​This week’s Soul Note is going to be short and sweet.

Take a moment right now to slow down, let go of the day so far and set aside any business in your mind of what is to come.

Now close your eyes, take three deep breaths and look around you.

How does the present moment look different?  What can you enjoy about this moment - right here - right now?

If the answer isn’t obvious to you, repeat the steps above and try a few more times.  Your nervous system may just need a few more breaths to help the body settle.

It’s important to have times to feel into our pain, our hurts, our fears and struggles.  It’s important not to bypass these things.  We do need to tend to them.

But life can be both.

At the same time.

We can have moments of joy during times of struggle. 

Today I’d like to give you permission to find moments of enjoyment even if things are feeling hard right now.  It is these moments that will uplift you and support you through to the other side.

You may want to set a reminder in your phone to come back to this practice a few times this week or even a few times each day.  Get curious to see how doing this short and sweet practice may help turn things around for you.

What can you appreciate about this very moment?

With Love,
Kristen
​XO

Your Soul has a lesson plan.

Life is the Teacher.

Being Human is the subject.
​
Let’s go!


How often do you take a moment of reflection to take stock of what is working in your life and what isn’t?


With the business of the day to day grind and overwhelm of work, family and personal responsibilities, it can be easy to keep flowing with patterns that were laid down in our lives many, many years ago without even realizing that there is opportunity for change.


Sometimes we can be very aware of the things that aren’t working.  They are the things we complain about, get upset about, shy away from, feel defeated with or are overwhelmed by.


Other times, it may not be in our awareness.  It just feels like a deep sense that something isn’t right but you’re not sure what it is or where it is coming from.


Both can be really frustrating to deal with!


One of the greatest insights I gained from studying astrology is that our journey through life happens in cycles.  The energies of the universe are always supporting our spiritual path back to our truest essence.  As we move through life, we are being guided and supported to let go of what we are growing out of and to shift towards what we are growing into.


Midlife offers us some pretty powerful astrological transits to support our growth.  If you stay curious and pay close attention, you will be able to find meaning in what is happening to you right now.


And if you aren’t paying attention, there is that saying . . .


“If you listen to your body (insert “life” here) when it whispers, you won’t have to listen to it scream.” - author unknown


But let’s face it - we all eventually end up in a place where life is screaming at us to learn something!


So let’s do this.  You don’t have to know anything about astrology today to become aware of what life is asking you to grow out of.


You can try these steps:

1. Look around you - what do you notice?
2. Look within you - what do you notice?
3. Then ask yourself this question:

What is life trying to teach me right now?


I always feel called to remind you all of this - you aren’t doing anything wrong!  You are exactly where you are supposed to be.  You are just being asked to pay attention and to learn.


So take a big breath.


If you are struggling right now with confusion, defeat, frustration and overwhelm, please know this…


Your Soul came into this life with a lesson plan..  All of the circumstances you needed to learn the lessons you needed to in this lifetime have been divinely guided to help you remember who you truly are.  Approaching life with a sense of objectivity through the practices of mindfulness, compassion and curiosity will allow you to gain insight into what is old, worn out and not working.


It will also help you discern what you are being asked to shift into.


Growth isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.  Growth can feel excruciating, painful and dark, which is why it is so easy to push the lessons into the background of our awareness!


And it’s ok if this is the case.  Actually, we are all designed to do this.  In a way, avoiding the lessons is an act of love that comes from a younger version of yourself who didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to cope or manage pain in a loving way.  As a result, this part of you has the intention to protect yourself from the pain at all costs.  How beautiful is that?


So know this - it’s ok to take it slow.  Learn at your own pace.  Every shift, no matter how small, is leading you back to yourself.  That spark inside of you that has never gone anywhere and is just willing you to acknowledge her is getting brighter every day.  There is no rush.


As we go through life, the lessons will keep coming back, giving us opportunity after opportunity to peel away another layer of what no longer serves us so that that inner spark that has always been there can shine through.


What have you had enough of?  What is the story, belief, habit, reaction, relationship, circumstance, pattern that has been dimming your spark?


What have you been outgrowing?

With Love,
Kristen
​XO

The sun is in the sky shining in the zodiac sign of Taurus this month.  While Taurus represents many things, the quality of Taurus that is inspiring me right now is its ability to be deeply connected to the senses.  Taurus is an Earth sign, encouraging us to plant our feet deep into the ground and feel what is going on around us.  To get our heads out of the sky and be in our bodies.  To be present and really feel what its like to be in a human body here on Earth.  To notice and appreciate the nourishment and beauty that nature is continually providing for us.


And what a better time to do that than in the spring when so much is emerging from the Earth to tickle the senses and wake us up after a deep winter’s sleep?


Just for fun, take some extra mindful moments this week to tune into your senses and nourish yourself by doing so.  This can be a great way to practice self love if using words, meditation or journalling just isn’t your thing.


The grass is getting greener.  The leaves will soon be budding on the trees.  Animals that have been hibernating or migrating away for the winter are coming out to be seen again.  Nature offers so many vibrant colours, interesting plants, insects and animals for us to witness.  The sky is forever changing.  Notice what you can see.


The snow has now turned into rain.  Flowers will soon be blooming.  You can open your windows and let the scents of spring fill your home.  Maybe you have a favourite candle or essential oil you can bring out this week.  Notice what you can smell.


As the weather warms up and you trade in your winter clothes for summer ones, your skin can again be exposed to the breeze of the air floating by and the warmth of the sun’s rays.  You can walk bare foot in the grass or the sand and stick your hands in the dirt.  Notice what you can reach out and touch.


Maybe you are getting out more with family and friends, having picnics, sharing food and memories together.  Try slowing down this week to really notice the taste of the foods you are nourishing your body with.


And what can you hear?  What words, music, and sounds are you surrounding yourself with?  I love listening to the sounds of the birds outside.  Sometimes tuning into the silence of nature can be magical too.


And finally, what about your sixth sense?  The part of you that senses beyond the physical world?  Your inner knowing and gut feelings?  How can you trust and honour your inner knowing this week?


There is so much we miss out on when we get caught up in the worries of the mind and the business of trying to survive, pay the bills, get the work done, take care of others and figure out what we are doing wrong and how to get it all right.  Some days the pressure of it all just gets to be too much.


The medicine for this is to ground into the nourishment the Earth provides for us and create moments to appreciate the beauty and magic that surrounds us every day.


How can you connect with your senses today?


With Love,
Kristen
XO

And when it is not…


May the pureness of your heart nourish your mind’s troubles.


In many modern day spiritual teachings we are told to pay no attention to our thoughts.  That they are not who we really are.  That they are deceitful and that we should turn away from them in favour of aligning with love.  


I would like to offer a different perspective.  The perspective that our mind is a part of our human experience.  And to the reject the mind is to reject a part of ourselves.


Whenever we reject a part of ourselves, and the reason is always as some form of protection, we only create more separation within our human experience.  Us vs them, me vs you, my mind vs my Soul.


This is just one of those funny things we do as humans.  For some reason, a part of the deal about being here is to experience this separation.  Only Source truly knows the purpose of this and what it is leading us towards.


In the meantime, consider this - that rejecting the mind in favour of love is causing us to miss out on some really beautiful moments for healing.


Those repetitive thoughts, the worrisome, shameful, critical, uncomfortable and even disturbing thoughts, are nothing more than the part of you that is calling out for love.  To be seen, heard and understood.  


I would like to offer you this as an alternative - instead of turning AWAY from your thoughts in favour of love, what if you turned TOWARDS those same thoughts, and loved them up?


This is wholeness.  To have love for ALL that is.


It is no easy task!  It usually takes several human lifetime’s and many trips around the sun to grow in to this.  So please, be patient with yourself.  This is not a destination as much as it is a practice.


To be in the practice of turning towards ourselves, with love, every day.


What thoughts have you either been playing on repeat or pushing away out of fear they make you a bad person?  Can you offer this part of yourself the gift of grace today?  Take a pause and reeeeallly, listen. What nourishing words of love does this part of you need to hear right now?  Can you offer yourself this nourishment, with love, every day?


May the pureness of your heart nourish your mind’s troubles.


With Love,
Kristen
​XO