Dear Friends
I trust you are well and moving with grace into the new year. May it be magical and filled with wonder.
Just to let you know I’m stepping back into my heart’s space…. I’m fully operational again at Manawa Magic Cottage – after a year of fulltime working in another world – the world of TV production. Many good lessons were learnt in that space , and now I am returning to following my heart, doing the work I really love to do , which is to help others to connect to their inner selves, and live with more love and aloha, through bodywork (Kahuna Massage, Kinesiology, Mind-body Movement) and intuitive art (Soulpainting and Art Journalling).
So my regular monthly newsletters will be popping back into your mailbox (please let me know if you still want to receive them or not – I respect your inbox and your wish to have it filled only with relevant information 🙂 ) and I am available Monday to Sunday for Massages and Kinesiology Balances at Manawa Magic Cottage, as well as massages and movement classes in the comfort of your own home.
Talking of heart….
We’re in the first full moon phase of 2015. It’s a powerful time to realign yourself with your heart. After the feasting and holiday cheer, many of us feel the impulse to come back home to … where?
Well, I spent a lot of time over New Year on my own, and realised that the saying ‘home is where the heart is’ is true. But not in the way I had thought of it before. Home is not only the building I stay in, or the people I live with. Home is also where my heart is. Inside me.
My year in TV production taught me that when I am anxious or stressed, the best thing to do is – get back inside myself. To my heart.
Like this:
1. Get into a quiet place if possible, away from noise
2. Breathe
3. Close my eyes
4. Take my focus and awareness into the space between my eyebrows and ‘look’ there from behind my closed eyes.
5. keep breathing deeply into my diaphragm and drop my awareness below my throat into my heart space.
6. Then put my hand on my heart and breathe in while thinking the word “love” (and telling myself over and over that everything is okay, and I am supported).
So, while I know this may sound crazy to some ( we are not all wired in the same way), it works for me in the moment , and there is scientific evidence that this process produces oxytocin (the bonding hormone that is also released when we are breastfed by our mothers, and when we bond with others in deep meaningful ways). It is one of the hormones that is really important for making us feel good. And good doses of it will lessen our stress and anxiety (fear) and move us into a place of ease and grace (love).
In one of our Kahuna meditations, we are asked to say to ourselves “With each breath I breathe in memories of Aloha”. This is a powerful tool for changing the neurons in your brain to remember the good, loving, happy moments in your life, and to turn every ‘story’ that you have made into a story that limits you in some way, into a story that frees you.
What about a Heart-filled New Year’s Resolution ?
Have you set your goal and resolutions for the new year?
Great. You know what you want. What if you were to also consider how you want to ‘feel’ this year?
In order to achieve those goals – you need to know how you want to feel when you have achieved them. Knowing this, and letting yourself experience it, will make the journey in getting there so much easier. This is how to return to your heart space and recognise what you are REALLY desiring, from a place deep within you.
Close your eyes, breathe into your body, take your awareness to your heart and ask yourself “What do I want to feel this year”.
Thoughts will pop into your mind. Allow them to be there, and at the same time, keep checking in with your body and your heart space to see when there is an ‘impulse’ of some kind in response to those thoughts. When a word or thought or picture creates a feeling in yourself that is calming and delightful and juicy and peaceful and loving, then that is the ‘label’ that you can give to how you want to ‘feel’.
Focus on that feeling for a while until it fills every cell in your body. And then say thank you. Gratitude is the one ‘feeling’ that cannot exist simultaneouslly with fear or the ego, and it will expand the goodness of the feeling you desire.
When you are ready, say to yourself “it is done” , or “Amen” – which means the same thing. By stating it aloud you let every atom in the Universe (or God or Spirit) hear your intention, and then sit back and watch your life change. Effortlessly.
This is something I have tried and tested many times. When I remember to let go of my limiting stories of stress and anxiety, this heart meditation works every time. I am always surprised, when I look at where I am in any moment, and realise, I wanted this feeling. I got it. But not always in the way I expected or imagined! That is the surprise.
So. This all may sound a bit woo woo to you. My intention is to bring us all back to our heartspace in order to create a more loving world. If we all moved and made decisions and choices from this place, imagine how loving the world would be. It ‘ s not something we are taught in school or at church or synagogue or mosque. It is a tool that is emerging again from ancient traditions (yogic, huna, toltec etc), and it is a practical tool that can change each one of us at our core, at the level of our cells, and rewire our brains, and from there, change the world around us. My big wish – that the world is a more loving and magical place to live in.
What’s coming up this year from my heart space for you to connect with your heart :
- Soulpainting Sundays and Weekend Retreats
- Restorative Women’s Weekend Retreats
- Kahuna Massage Training Retreats across the country
- Opportunities to Dance
- and more heart-full spaces for your to connect with your heart……. watch this space!
I look forward to connecting with you.
Aloha dear friends. May your year be heart-filled.
Brenda
