As I beco
me more of who I really am,
I will share the overflow of that love of myself with you.
And I ask you, as you become more of you who you are, free of my expectations of how I think you should be, that you will share the overflow of your love of self with me.
As we do for ourselves what we cannot do for each other, may we both vow to always share the joy and love of who we really are with each other.
“The greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed … When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become…
Read The Question that Holds the Lantern by John O’Donohue, PhD in its entirety.
Suzanne Schevene interviewed by Jade Shutes, founder of The East-West School for Herbal & Aromatic Studies
January 2012
What brought you to the study of aromatherapy and natural lifestyles?
Actually I was drawn to them at the Seattle Health and Wellness Expo in 1990. My children were little and I wanted to raise them in the healthiest way possible – oh the stories I could tell of the rock solid birthday cakes I made as I began the journey into whole grains. But I digress.
Aromatherapy caught my attention at such a deep level that it is a bit hard to describe, but similar to finding something that had been a part of your life long, long ago and you are being reunited. Not a conscious remembering, but more of a soul recognition.
That opened to door to the study of wellness in all its forms and I’ve been on that journey ever since.
What inspired you to create your line of products?
So many of us have had the experience of living in survival mode. And many are feeling complete with that and ready to move on into actually thriving and upleveling the quality of life. My piece in this to-date has been offering and teaching personal empowerment through energy work. But that only reaches those who are drawn to energy work. Continue reading
The first of the year is always an inspiring time for me. I love to take a look at the direction that the new year will seemingly take and then be open to new twists and turns as they appear.
An intention is a direction, an aspiration, a big picture goal. It’s a statement of what you are moving towards. I intend to take better care of myself or I intend to play more.
A commitment is an act of will and integrity. It is giving your word to follow through on something. I commit to working out 3 times this week or I am committed to doing something just for the fun of it every week in January.
It’s important to keep your commitments – and that begins with the commitments to yourself. If you don’t trust your ability to be honest with yourself, how can you trust yourself in anything you say or think, much less anyone else? But if there is some reason that it really can’t happen, renegotiate the commitment in good faith as soon as you can.
Committing to huge goals can be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, intend the huge goal, but use smaller, consistent commitments to get there. One step at a time. Just one, small committed step.
Move into this exciting new year with awareness of your intentions and commitments – and make it the BEST one yet!!!
No worries – you don’t have to start doing all 30 this week. Or ever. And I promise you there is no quiz next month to see how you do. But be forewarned – it may have the snowball effect on you – engage one or two and you just might find yourself leaning into these ideas more and more as you feel lighter and brighter as the days go on. Open to the possibilities. Enjoy!
This is a guest post by Marc at http://www.marcandangel.com. Here it is, a positive ‘to-do’ list for the upcoming year – 30 things to start doing for yourself:
The first snowfall of the season has begun. As I went for my ‘first snowfall of the season walk’ I felt myself appreciating this gateway to the winter season and the inner reflections that often accompany it.
Consider this: Your experience of life is created 80% internally and 20% externally. The way you interpret and respond to what happens in life is how you are creating your life experience.
Do you often feel like a victim – powerless to change the external world, angry at others or life for what is happening to you, resentful that others seem to thrive while you just survive? There isn’t anyone that is coming to save you from this.
Changing your life is an inside job. It begins with you and can ONLY be done by you (that doesn’t mean doing it alone, but it does mean taking responsibility for your internal environment and development and getting the help you need). What kind of a world do you want to live in, to experience, to contribute to and to leave for future generations?
Let us build an empowered culture where possibility is a given and deeper levels of care, connection, creativity and well-being are the norm. I’m in!!!
Enjoy your day.
If you haven’t seen The Living Matrix movie, you might want to. This is a short clip of Bruce Lipton, who is the author of Biology of Belief, among many other things. Another book that may be of interest is Dawson Church’s Genie in your Genes.
One of the ways Bruce works with his belief system is through PSYCH K, a method involving the subconscious, conscious and super conscious systems via muscle testing. Studies in neuroscience indicate that as much as 95% f our consciousness is actually subconscious and this is where we store our attitudes, values and beliefs. From our beliefs we form perceptions about our self, others and the world and from these perceptions we develop our behaviors.
Earlier this year I completed my Advanced Training in this modality and look forward to offering it to you. Details will be out soon or feel free to contact me directly.
Keep your Beliefs Positive because
Your Beliefs become your Thoughts
Your Thoughts become your Words
Your Words become your Actions
Your Actions become your Habits
Your Habits become your Values
Your Values become your Destiny
-Mahatma Gandhi
Who am I? What am I feeling? What do I need?
Do you know? These are questions that go beyond any ego, addictive or habitual needs. Ask more deeply. Take time to listen. Anytime throughout your day, when you awake or before you fall asleep, ask these questions.
When you react to a situation, you are not relating to the actual feeling, you are letting those feelings run the show (road rage is one example). You are no longer in charge. You bypass the conscious brain and react via autopilot fueled by the false beliefs you created when you were young.
Or perhaps you’ve locked away your feelings and use distractions to endlessly distract yourself. Anything can work – food, drugs, shopping, television – there is a plethora to choose from. This too is a way of not actually feeling what is going on within yourself.
Before reacting to someone or a situation, pause, take a few nice deep breaths and ask “What am I feeling? What do I need?” Listen, then respond with awareness. Feelings can only evolve if they are being felt. And the, with practice you will begin to open the door to the deeper places within yourself that long to be heard.
Ask the questions, then build the bridges.
Lessons from Geese. Let us all honk for one another!
Honk Honk,
Suzanne
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
~Albert Einstein~
Life is full of necessary loss – the loss of a job, a loved one, an item of significance, agility or grace – it can be many things, but whenever there is a sense of loss there is some degree of grief. Something that was a part of you is now gone.
The process of grief has many twists and turns and is not a linear process, but there are several stages that one must travel through in order to fully embrace, release and move on from the loss.
The stages are commonly understood to be shock or disbelief, denial, anger, bargaining, guilt, depression, acceptance and hope.
The key is to keep the movement – keep riding the bicycle. Allow your feelings to be expressed, allow the natural process of grieving to occur and trust that the emptiness within will absolutely be filled. There is no hurry to fill the void; it will happen naturally.
In dealing with my most recent loss, I diffused a blend of essential oils, turned on music with a strong earthy beat and cleaned house, pausing to cry as I went along. It was very nurturing and healing and exactly what I needed at that moment.
The one constant in life is change. Life is not stagnant. If you get stuck or attempt to stop by resisting what is, are you not then in the process of losing your balance, falling over and, by default, in the process of decay as you lay there?
Don’t wither away by default – find a way up and get the help you need. The world needs you.