine the light of love on yourself instead, this is when true healing occurs.

I invite you to approach this journey as a path of self discovery rather than a path of self improvement. It is a subtle shift in perspective. One that is worth considering.

A path of self discovery allows us to be open to learning something new. And I believe that is what healing is, simply learning (or unlearning) something for the purpose of continuing to grow into the next phase of our Soul’s natural development.

We would never look at a caterpillar cozy in her cocoon, tucked away from the world as she undergoes her transformation, as not being good enough because she is still in the process of growing her wings. It is accepted as just a natural process, and that is the same for us too!

I’m going to share with you how to approach this journey with a bit more compassion and playfulness.

So please, be easy on yourself! And if you are noticing any judgement, shame, guilt or fear arising within yourself, know this is totally ok! Try not to judge the judgement ;)

The thread that I weave through all the work I do, as well as in my own personal life and healing journey, is the practice of mindful compassionate curiosity.

What is Mindful Compassionate Curiosity?

Mindfulness

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.  . . . in the service of self understanding and wisdom.” - Jon Kabat-Zinn

Self Compassion

Is the practice of recognizing you are suffering and the heartfelt wish to turn towards yourself with loving presence to relieve that suffering.

Curiosity 

The desire to learn.

Simply put, the invitation here is to get curious about what is really going on, for the purpose of gaining wisdom from learning what is needed to relieve your suffering, and to do so with love.

Heart centred tip:

Notice any impulses to judge yourself for your suffering.

Sometimes we think that our suffering doesn’t matter because there is always someone whose suffering is worse than ours.  However, if we are to truly find our way back to ourselves, I believe that we should leave no stone unturned.

Anything that is disturbing your peace of mind is blocking your path back to your spark.  All suffering, both big and small, is worth shining light on so that we can have the opportunity to heal all of it.  We all deserve this and you deserve this too.

Your invitation this week is this, when you find yourself in moments of suffering, do you get down on yourself, or do you turn towards yourself with compassion?

How do you approach your healing?

With Love,
Kristen
XO

Please share with anyone who may need to hear these words right now.  May we all support one another to uplift the heart of our world to greater experiences of love, health & harmony.

​When the path you are on in life leads you down into the depths of your own pain, hope can be hard to find.

It can feel like you are living groundhog day.

You know something doesn’t feel right but you can’t put your finger on what it is.

So you keep plugging along.

But the longer you plug along on this path, the scarier it gets.

Day after day, week after week and year after year, the hope that things are ever going to feel better starts to fade.

Before you know it, you don’t really know who you are anymore.

And the confusing thing is, you’ve been doing all the things that are supposed to make you feel better.  

You’ve reached out to friends, gone on that walk, sat your butt down to meditate and maybe even tried a healing session here and there in an attempt to free yourself from the  pain of the disappointments and heartaches life has tossed your way.

And when these things don’t work, nostalgic comfort food, endless hours of tv, sugar filled lattes and a bottle of your favourite wine seem like a great alternative option.

Because what else are you supposed to do when it appears there is no relief in sight?

When I studied astrology, there was a fellow in my class whose sun sign was Scorpio.  I didn’t know a lot about this astrological sign when I started my training, but the wisdom he offered I will never forget.

Scorpios are those people who have an incredible ability to dive into the deepest and darkest aspects of humanity that the rest of us would prefer to turn away from.

There is a power they possess that makes them great healers, because they can sit with us, without flinching, as we feel into the rage, shame, grief and terror that are all a part of this human experience.

This person I mentioned, he loved death metal.  Which peaked my interest because I could never understand this type of music.  Why would anyone want to relish in that depth of anger and hatred?

And what he said had a profound impact on my view of our human experience.

What he said was this . . .

That no matter how deep into the darkness he fell, he could see clearly that love existed there.

I invite you to take a moment right now and really let that sink in.

.    .    .

As I write these words to you, they still hit my heart and move me to tears.

It was those words that inspired me to open up my own heart; to have the courage to let the pain I had been talking myself out of my whole life bubble up to the surface to be seen, heard, felt and, most importantly, loved.

It is natural for us to turn away from our pain.  We are all still learning how to love ourselves through our difficult emotions, difficult experiences and the parts of ourselves we were taught would be better off if hidden from view.

In a culture of "Good Vibes Only", I invite you to embrace an "All Vibes Welcome" approach to your healing process.

This just may be the path that will free us from our suffering.

This week, consider this . . .

Can you see that glimmer of love? (even in the darkness . . .)

With Love,
Kristen
XO

While the official kickoff for fall is still a couple weeks away, I can’t help but notice the shift in energy happening right now.

I absolutely love this time of year!

The warmth of the summer sun can still be felt gently on my face as I sit back and welcome the coolness of the fall breeze as it soothes my skin.

I delight in hearing the sounds of the birds gathering as they prepare to make their journey south for the winter.

And my favourite, the trees showing off their yellow and golden leaves (and maybe even red, but that is rare to find here on the prairies) before they release them to the earth to become dirt once again.

I love how being a witness to nature can teach us so many lessons about what it means to be human, we are nature after all!

And as I reflect on this time, I can’t help but wonder why the trees release their leaves to begin with.  Nature doesn’t do anything without intention, everything happens for a reason, so what are the leaves falling for?

Turns out, many trees lose their leaves before winter to save energy.  To hang onto the leaves during the cold and often dry season would take up too much of the trees inner resources to keep the leaves nourished during this time, so in an effortless act of self love, the leaves are released.

I can’t help but sit in wonder at this deep, innate wisdom these trees hold within them.  On some level, they know that if they hang on to their leaves for too long, more damage will be done unto themselves.

This brings up a memory for me from several years ago when I was living in Calgary.  We had a wicked snow storm right around this time of year which produced several inches of heavy, wet snow.  The trees still had their leaves at this time, and as the snow clung to them, the pressure of this weight caused many of the branches to bow and break.

It was just too much to carry.

These snow storms don’t happen that often this early in the season, so it makes sense this took the trees by surprise.

But it does highlight the wisdom the trees hold.  They are in the habit of releasing their leaves every fall, knowing that if they hang onto them, the pressure of the snow that is to come in the next cycle of the seasons will cause them more harm than good.
In the spring, these trees lovingly birth their leaves and nurture them throughout the summer, proudly showing off their beauty for all to see.

And then, without any sense of pride, embarrassment, guilt, shame or doubt, it is an effortless act of self love that causes them to let their leaves fall.

As you look outside this week and see the leaves falling, know they are falling so that the tree can conserve her energy and her resources for the next cycle of her life that is yet to come.

The beauty in this wisdom is to remember that we too, are nature.

You have permission to release the burdens you are carrying, before you snap and break.

You have permission to love yourself through this, knowing that what makes us different from the trees is that we tend to hold onto things for too long out of fear of feeling the emotions that come with letting go.

You have permission to grieve the loss of everything you worked so hard to build in this cycle of life that is ending.  To feel all of the feels that come up as you allow this time to come to a close.

You have permission to conserve this newfound energy that comes from the release so you can use it to blossom into the next cycle of your life.

This week, as you watch the leaves fall ask yourself . . .

What act of self love is your soul asking you for right now?

What is this next cycle of life calling you towards?

As you lean into the wisdom of the release, hold close to your heart and keep in mind . . .

What are you falling for?

With Love,
Kristen
XO