“Once we recognize the real power of holidays, we begin to approach them with deeper devotion. A holiday is a holy day, and holiness doesn’t happen to us. Holiness is a choice we make, and holidays are portals of energy through which the experience of things that matter most is increased within us and in the world in which we live.”
—Marianne Williamson

Good morning and happy Monday!  This is my favorite time of year, and I’m in a cheery, joyous, holiday spirit!  I hope my email finds you feeling cheery and festive this morning, too!

I want to share one of my favorite articles with you today.  It’s called, “Everyday Grace,” and it’s written by Marianne Williamson, the best-selling author of many wonderful books, including, “Everyday Grace, “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Cource in Miracles,” and “Illuminata: A Return to Prayer,” among others.

I think you’ll find Marianne’s article filled with beautiful, uplifting messages of love, light, hope and miracles — perfect for this holy holiday week.  (Tip: be sure to read the entire article to find her essay specifically about the holidays!)

Enjoy ♥

“Everyday Grace”
by Marianne Williamson

Starting the Day

At the beginning of the day, the mind is most open to receive new impressions. One of the most important things we can do is to take full responsibility for the power of the morning.

If you want to have a nonmiraculous day, I suggest that newspaper and caffeine form the crux of your morning regimen. Listen to the morning news while you’re in the shower, read the headlines as you are walking out the door, make sure you’re keeping tabs on everything: the wars, the economy, the gossip, the natural disasters…But if you want the day ahead to be full of miracles, then spend some time each morning with God.

Most of us wouldn’t think of beginning our day without washing the accumulated dirt from the day before off our bodies. Yet far too often we go out into the day without similarly cleansing our minds. And our minds carry more pollution than our bodies, for they carry not only our own toxicity but that of the entire world. We carry the fear, anxiety, stress, and pain not just of our own lives, but of our families, our nation, and millions all over the planet.

Our greatest weakness is the weakness of an undisciplined mind. We need not let fear steal the morning; we can consciously choose not to allow our minds to be programmed by the worldly viewpoint that dominates the earth. We can set our day upon another course. Each of us has an inner room where we can visit to be cleansed of fear-based thoughts and feelings. This room, the holy of holies, is a sanctuary of spiritual light. The light is not a metaphor, but rather an actual energy of mystical vibration. When we begin our morning within it, the mind receives a radiance that illumines our thinking as we go through our day.

Imagine yourself sitting in a perfect, comfortable spot for meditation. It might be a chair in your bedroom or living room. It is a place of relative quiet and calm, where you go on a regular basis to find the peace that only God can give. You have come to realize that this time of rest, in its stillness and peace, is beneficent to both your mind and body. Here you come to surrender to God, using a prayer or mantra to move beyond the frantic and overwhelming thoughts that stalk us night and day. You are making your daily pilgrimage home, where your life will be renewed.

While the power of such quiet time can be profoundly healing, we often resist it fiercely. We have scores of reasons why we don’t have time to meditate: “The kids have to get off to school…I have to go to work…My partner wants to be with me…I have early appointments…,” and the list goes on. Yet none of those excuses would be used to avoid taking a shower or getting dressed. It would be ludicrous to say, “I’m just too busy. I had to give up showers.” And yet “busy-ness” is a common excuse for why we do not take the time, or give the time, to meet regularly with God.

Just think about it: We turn down the chance for a meeting with God. It’s a meeting He is always available for, and perhaps that is why we fail to take full advantage of the opportunity. Perhaps it’s hard for us to embrace what an astonishing gift is being offered. We figure if it’s really that easy to do, then how could it be that powerful? That’s how much we underestimate how important we are to God…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Everyday Grace”

Copyright Marianne Williamson. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about today’s articles! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a blessed and miraculous day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

Share the Inspiration with Your Friends…

“Your path is illuminated by the light,
yet darkness lets the stars shine bright.”
—J.L.W. Brooks

Good morning and happy Friday!  Since tomorrow is the first day of winter (here in the Northern Hemisphere), I thought today would be the perfect day to share a beautiful story from author Patricia Monaghan about the winter solstice!

How will you be spending the winter solstice?  I will be watching the winter sun rise and set on this shortest day and longest night of the year, reflecting on the past seasons of my life and saying prayers for peace, rebirth and renewal in this new season of light. I’ll also be snuggling my kitties, wrapping some gifts, and writing a few last minute holiday greeting cards…

If you’d like to read more about the history and traditions of the winter solstice, I have another wonderful article for you to read at SoulfulLiving.com called, “The Sun is Born Again,” by Mama Donna Henes. I highly recommend it!

Happy Winter and Enjoy ♥

“Singing to Deer”

by Patricia Monaghan

At solstice, the woods were bright in a snowy way, the sky pearl gray above the stately maples and gnarled burr oaks. An Alaskan marooned in the urban Midwest, it took me years to find this nearby patch of relatively undisturbed land where I can sense the power of wildness. Now I go there often, watching the seasons unfold their changeful unchanging patterns in the increasingly familiar forest.

I especially like to walk among the sleeping trees in the half-lit silence of winter dawns. The trail I follow winds and twists, new patches of mixed woodland appearing at every turn. That morning, I reached a point where the path turns sharply left to follow a small ravine. In spring, ephemeral ponds—lively with salamanders, loud with frogs—form in the creases of the forest there. But in frozen winter, I expected nothing beyond silence and wind.

So I did not see them at first, three deer beside three empty larches. When I made them out—gray-dun hides against a gray-dun world—they were motionless, white tails aloft like flags of distress. I stopped in my tracks, thinking how lucky I was to meet the animal my Celtic forebears called the spirit of wildness on that auspicious day.

I often encounter deer on my morning walks. The woods are close enough to roads and homes that we humans are no strangers to them. But like any animal of the suburban wild—squirrel or opossum or raccoon—the deer keep their distance. An instant after they see me, they bound silently away, their white-flag tails on high alert.

But this morning, the deer only stared at me across the ravine. To the left stood a tall stately doe; to the right, an older heavier one; in the center, one of the previous spring’s fawns, all gangly adolescence. Huge soft ears held high, they cast dark liquid gazes at me.

And did not run.

Desire burst in my heart: to speak to the deer, to tell them how beautiful they were, to thank them for bringing wildness to the edge of the vast city. To speak from my heart, my own little wild heart, to theirs. To celebrate the season with them…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Singing to Deer”

Copyright Patricia Monaghan. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about today’s articles! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a wonderful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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“Creating a soulful home is about harmony between our inner and outer selves. When we’re living a life of wholeness and integrity, we instinctively know what’s right for us.”
—Sunny Schlenger

Good morning and happy Wednesday! I hope you are enjoying a warm and cozy day! It has been very cold with lots of snow and ice here in the Northeast. It’s hard for me to believe that this is my fifth winter in the East. (It seems like I just arrived from my native Los Angeles yesterday!) You’d think that the snow would have lost some of its novelty for me by now, but I’m still like a kid in a candy store when the snow starts falling outside of my windows!

Today, I’m very pleased to share an article with you by Sunny Schlenger, called “A Soulful Home.” I had the pleasure of flying out to the Northeast to meet Sunny in person over a half dozen years ago and to explore the beautiful Hudson River Valley region with her.  She was a wonderful host, and I enjoyed a lovely time with her!

Sunny is a professional organizer, coach, and author of several best-selling books, including “Organizing for the Spirit” and “How to Be Organized in Spite of Yourself.” You can meet Sunny at her website, Suncoach.com.

I hope you enjoy her article! ♥

“A Soulful Home”
by Sunny Schlenger

Here’s a radical idea for you: Your belongings are more than just the “things” that clutter your house or apartment. They’re extensions of you – representations of what has, or has had some sort of value in your life. Nothing is separate. Evidence of your personal style, your needs, your idiosyncrasies and your passions surround you. Have you ever thought about what they’re saying?

In the 24 years that I’ve been a professional organizer and personal coach, the most frequent (and actually amazing) comment that I hear is this: “You give me permission to be me!” In my first book, How To Be Organized In Spite Of Yourself, I identified 10 different styles of managing time and space that determine which organizational products and systems are best for each individual. I don’t believe that getting organized is simply a matter of solving a series of problems, but rather learning how to make personal, individual choices that will bring you close to who you are, and who you’d like to be.

Creating a soulful home is about sustaining an environment that supports you, and helps balance the demands of everyday living with the pursuit of your dreams. It’s about taking care of yourself so you can take care of others, and understanding how this process contributes to the development of peace and integrity in your everyday life.

So how do you connect to the “stuff” of life in a way that energizes and empowers you, and enables you to live your own life to the fullest? It begins with an analysis of where you are today; an analysis, not a judgment, because there is no judgement here. What we’re doing is taking inventory of where you are, to see if the way you spend your time and energy in your home is the way you want to be spending it.

We start by playing Detective. Imagine that you don’t live in your house, but that you’ve been given the assignment of finding out everything that you can about the person who “does” live there. (For now, leave out the others who may share your home.) Take a tour of each room, and determine what the décor and items say about their owner’s style and interests. For example, does the person who lives in this home seem to like plants? Antiques? Knitting? Tropical fish? Does the multitude of cooking utensils indicate a love of cooking? Does s/he like to read? Have the books and magazines been opened? Are there many photographs displayed? Artwork? How about the number of chairs and sofas? Would you say that the individual enjoys entertaining? Are there collections? Travel souvenirs? What can you discover about the person’s musical tastes?

Now resume your normal identity and ask yourself these questions: Does what you discovered in your Detective Tour ring true? Is the person who is living in your home today accurately reflected in what was found? Are these your current musical tastes or rather, a nostalgic collection of what you enjoyed years ago? Is your spoon collection something you still add to, or is it simply collecting cobwebs in the corner? What about the fish? Is their upkeep too much work these days? And how about your reading? Are you staying abreast of the things that interest you, or are your shelves too clogged with titles from other periods of your life?

There is nothing wrong with saving reminders and mementos of pleasant times past. But if your space is primarily taken up with items that don’t support you in who you are today, your spirit may feel stifled and dusty. It’s important to remember that you are a combination of the person you were, the one you are today, and who it is you aspire to be in the future. Nothing is as constant as change, and few of us are the people we were five years ago. Our environment should be growing with us, but because of time constraints, work, and family demands, we often don’t devote the time we should to staying current with our needs.

A soulful home makes us feel at home in our minds, our spirits, and our bodies. It is the outward expression of who we are and what makes us happy. To do this, our home has to be informed with where we are in our life – our current obligations, priorities and preferred lifestyle…

Click Here to Continue Reading “A Soulful Home”

Copyright Sunny Schlenger. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Sunny’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a soulful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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“Cleansing a space or our bodies with techniques such as smudging clears away all the emotional and psychic ‘garbage’ that may have gathered over years or even hundreds of years. It’s like spiritual spring-cleaning.”
— Jane Alexander

Good morning! I’m very excited to share one of our most popular articles at SoulfulLiving.com with you today, entitled “Smudging,” by author Jane Alexander.

Smudging is a powerful ritual for space clearing, used for cleansing our homes, our bodies, and our sacred space, and Jane tells us exactly how to do it — in great detail. She also tells us about all of the wonderful benefits of smudging, as well its fascinating history.

Jane is the author of the best-selling book, “The Smudging and Blessing Book: Inspirational Rituals to Cleanse and Heal,” among many other best-sellers.

Enjoy ♥

“Smudging”

by Jane Alexander

Smudging is wonderful. Truly. Try it and you’ll become a convert, I’m almost willing to bet. I love it because it’s the simplest yet most incredibly effective form of space clearing available. It takes just five minutes to learn the basics and you’re off. Obviously the more you do it, the more sophisticated you become, but it really is entry-level metaphysics, esoteric practice condensed into a few fool-proof actions. Most importantly it really works.

My most powerful experience of smudging came when I visited shaman Leo Rutherford in London. I had moved out of the city quite a while before and had totally lost the “street savvy” sense you have when you live in a big city. Consequently I was feeling pretty nervous about stepping out into an unknown (and slightly rough) neighborhood on my own at night. Leo must have guessed my apprehension, because he said, “Hold on, Jane. Just need to give you a quick smudge before you go.” I stood, in my coat and with bag in hand, in his hallway while he wafted smoke around me with a huge eagle’s feather. It felt like having an energy shower – tingles ran all over my body in waves. I breathed deeply and it was as if someone had fired up every one of my chakras. I gave Leo a hug and walked out, totally forgetting my fears. I walked through the dark streets feeling totally invincible. It was as if I had a cloak of power surrounding me.

If you’re not familiar with it, smudging is the common name given to the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing, a powerful cleansing technique from the Native American tradition. Smudging calls on the spirits of sacred plants to drive away negative energies and put you back into a state of balance. It is the psychic equivalent of washing your hands before eating – and used as an essential preliminary to almost all Native American ceremonies.

I use smudging to cleanse myself (particularly if I’ve had a lousy day or have had to deal with difficult or unpleasant people). I use it as a prelude to all kinds of spiritual and magical work (it’s like a kind of spiritual power shower). I use it to cleanse my home and office. I use it to mark the seasons and as part of other rituals. Basically I use it all over the place, at all kinds of time – it is totally adaptable and practical, a really user-friendly soulful tool.

But how does smudging work? The answer lies in the sub-atomic world of subtle or spiritual energy. Homes and bodies are not just made of purely physical matter; they also vibrate with subtle, invisible energy (you might know it as qi or chi, prana, quwa etc). Cleansing a space or our bodies with techniques such as smudging clears away all the emotional and psychic “garbage” that may have gathered over years or even hundreds of years. It’s like spiritual spring-cleaning.

These ideas are not new-fangled nor are they airy-fairy New Age waffle. Native American tradition dates back millennia and most traditional cultures, from the Zulus to the Maoris, from the Chinese to the Balinese, have age-old forms of cleansing and blessing ritual. Even the West retains relics of it, although we have long forgotten the true purpose behind many of our rituals and ceremonies. The incense wafting through a church or temple is cleansing the atmosphere just as surely as the medicine man’s bowl of sacred smoke, or smudge. The bells that ring out on Sunday morning were originally intended to purify the whole parish through sound and lead the community from everyday space into worship – just as the shaman’s drum can lead us on sacred journeys into the world of the spirits…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Smudging”

Copyright Jane Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Jane’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

Wishing you a cleansing and healing day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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“Take care of your house and your house will take care of you.”
— Kathryn L. Robyn

Good morning and happy Monday! Wishing you a wonderful day and week ahead!

I’m very pleased to share one of my favorite articles with you today, entitled “Emotional * Spiritual * Soulful * House,” by Kathryn L. Robyn, co-author of the best-selling book, “The Emotional House.”

Enjoy ♥

“Emotional * Spiritual * Soulful * House”

by Kathryn L. Robyn

Winter’s coming. It’s the time of year when our ancient brain has us wanting to hunker down, make soup, put up jam, stack cord wood, and cozy up to the fireplace, leaving the cold wind outside to rail against the darkness. It’s the time of year when we pull closer to our friends and families, or start looking for someone new to curl up with.

In the colder climes, you batten down the hatches, put the winter comforter on the bed, and get the wool sweaters out of moth balls. Here in sunny California, we do the same thing, but we have to take the sweaters off when we go outside, it’s still warm out there. Nevertheless, we want to cozy up with steaming drinks and hearty stories the same as everyone else.

As the days get shorter, going inside the house is a natural extension to going inside yourself. It’s a time of introspection and intimacy with one’s heart, mind, and spirit…It’s easy, even comforting, some might say ecstatic when you are safe inside your soulful home.

Soulful Home? Think about all the places you’ve lived — all the way back to childhood. Do you remember a home at any point that greeted you with love every time you came home, as if it were thrilled to see you — even if you lived alone? A cozy place that feels the kind of warm that transcends lifestyle, market value, and design. Have you ever known a house that was so full and soulful that it almost became a spiritual center to everyone who visited? If not, you’ve really missed something.

Realtors have a word for a house like this. After all, who wouldn’t want to live in such a place? Emotional, they call it. “Oh yes,” they’ll declare, “this is a very emotional house.” The first time I heard that, I had to laugh. Emotional? Does that mean dramatic? What’s dramatic about a classic two-bedroom, California ranch with only one-bathroom? Not a thing. So…does it cry at commercials, does it fly off the handle when the heat comes on?

After awhile, you understand, emotional is a code word — a euphemism where such things are not discussed over contracts — for soulful. It describes a house that possesses an energy of love so tangible it’s a selling point. It’s a house with a heartbeat, a soul of its own. Even empty, an emotional house will reach out its arms and wrap you up in them. How does a house get that way? How do you make your home feel soulful enough to let it take you deep inside yourself when the sunshine wanes?

Okay, let’s get the subject of interior design out of the way. Surely, there’s something to be said for it. Indeed, a thematic approach provides an overall atmosphere. A Santa Fe style, for example, gives your home a certain rustic feel, a minimalist style, on the other hand, might give it a kind of modern urban feel. Pictures on the grand piano of your family bring in a sense of legacy, paintings from Paris gives it an artistic air. A loom in the corner hints at a homespun attitude. There. Done. That said, it can help a lot to have someone with a good eye and great ears that hear you to help you figure out how to bring your spirit’s style into a strong furniture arrangement. But it’s really not about the décor, it’s about the way you relate to the décor along with everything else.

The most basic way to relate to your home, and everything in it, is to clean it. You imbue a space with energy by the quality of the effort you put into it. “Spiritual housecleaning” is the way you take four cold walls and make them into a soulful space. You begin with the intention to bring Spirit to emptiness. Then you take little actions (dusting, scrubbing, straightening, etc.) to transfer that intention to the space. Last but not least, you do all this while maintaining complete awareness from start to finish — awareness of the ways you feel as you relate to the stuff of your life, of the things you remember as you connect with the space, awareness of the connections you make as you do the work, and of the ways you respond to the feelings, the memories, and the connections. What this is, is a mindful approach to taking care of the space in which you live.

Each room has a particular reason for being there. The kitchen feeds you, the bathroom cleans you, the living room brings life into your workaday world, the den gives you a place to hunker down, the bedroom offers three kinds of sanctuary (solitude, sleep, and sex), the basement and garage help you compartmentalize — keeping your old stuff as well as your special stuff in storage, while keeping those tools and vehicles handy that you need to keep things in working order. The walls provide boundaries between these functions, the halls help you go from one part to another. And so on.

By the same token, each room meets a corresponding soul need that matches the function like a metaphor. In a nutshell, you build your mindfulness of nurturance in the kitchen, you purify and integrate the divinity of your spirit and flesh by the way you maintain your bathroom, you have an opportunity to visit in meaningful or meaningless ways with yourself and others by your relationships to your living room and den, and manage (or mismanage) your “old stuff” by the way you attend to your basement or garage, which controls the access you have to your survival skills. The more mindfully you approach each part of your house as well as each of your human needs, the more you will invite your soul home, filling your house with your spirit…

Continue Reading “Emotional * Spiritual * Soulful * House”

Copyright Kathryn L. Robyn. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Kathryn’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

Wishing you a soulful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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“Vastu connects us to our soul. It lets us honor the light of love that exists within us.”
— Kathleen Cox

Good morning!  I’m excited to share a fascinating article with you today on the subject of “Vastu Living” by author, speaker, and vastu expert Kathleen Cox.

Vastu is India’s ancient science of design and architecture, and as Kathleen likes to say, “vastu is yoga for the home.”

Kathleen is the author of several books of the subject of vastu, including “Vastu Living: Creating a Home for the Soul” and “The Power of Vastu Living: Welcoming Your Soul into Your Home and Workplace.”

Her article is sure to inspire you to implement the principles of vastu into your home and work environments! Enjoy ♥

“Designing for the Soul with Vastu”

by Kathleen Cox

Vastu, which is India’s ancient science of design and architecture, is the third piece in the Vedic mind-body-soul equation, which also includes yoga and ayurveda. While yoga and ayurveda increase our wellbeing by focusing on our body; vastu focuses on our surrounding environments to achieve this same goal. In a nutshell, I call vastu yoga for the home.

Briefly stated, vastu subscribes to a theory of design that I refer to as spiritual holism in which our goal is the creation of a home that nurtures the soul. We reach this goal by designing with intent—mindfully following three holistic principles. First, we try to set up every room in our home so that the body’s biorhythms are aligned with the universal rhythms that unfold around us. We know what happens when we work at night and try to sleep during the day. Our internal clock slips out of balance; we never feel quite rested. Vastu realizes that our home can unintentionally create this same negative impact on us when its design is out of harmony with the natural forces that surround us. Therefore, vastu asks us to honor (to the best of our ability) the recommended placement of the five basic elements of space or ether, air, fire, water, and earth in our home and within each room. Their assigned location is logical—based on the movement of the sun, the pattern of the wind, and specific parallels to forces and energies that exist within the human body.

The second principle in vastu asks us to draw nature into our home so that we consciously respect our interconnection and interdependence with all that naturally exists in the world. By doing this, we support the environment and also support our holistic relationship to the environment. The third principle in vastu asks us to respect our unique identity and celebrate who we are and what we love—an act that further reinforces the essential truth that exists in all creation. All that exist serves a purpose: it is worthy and divine. In this third principle, we are extending the concept of spiritual holism to include respect for the self.

As we practice vastu, we see how these guidelines manipulate, to our healthy advantage, the power of space. We create personal environments in which the ambience is inviting, loving—we feel at ease inside a vastu home. Such a home whispers its word of welcome to all who enter the space.

The Power of Rhythm

In vastu, we try to align each room in a space so that it observes as much as possible the proper location of each element. Through this alignment, we create powerful rhythms that flow from room to room or around each individual space. This feeling of rhythm mindfully reinforces the cohesion that should exist inside every home—and this rhythm adds a measure of predictability and comfort. Nothing around us is jarring or feels out of place. This intentional creation of rhythm in the home also mirrors the properties of the universe, which is governed by its own predictable set of rhythms—light and dark, hot and cold, wet and dry, the changes of the seasons. These cycles are reflected to a similar degree within our body when it is in a healthy state of balance. Think about the movement of the breath, the cycle of digestion, all the cycles connected to creation, preservation, and destruction that go on within our human form.

In a vastu home, we also intentionally create quiet meditative areas, which I call zones of tranquility that connect to the element of water in the northeast quadrant of each space. And why is the element of water assigned to the northeast? Ancient vastu scholars understood that the period of dawn is the healthiest time of the day—the earliest of the sun’s rays are meditative and restorative. In the past, swamis and yogis always faced northeast at dawn when they meditated or practiced yoga. The element of water also exhibits many of the properties of the sun. Water is calming and soothing to us. Water also serves as a receptacle that can absorb the healing energy of the sun that comes at this time of day. By creating this pattern of quiet focus in the northeast in room after room, we symbolically honor the sustenance that comes from the sun that keeps us alive…

Continue Reading “Designing for the Soul”

Copyright Kathleen Cox. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Kathleen’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

Wishing you a beautiful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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“Peace — that was the other name for home.”
— Kathleen Norris

Good morning!  I’m very pleased to share a wonderful article with you today on our new topic for the month — “Home” — by SoulfulLiving.com Columnist, Laura V. Grace, called “Peace Begins at Home.”

Laura is a spiritual counselor and author of “Gifts of the Soul” and “The Intimate Soul.” Her article will help you create a soothing, healing and peaceful home environment.

Enjoy ♥

“Peace Begins at Home”
by Laura Grace

Many years ago, I heard someone state that it’s impossible to have a healthy or successful life if one’s home is lacking peace and harmony. Immediately, that rang true for me. For how can one be a messenger of peace if drama, chaos, and grievances co-exist within one’s home-the very foundation where one’s physical, spiritual and emotional being resides? I’ve met people who have prided themselves for taking political action toward world peace and people who have served on religious committees for world healing. And believe it or not, some of these same people have not addressed the anger simmering beneath the surface of their own families, or sought to heal the resentments within their own minds.

A few years ago I was having a discussion with a group of women who were involved in a task force committed to world peace. As the discussion ensued, a couple of the women began to express how unhappy they were with their husband’s behavior at home. The sharing soon turned into a full-fledged gripe session and I walked away wondering how “world peace” was going to be accomplished by people who seemed more focused on the shortcomings of a family member?

What is the “emotional climate” of your home? Home truly is where the heart resides and the emotional condition of one’s heart determines the well-being of one’s home life and the amount of peace one can truly express into the world. If we are withholding love, blaming or accusing those closest to us, then how effectively can we be bearers of peace? Or for that matter, how can we be of service in any meaningful way?

Another example comes to mind from a “peace march” I recently witnessed in a nearby town. As I was driving down one of the main streets, I noticed that hundreds of people had gathered, proudly and passionately carrying signs speaking out against war and several of our political leaders. While I appreciated the demonstrator’s willingness to speak their truth, I began to think that real change, real peace, occurs at home…with us.

A Course in Miracles teaches, “Peace is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts then extend outward.” During this time of upheaval, uncertainty and impending war, we naturally want to stop the violence and hostility. Most of us want to see it stop “out there,” and so we focus on what the boss, government, community, and so forth, must do differently. Yet the truth remains that the world outside of us stems from our inner condition. Peace “out there” will only occur to the extent that we heal our own violent, angry, judgmental and victim-oriented thoughts.

Your thoughts are powerful beyond measure. They affect everyone around you, including those you will never meet. The genuine healer is one who sees drama, pain and upset, yet is willing to use the power of her mind to hold to the light behind the darkness; the growth within the event. People who do this are genuine miracle-workers for they choose to see the truth. They don’t allow the outer circumstances to deter them from what is really happening behind mere physical appearances.

Peace is an inside job and it begins with you and me. Mary Manin Morrissey once affirmed, “When we stop merely tolerating life and begin to embrace it, when we release grudges and are willing to bury grievances, when we truly heal what ails our soul, and when we begin to live in truth, we find an innate holiness…

Continue Reading “Peace Begins at Home”

Copyright Laura Grace. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Laura’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

Wishing you a peaceful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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“Winter is the time for comfort,
for good food and warmth,
for the touch of a friendly hand
and for a talk beside the fire:
it is the time for home.”
— Edith Sitwell

Happy December! I’m very excited about this month’s Daily Soul Retreat theme – “Home.”

December is the perfect time of year to reflect on the importance of home in our lives. Home is where we go to retreat from the daily stresses of life. It is the sacred space that nurtures and comforts our souls. Home is where our heart is.

We’ll be looking at such themes as the meaning of home, the holiday home, creating a soulful home… I have lots of wonderful articles in store for you this month!

Today, I’m very pleased to offer you a guest article by Denise Linn, called “Creating a Soulful Wintertime Home.” Denise is the best-selling author of “Sacred Space,” “The Secret Language of Signs,” “Altars,” and “Soul Coaching.”

Her article is sure to inspire you to transform your home into a cozy winter haven!

Enjoy ♥

“Creating a Soulful Wintertime Home”
By Denise Linn

Winter is the perfect time for turning inward, for taking time to relax, to meditate, to tend the soul. Curling up next to a crackling fire with a hot mug of tea warms the heart as much as the body. The unwelcoming weather outside shepherds us towards the inner realms, where we can slow down, take time to enjoy life, and completely nurture ourselves.

Winter invites us to transform our environments into soulful havens of sacred space. In these months of darkness and cold, the light of candles creates a sense of warmth and vitality everywhere. Candlelight flickers in a lively and personal way. It creates an instant sense of the sacred which fulfills our deep-seated need for meaning and beauty in life. This is a great time to create a feast for all of your senses. Filling your home with deep rich colors and soft sensuous textures feeds the soul in the winter months. Velvets, wools and rich tapestries create a sense of creature comfort on an entirely different level from anything that is possible during the warmer months. Jewel tones and earthy colors speak of the richness and nurturing of Mother Earth. Brass, gold and copper reflect the light from crackling fires and candlelight. They make a room feel completely cozy and welcoming.

Warm nourishing soups and delicious hot drinks have been associated with winter since earliest human times. Spicy aromas, scented candles and rich incense all delight and nourish us in a soulful way. Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, orange and tangerine all are associated with the winter holidays. They call forth memories of feasts and celebrations.

The months of darkness are the time when nature incubates its seeds and prepares for an explosion of growth in the spring. This is also a natural time for us to conceive new dreams. When we are less preoccupied with going out and keeping busy, we can take the time to reflect on what is most important to us. We can slow down, turn inward and really connect with the source of our inner wisdom. A home altar offers an excellent way of honoring the process of dream incubation. On your altar, you can place symbolic representations of your hopes and plans and highest aspirations. As you spend time meditating in front of your wintertime altar, its energy will slowly begin to work a remarkable kind of magic in your life. An altar is an amazing tool for manifestation. It has the power to bring those things that lie hidden deep within your heart into the everyday world of waking reality.

In ancient times the altar was often placed at the hearth, or heart of the home. In this position the energy of the altar is radiated throughout the home…

Continue Reading “Creating a Soulful Wintertime Home”

Copyright Denise Linn. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Denise’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

Wishing you a warm and cozy day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

Share the Inspiration with Your Friends…