I know many people who feel that they are not ‘doing’ enough right now. They feel that there simply must be something that they should be actively engaged in, something that, in the ‘doing’, is working for the greater good.

Many sense that there is deep planetary change afoot. They can feel themselves perched on the cusp of a change. The change seems imminent. The change seems rather pressing. The change feels unavoidable. There is also a sense that whatever the change may be, it is more important than anything else that may have happened to them thus far in their lives.

We are all feeling something. For some of us, it feels inevitable. For some, it feels frightening. For others, there is the understanding that we must engage in whatever it is by actively participating in the movement. There must be a role for each individual to play.

Discovering what this role is becomes paramount for many.

There is the feeling that, unless we know how to participate, we are wasting our time. Or we are not taking the responsibility of being human seriously enough.

Within the collective consciousness of the concept of 2012, there are many paths to follow. There are many interpretations of the information available about the evolution and change we approach.

What is really going to happen?
For that matter what is happening already?

I see that we are in the flow of a kind of harmonization between the cosmos, the earth, we the people, and consciousness. As a collective of species on earth, we have been in an evolutionary journey spanning millennia. As individuals, we arrived from numerous sources to engage with life here on earth. This life, which we participate in collectively, is ready for an upscale.

The “upscaling” is going to have a number of forms to it. Some things may feel cataclysmic and destructive, some things may carry us into a delicious state of togetherness and bliss.

Whether you experience it as an ‘apocalypse’ or not is up to you…

So, as we return to the question of what each of us is meant to do, I offer the following as a way to make peace with the shift.

The shift is happening – we are all a part of it… Be as patient as you can be with the pace of the shift for yourself. Sometimes you will be in a holding pattern, where it seems that you don’t know how to act. Sometimes you will be certain that it is time to ‘do’ something. And it will be clear what you need to do!

Your role is to be present, and to “do” that which is clear to you in the moment. When it’s not clear, perhaps then your role is to remain calm, and wait until it is clear.

Take it easy, take it breathfully, take it together…

Tags: harmonization, cosmic shift, planetary change, imminent change, apocalypse, peacefully shift

Hubby and I were in the mall the other day and came across an Apple store, so of course we had to go in and brave the crowds. I couldn’t believe how many people were there – mostly teenagers and young adults who were looking at the latest iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or whatever (what’s with all this “i”, “i”, “i”, by the way?) for their coming school/university year.

Of course, Hubby was in seventh heaven – the Apple store for him is what a book store is for me. And since he’s spent more than enough time humoring me on our many visits to various book stores over the years, the least I could do was show some patience while he browsed and admired the latest offerings from Apple.

Within five minutes of entering the store, Hubby zoomed in on the iPad. Well, maybe not “zoomed in” – he had to wait his turn as there were at least half a dozen others waiting to try it out. When it was finally his turn, he started waxing poetic to me about its many amazing functions. Now, I’m a self-professed technophobe who only knows what I need to know (and even that’s dubious sometimes) – but I’ll admit that even I was impressed by this nifty little gadget…ummm, I mean “tablet computer”. The salesman sidled up to us and explained that the iPad is a “platform for audio and visual media such as books, periodicals, movies, music, and games, as well as web content”, which left me none the wiser until Hubby started demonstrating it to me.

He was so enthusiastic that he must have forgotten who he was talking to when he explained, with an excited gleam in his eye, that “you can even read newspapers, magazines and books online”! Well, all that comment did was earn him one of my “looks”. Read online indeed – he knows exactly how I feel about that (so many books so little time)!

After a while, when it looked like he was going to handcuff himself to the iPad, I decided to leave him in peace for about half an hour, convinced that that he would have purchased one by the time I returned.

To my surprise, he hadn’t. After going on ad nauseum about the incomparable benefits of the iPad, he then did a complete turn-around and decided to hold off until the next version is introduced, as it will probably have “even more apps to play with”!

Whatever. It makes no difference to me – until Apple comes up with a tablet computer that makes coffee, I’ll stick to my real books, thank you!

Tags: iPad, apple, tactile-feel-books, technophobe, technology-heaven, love bookstores

Does it feel like your beliefs help you? If you changed some of your beliefs, would it change your life?

It is so comforting to have something to believe in. It is so rewarding to believe that we know what to do, and that we are making an accurate and valid decision. When there is a strong ‘reason’ behind a choice, we feel safe in making that choice. We feel convinced that what we do is ‘right’. We believe in what we are doing.

And it certainly feels wonderful to believe in another person. We can believe that we are loved, that we are cared for, that the other person has our best interests in mind. This feels really safe.

But where do these beliefs come from?

I wonder sometimes if the thought that I am having is generated from my mind or is coming directly through from my Intuition. It is often so hard to make this discernment. As I move through my life, one of my desires is that I derive most of my information from Intuition, rather than from what I think, or what I believe.

Thoughts and beliefs, generated by the mind, are full of rich elements. These thoughts can be beautiful, they can be quite detailed, and they can make us believe that they are full of truth. They can be VERY convincing as they make us want to believe what they are presenting to us.

This makes me wonder again about where these thoughts, and these beliefs come from? I have spent quite a lot of time unravelling the differences between thoughts based on our beliefs, and thoughts based on what we hear through Intuition.

In general, we are at the mercy of the thoughts that come through from our minds, and from the beliefs based on our past experiences. We create whole belief systems about ourselves, our friends and families, and our lives, based on what the mind has created out of events that we have experienced in the past.

Beliefs that grow out of these past experiences are based on a time that is over, not on who we are right now, or what is really occurring right now. We attempt to live our lives based on a set of ideas that applied before, in a totally different set of circumstances than are available now.

The beliefs that we tend to pay attention to are the beliefs of the mind, the beliefs of the past.

A new opportunity exists, to instead pay attention to the clear and free thoughts that our Intuition can guide us to.

Believing that there is a way to liberate ourselves from the constrictions of past experience, we begin to create a new set of beliefs. The primary new belief can be that we are open to Intuitive guidance. When we experiment with this, we create a door to freedom from the mind.

This feels good!
Blessings and Love,
Anatara

Tags: belief-systems, trust your intuition, release-past-experiences, overcoming-obstacles, clear-free-thoughts, desires-misjudgment

We celebrated my daughter’s Sweet Sixteen birthday with a weekend in New York City for just the two of us. One plan of many, squeezed into a short 48 hours, was to grab a cup of coffee and have breakfast near (instead of at) Tiffany’s. We got rained out, though. The rain poured down in buckets, pounding at our umbrellas as we waded down the street to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Around us, those that didn’t have umbrellas ran for cover. Looking at someone splashing by us, my daughter said, “Mom, do you know you get wetter running through the rain than just walking?”

I actually didn’t know that, and asked her to tell me why. Apparently, the TV show Myth Busters did an experiment on running in the rain (yes, I know, where do they come up with these ideas?). The myth they were trying to confirm or bust was whether running kept you drier. It did not. Over a hundred-yard course, the data from eight trials showed that the running person got wetter than the person walking.

As I thought about that little factoid, I couldn’t help but relate it to life.

There are some people who always seem to be in a rush, hurrying through life to get onto the next thing. I know what that’s like — I do it myself at times. Like trying to stay dry by running in the rain, it’s been my experience that running through life gets you soaked with stress.

It’s the rare person who walks with grace and ease through life, even when it’s hailing down responsibilities that make most hurry. When I see people barraged but still calm, or when I myself am able to stay in that relaxed state despite it all, I study it.

It’s a unique skill that calls for attention. Those people stand out. Good leaders have that ability, as do good parents.

You would think that when Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger crash-landed into the Hudson River in New York that his voice and demeanor would be rushed. Yet recordings of the radio traffic showed that the pilot was extraordinarily calm during the entire event.

You would think that the Mom in the grocery store dealing with a terrible-two tantrum would be harried and rushed. Instead, without a word, she calmly picks up the child and leaves the store, coming back after a time-out restored peace.

Circumstances happen every day where a rushed response could immediately arise.

In fact, as I try to concentrate on writing this morning, other requests are bombarding me. My son wants to have a friend over to visit. My husband is coming in and out the house, getting ready for work. My consulting client has an immediate need and wants my input right now. My daughter is waiting for me to take her to get her hair cut before she goes back to school.

Can you relate?

When I do come back to the writing, can I do so in an unhurried way? When you feel rained on by life, can you walk instead of run?

Tags: calm-storm, rushed-response, graceful-demeanor, good-example, hurry-through-life, less-stress

We all have the tendency to express anger about certain things. Some things just push our ‘buttons’, making us want to react with angry words or outbursts of loud and aggressive behaviour. This anger usually feels justified. It feels as if we have the ‘right’ to be angry about whatever it is that has triggered our anger. And it also feels as if taking a ‘stand’ on the issue will solve whatever the problem is.

I saw this from an interesting perspective this week.

My brother-in-law came to visit and brought me a lovely little gift. As a flight attendant, his plane had been forced to make a layover in Gander, Newfoundland. While there, he purchased a small, necklace-sized carving of a polar bear. In meditation, I held the bear in my hand with reverence, feeling its smooth and polished surface.

The image was so simple. The polar bear seemed so whole, so complete, so beautiful. I could feel its essence roaming the ice flows, diving into the blue depths of the arctic waters, and at times searching for an instinctual way of life that was disappearing for its kind as the oceans heat up.

I was tempted to impose sadness on the polar bear and its ‘plight’. I could feel myself becoming angry at humankind, including myself, for the things we do that are changing the face of the earth and the habitat of the polar bear. But the bear would not accept this. Instead, it gave me a knowing nod, explaining that it was accepting of what was going on. It let me know that polar bears, and all of the other species that seem to be vanishing from our visible earthly plain, have another place to go. This other ‘dimension’ may not be visible to us, but it is quite welcoming to whoever, and whatever, can no longer exist here on earth.

There is no angst among these species. They have pointed out to us that we are perpetrating destructive habits. And they are looking at the changes through acceptance and harmony, rather than through anger.

There is another important element to the experience of the carving.

It is made out of mammoth ivory. The ivory that is sanctioned by animal protection groups as no live animal has to die for us to ‘use’ it.

As the polar bear spoke to me, so too did the mammoth. It revealed much about life in what we colloquially call the ‘ice ages’. It explained that conditions on earth changed, and that mammoths and other species of animal ceased to have an environment that would sustain life for them.

This invited me to ask our Mother Earth how she felt about the changes that we have initiated for her. She expressed some discomfort, and some frustration, but most of all a Love of being our loving ‘parent’.

She clearly told me that she is not angry with us…she simply wants to help us understand what we have done. And to teach us what we can do to avoid this situation again.

As we witness some frightening earth changes that are happening now and to come, it is not the result of our being anything more than ignorant and unaware of certain truths. We can also learn this through harmonious acceptance of that which makes us angry.

It seems like such a ‘big’ blunder that a race of animals, humans, can destroy a planet as incredible as the earth. And let us learn from the Earth’s response to this on how to deal with our own frustrations.

Our Mother Earth is simply looking for harmony and balance. She is shaking here and there, she is attempting to restore her own equilibrium. It is not anger we receive from her…it is truly only love.

She would need to employ the same set of balances, whether the imbalance occurred from being struck by a meteor or being mis-used by humans.

I started to look at the things that frustrate me sometimes, and noticed that what I really wanted in those situations was to restore balance.

Balance usually generates harmony. I am going to flow with what presents itself.
I am going to stroke my tiny polar bear and remember the ‘truth’ in its message.

With Love and Blessings,
Anatara

Tags: aggressive behavior, meditation, Mother Earth, harmony, balance of my life

I guess I didn’t really realize how stressful it was until, after one particularly tiring day mostly spent bickering with Mumsie, I snapped poor Hubby’s head off after he made an innocuous statement. He didn’t say a word at the time, bless him, but he did bring it up again that night when Mumsie had gone upstairs to her room.

“You need an outlet”, was what he said when I’d apologized and ended up in tears of frustration.

And that’s when God opened a door for me.

I went to the library the other day to pick up a book I’d requested when I came across a pamphlet called “Caring for Caregivers”. Normally, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance as I’ve always thought that I’m coping just fine, thank you. However, Hubby’s words came back to me so I took one home to read.

Wow. I never realized how much information and help are out there for caregivers. There are one-to-one or group emotional support meetings, workshops on recognizing the stresses and dealing with the challenges of care giving, and educational sessions for those who want to learn more about the medical and legal aspects of care giving – all free of charge.

Before I could change my mind, I picked up the phone and signed up for one of the workshops on the challenges of care giving. The workshop is scheduled for the beginning of September, which will give me sufficient time to prepare myself and write down some concerns and questions.

In the meantime, I’m also looking at pursuing various other “outlets”, such as a photography workshop, yoga classes, etc. With Fiona agreeing to come twice a week as of September, it will give me enough time to pamper myself a little – I might even finally get around to using the spa gift certificate that a friend gave me for my birthday almost five years ago!

Tags: caring for the caregiver, emotional support, challenges of care giving, workshops for caregivers

We all want to feel whole. We desire a sense of completeness. This is a sensation of being all right within our bodies, our minds and our lives.

There are relationships and events that seem to reflect a lack of resonance, or seem to suggest that there is something out of alignment within us. Sometimes it simply feels as if we don’t belong and are not welcome within a group of people, or even at home. We might be uncomfortable with ourselves.

And it feels like these are things that need to be healed…

Where does this disharmony come from?
And what do we usually want to do about it?

Usually, we want to fix it. We want to repair rifts between ourselves and others, we want to understand why we are unhappy, uncomfortable, or physically ill. In essence, we want to heal the disharmony or the disease. We want things to flow, and we want to feel natural and comfortable from within, knowing that we will be more content and in better physical health when we have achieved an understanding of why there is such a lack of alignment.

If we want to change this disharmony, to really make a difference, we need to heal the gap between what we do and think, and the truth about who we are and what we are here to do.

So could it be that healing is really about establishing an alignment between how we manage our choices, and what calls us from within?

It is possible to start this healing quite simply. This is gently encouraged through a comforting and divine search for the essence of the disease, a search for the essence of the disharmony.

To truly ‘heal’ we need to change the direction of some of our thinking.
Healing is about the discovery of how to live in truth. Truth is not usually hard to see, but it can sometimes be hard to accept.

A sense of being ‘healed’ flows when truth flows. Alignment with truth eases our worries, and alleviates our pain.

I acknowledge pain when it nudges me, and make an effort to ask for Guidance in its healing…
is there something that you want to “heal”?

Try accepting the pain rather than hiding from it…there is a special message there for you.

Blessings and bon chance,
Anatara

Tags: healing, guidance, being healed, accepting the pain, accepting the truth, what is healing

What follows here is my attempt to digest all that Felicia had to say in her session this evening, and to summarize for you, dear readers, just some of her awesome tips for better all-around digestification:

No, that’s not a real word. It’s late…you’ll have to cut me some slack.

1. Drink hot water with lemon. I’ve heard this before, that you’re not supposed to drink ice water, that it’s harder on your system, that room temperature water is better, but Felicia explained why this is the case so well that I am now going to live by it religiously. It’s advised, she said, because in order to have healthy digestion we want a strong digestive fire. What does ice water do to fire? That’s right, folks – it puts it out.

2. Eat When You’re Eating. Again, not totally new advice, but Felicia reminded us that we are ingesting not just what we eat, but HOW we eat. And what we ingest becomes a part of us. This means, if I’m eating in a blind hurry and not breathing and not noticing, then I am becoming, well…at worst, frantic and, at best, numb to the present. And neither of these are what I would like to become. Ever.

3. Pay Attention to What Happens AFTER You Eat. Keep a food diary, make up a little food song, record a voice memo (I loved all of these suggestions, especially the one about making up a song), do whatever you have to do to notice how you feel after you eat what you eat. It will be the best measuring stick for what you should and should not be feeding yourself.

4. Move Around. Digestion, Felicia says, is not static. It is a process that is constantly changing, constantly in flux, so movement can help us to digest, not just physiologically, but mentally and emotionally. Felicia gave the example of how you can be stuck on a problem and then get up to go for a walk and magically have the solution appear. That, my friends, is digestion.

5. Sleep Well. Sleep is one of our primary times for digestion and detoxification, so adequate sleep and quality sleep are very important to the whole human system. Felicia suggested sleeping in a darkened bedroom free from electronic equipment. (This one has always been hard for me…I will not admit to the number of nights I fall asleep while watching something on my laptop, which is balanced on my or my fiance’s belly. But it’s a lot.)

6. Meditate. “Meditation,” Felicia said, “is like the sorbet between courses.” It is the place where we integrate what we’ve learned. It is the time when we pause the constant influx of thought and information that usually bombards our system. Amen, sister.

7. Connect to the Earth. Stand on the ground with your bare feet. Touch a plant or a tree. Gaze up into the sky for a period of time. Do anything you can to remind yourself that there is something larger out there than you and the contents of your mind. Sigh. I think this might have been my favorite of all the incredible advice she gave. It’s so sweet, and so simple, and so achievable.

8. Exhale More. The exhale is the place of relaxation and digestion for the spirit, so if you need a little more of that, see if you can’t make your exhales just a little bit longer than your inhales.

Phew! That is a paltry re-hashing of what was a really wonderful and information-packed session by Ms. Tomasko. If you want to get fully inspired by all of these tips and a whole lot more, just head on over to Felicia’s YogaHub profile page and check her out!

Okay, it’s been a stressful few weeks as I’ve had to deal with various challenges and mini-crises, but I can usually handle all this with ease. In fact, I pride myself in being the “go to” person whenever family and friends have problems.

Well, I guess I’ve been so busy taking care of other people’s emotional and physical health lately that I’ve completely neglected my own. No, I’m not trying to make myself sound like a martyr – far from it as martyrdom requires selfless acts without complaining…and believe me, I can bitch and moan with the best of them.

I thought I was taking care of myself more – my change of diet, daily exercise on the treadmill, meditation, etc. What I didn’t realize, however, was that I’m emotionally worn out.

The alopecia diagnosis was a real wake-up call.

I do think my daily meditation practice is helping me purge all the negative influences in my life, but I still find myself exhausted and drained by the end of each day. Perhaps this is just part of the process my body needs to heal.

So, instead of fighting it or trying to bluff my way through, I’m going to listen to what my body and mind are telling me, which is that it’s time to focus on myself.

Tags: brick wall, meditation practice, alopecia diagnosis, negative influences, healing

“I think you need to see your doctor right away because you may have alopecia”, she said. She went on to explain that alopecia is a condition where some or – in worst cases – all of your hair falls out. It could be due to menopause or stress or many other factors. But the gist of it was that I had that bald patch on my head. Oh joy.

My hairdresser (bless her) gave me a lovely haircut that somehow covered the bald patch. But I was understandably upset – I’ve never had problems with the volume of my hair and, in fact, these last few years my hair has increased in volume rather than decreased…until now.

Hubby was so supportive when I told him. He’s been losing his hair for quite a while (genetics in his case), so I tried to make a joke of it along the lines of “this is true love – we’ll go bald together”. But he understood how upset I really was and gave me a big hug and sat me down for a lovely, supportive chat – which was just what I needed. Have I ever mentioned how blessed I feel to have him in my life (yes I know, only a few thousand times)!

I saw my doctor the next day and he confirmed that I have alopecia. The good news is that he’s pretty sure it’s alopecia “areata” and not “totalis”, which means I’ll have bald patches rather than lose all my hair. He scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist for me and told me my options ranged from rubbing special creams on the bald patch(es) or having corticosteroids injected directly into my scalp over a period of three to six weeks. I’m opting for the creams – I’m not injecting anything into my head, thank you very much, especially anything with the word “steroids” in it. The last thing I need is to have a handlebar moustache to go with my new head of hair!

Now that I’m over the initial shock, I’m putting it all into perspective. It’s not as if I have a degenerative illness or a deathly disease. My doctor is convinced that I won’t lose all my hair and that it will, with time and treatment, grow back.

So, as Baloo the Bear says in Disney’s movie “The Jungle Book”, I’m “accentuating the positive”. I used to wear hats all the time and then stopped doing so – maybe it’s time to pull them out all and get stylish again!

Seriously, though, it’s taken quite a while for me to smarten up – but I’m finally convinced that I really do need to care for myself before I can care for others.

Tags: losing hair, The Jungle Book, alopecia, totalis, bald patches, genetics, Disney’s movie