Our Wisdom of the Heart retreat was another wonderful experience of joyful connections. We arrived a bit weary, rattled and stressed from our busy lives. And we left uplifted, renewed, and realigned with the presence of love.
Here is some of what the retreat sisters shared:
–The retreat gave me a chance to look at what is really going on in my life. I received prayers and tools that I can use everyday to further open myself up to the gifts the Divine has already made available to me.
–As a new person to the group, I was amazed at the immediate acceptance and welcome into this amazing circle of women.
–The prayer night affected me profoundly. There was a powerful presence that surrounded us.
–Every day was filled with wisdom and tools to take home. And the music was awesome!
–Big love to Lauri for bringing such heartfelt, spiritual musical beauty to our experience.
–First time attendee and I will return. Rev Christine is an excellent facilitator responding to our needs.
–I always appreciate the flow of practices, the opportunities for sharing, and the balance of downtime. I do not have many opportunities to step out of my life to be supported in this deep work and I am so grateful that you continue to offer this transformative time.
–Each retreat has taken me deeper in finding the “real” me. The support of my “sisters’ is beyond anything I can imagine.
–I loved the whole retreat! I arrived rattled from the noise and clutter and found peace.
–Spending time in an old growth forest with heart-centered women led by Rev Christine is a gift for your soul.
–The retreat is a respite from the overwhelming cultural demands. It helps calm the spirit within and to know more clearly who you are.
Save the date for next year’s retreat: October 19 – 22, 2025.
“You are word. You are an aspect of God being brought forth into light.” – Paul Selig. I Am the Word
Have you ever noticed that some days a brain fog seems to set in and we forget about the power of our words? We often speak aloud words of criticism, complaint, and judgment coming from our inner critic instead of empowered messages of love and inspiration from Spirit within. The words of the critic come from the head, and the empowered words of Spirit originate in the heart.
From The Book of Knowing and Worth, Paul Selig reminds us, “What you give your authority to becomes your God. And if you want your pain to be your authority, or the memory of your pain, that will be your claim, that is what you put into your basket, that becomes your broadcast, or your resonance and you call it back to you in every moment of your waking life.”
Yikes! I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to call back my pain and suffering every moment of my waking life. I choose to be aware in the present moment. I choose to pay attention to my thoughts and words.
Do you ever talk out loud to yourself? When we do, we tend to say things that are not positive and uplifting. Try this practice: Speak your gratitude and words of empowerment out loud. Your heart needs to hear your voice. Your heart hears constant words of error and false beliefs. But when your voice speaks words of truth aloud, your vibration is raised, your awareness is heightened, your experience of love expands.
Practice your spiritual readings out loud, as well as your prayers. Speak your gratitude for being aware in this moment, for loving friends and family, for your delicious meal. Affirm your success, prosperity and good health.
Our words are adding to the vibration of humanity. Let’s make them count.
Speak this aloud for yourself, your family, our country.
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Baer Ginsburg
I’ve been so inspired watching the determination, grit, and drive of the athletes at the Olympic games. Many of them have moved through so many physical, mental and emotional challenges to be there. To hear the stories of devotion of the athlete’s persistence and support of their families and friends is amazing.
I was especially in awe of watching Katie Ledecky swim the 1500 m freestyle. When she was previously interviewed she was asked how she stayed focused. She said she trained herself to not let any negative thoughts distract her from her goal. She monitors her self talk and has trained her inner voice to be a motivational speaker. So while she’s swimming, her only thoughts are ones to empower her to keep going, past pain, doubt, and limitation.
Wow! What a dedicated spiritual practice! Most days I can start out with a positive mindset, but my thoughts so easily revert to what’s not working or what I didn’t get done. Watching her persistence and determination was a reminder of the importance of staying focused and take one step at a time.
Disappointment, illness, financial challenges, loss are all life experiences we have at one time or another. Part of the practice is to acknowledge the pain and emotion and not bury it. Feel the feelings, talk about the pain, acknowledge the sadness. Have patience as you move through the process. Be gentle with yourself and your self talk. Reach out and talk with a friend. Know that this too shall pass.
After Katie finished her event, she told her a reporter that she let her mind wander near the end of the race. Her thoughts went to all the people who helped her achieve her success, and she was appreciating each of them. She ended the race with gratitude, humility and grace and a gold medal!
Feeling gratitude for even the smallest awareness helps to lift us up. Feeling grateful changes our vibration and allows us to be fully present. I am reminded of this quote from Melodie Beattie, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more.”
What are you grateful for today? Is there an Olympic athlete that inspires you?
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“As I become conscious of my Oneness with God, I am filled with enthusiasm and a sense of energy and vitality.” – Ernest Holmes
Feeling tired lately? You are not alone! Vitality seems to be in short supply these days. There are so many challenges that drain our energy and can leave us sleepless and exhausted.
Vitality Is defined an exuberance; living with purpose. But some days it can be quite a feat to move from exhausted to vitality. It takes practice to take a breath, take a pause, and let go of our self-imposed demands. It often takes courage to ask for help and compassion to release our need for perfection. When we practice letting go we open the heart to more love, and we naturally feel more enthusiasm and vitality for life.
I feel vitality when I am in nature. Whether I am at the ocean, forest, or desert, I feel a newness and freshness. My friend feels it when she is with her granddaughter. The world seems to stop and she is completely in the moment and in a state of unconditional love. Another friend feels exactly the same way when playing with her dog, feeling immense love and joy.
When we tap into vitality we are tapping into our connection with the divine and we vibrate the life force energy. We feel an aliveness and appreciation for life itself. Eric Butterworth describes vitality as “All the the attributes of the Infinite are in focus as you, flowing forth through you. You are this flow.”
Pay attention to what makes you feel energized. You may not feel it every day and that’s okay. If we are willing to recognize vitality and pay attention, it happens more frequently. To some it may show up as an abundance of energy and to others it may be a quiet sense of purpose and gratitude. Wherever we are, we are connecting with the frequency of love.
I would love to hear from you. Let me know what energizes you and renews your vitality?
“Everything you judge you fear. Think about it. Ask yourself what you judge, and then ask yourself why you fear, and you will know this in your heart once and for all.” Paul Selig, Book of Love and Creation
It is very popular to play the blame game in today’s society. We often look a scapegoat, someone to blame for the problems of the world. We blame the government, stock market, banks, wealthy people, poor people, big business, other countries and our parents for the pain and suffering of today’s world. We point fingers and worry about what others are doing or not doing. When we do that, we are simply spreading fear.
It’s so easy to judge what others are doing and give advice to how they should change their behavior. Actually it is a way to avoid looking at our own limiting beliefs and fear-based thoughts. An important step on our spiritual journey is to take responsibility and pay attention to what we are doing, thinking and saying.
Responsibility is not about blaming ourselves. Responsibility is the ability to respond. It is the freedom to take action. It is the power to change. When we take responsibility, we face our fears and take steps to move past them.
Practice looking at what you want instead of what you don’t want. Ask each day “What is mine to do to make the world a better place?” Release judgment and anger and send love instead. When we send love we raise the vibration for everyone.
Be gentle. Practice compassion. Having compassion for ourselves and others opens us to love and be loved. Compassion awakens love in us. Love is the healing power beyond judgment and blame. There is always a choice.
Speak this prayer attunement aloud whenever you are feeling separate, angry, or judgmental. Speak it aloud for yourself when you are feeling fearful.
“In addition to creating happiness in our lives, we need to cultivate the spiritual practices that lead to joyfulness, especially gratitude. We need to live from a place of gratitude and joy.” Brene Brown
Happy New Year! Another whirlwind of a holiday season has passed. We try to catch our breath as we turn the page of the calendar to a new year.
We can sometimes feel conflicted declaring what we want in the new year. We want change and yet we resist it. Sometimes we like change as a concept rather than reality. We want to have something new in our lives but we don’t want to let go of the old way of doing things. We resist change because we don’t like to be uncomfortable.
What if we looked at change as an opportunity for growth and transformation, rather than something to be feared? What if we embraced the discomfort and uncertainty that comes with change, knowing that it is a necessary part of our evolution?
The new year is an invitation to welcome new beginnings and let go of the old patterns and habits that no longer serve us. The new year is an opportunity to open to new experiences and opportunities that come our way, even if they make us uncomfortable.
Gratitude is an important step in accepting newness. There is something powerful in appreciating the present moment, the journey that has led us to where we are now. We expand our awareness when we feel gratitude for the lessons we have learned, the growth we have experienced, and the people who have supported us along the way.
In this new year, l invite you to make gratitude your guiding principle. Let’s find joy in the little things, the simple pleasures of everyday life. And let’s remember that change is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced and celebrated.
So here’s to a year of growth, transformation, and gratitude. May we have the courage to embrace change, the wisdom to appreciate the present moment, and the gratitude to be truly happy.
