Are you living in an un-thinkable present?

This week I turn 35. Birthdays really aren't a big deal to me as I feel like every day is a celebration of life; however, this week I am really reflecting strongly on the many blessings of my life. This morning when I was working out at the gym and running PAIN-FREE on the treadmill, in my mind I was taken back to two years ago where everything in my life felt like such a struggle. I was in a really bad space where I was burnt out and just tired from life.

Coming from this state of pure exhaustion and physical un-wellness, I really believed that this was just my life - that struggling is just what I do...I have never been one to really cry in front of people, but I remember around the month of November two years ago sitting in the doctor's office and crying because I was so tired. I was so burnt out at work and under so much stress and I wasn't sleeping and I was just stretched too thin.

As I look back on that moment this morning I am reminded of where these last two years have brought me from. While this time in my life was certainly not my only time of struggle, it was probably the most recent super low point in my life, and therefore a good place to go back to for reflection. One of the reasons I find keeping a journal so incredibly valuable is because you can flick back over the months or years and see where you have come from and where you are now.

While not everyone reading this blog will share my Christian faith, I speak from my own heart and true nature when I share with you how grateful I am for what God has brought me through. There is an awesome song called Mighty to Save and one of the lyrics is "Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save". I'll tell you that some times it takes YEARS to move those mountains and to bring you through the hard times that you face...but wow, how awesome is it that the mountains CAN BE MOVED!!

A visiting pastor shared on Sunday a beautiful message about how in the dark times in your life when you feel like your present moment is "un-thinkable",  you need to look back to the past and see where God has brought you from and look back to the "un-forgetable". He has been so faithful to provide you with every strength you needed and every ounce of courage it took to keep breathing! If you look back and count your blessings and recall the many ways your life has been touched, you will know that this mountain too can be moved.

So, today I am recalling the hard times and the power of change in my life. I'm looking back to the "un-forgetable" past only so that I can recall the many blessings and ways in which God gave me the courage and strength to carry on. This gives me so much hope and joy for the present moment.

I encourage you, that if you are feeling discouraged or tired, or worn...Recall where you have come from and all the many blessings of your life, and know that He WILL provide you with every strength and courage that you need for this un-thinkable present, and He WILL move the mountains that need to be moved in your life in order that you can live in peace and joy again!

This is a really beautiful song: 
https://youtu.be/zulKcYItKIA

To Live Like Water

"Coal Creek Falls" one of my favorite spots.

This week I have been reading some really interesting things about water. There is some fascinating research going on at the moment around water memory and the impact that our words and energy can have on water molecules. (Well, in truth this research has been going on for many years, but it is not often talked about). This research has a huge impact on the validity of homeopathy and really is quite interesting. It's all very controversial, of course, because there is a lot of scepticism surrounding the research and a lot of people stating that some of this research is a hoax etc. (And of course there is no money in healing through words! haha...) Whether it is truth or not, I could not possibly say due to my own lack of knowledge in this area of science. However, I personally do believe that we can influence the body in a very real way based on our thoughts, words, and energy. 

My life has significantly changed over the past year and a half based on my own personal experience with changing my thought processes and the personal energy that I project. I have seen in my life in a very real way the impact that changing your thoughts can have on the outcome of our circumstances. I have even set up little personal experiments around it and seen the results. A lot of this was related to meditation and I read an incredible book this summer called "Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself" by Joe Dispenza. I highly recommend this as it is a very scientific read around the value and process of meditation. 

One of the other areas of personal change for me was regarding cultivating an attitude centered around gratitude and thanksgiving. Where in the midst of hard times and daily living you stop and take time to be grateful for the smallest of blessings in the present moment. As I was listening to a video yesterday around the impact that our words and thoughts have on water (thereby influencing the human body because we are made up of somewhere between 50-60% water depending on weight/gender etc.). An example given was around Dr. Emoto's research that showed how a jar of water that was spoken over with positive words and uplifting music and had a loving word written on the jar itself would produce a beautiful formation when frozen and then looked at under a microscope...and when harsh words were spoken over another jar of water that had hate or anger  written on the jar this would produce an ugly disjointed frozen form. (It's all rather controversial whether or not his experiment was real or truly scientific....however, in my opinion the lesson is still quite valid regardless). 

I was inspired by the impact that the energy we are projecting can have on the outcome of our circumstances. For example, if you tell yourself every day that you aren't good enough, that you are a failure, that you never make enough money or never hit the mark - then your life will very likely be exactly that. You will very likely live a life full of sadness and despair because that is the energy you are putting out and therefore that is what you are attracting back into your life. On the other hand, if you are constantly living in a state of gratitude, thanksgiving, humility, grace, love etc., then your energy will be projecting positive light out to others and positive things will naturally be attracted to you. This is not to say that life will always be perfect or easy, or anything like that. However, it is to say that even in the midst of hard times you will be at peace (like the lotus flower who thrives and is at ease in muddy water).

These are some interesting ideas to consider as you go about your daily activities. Have a real look at how what you say to yourself and about yourself might be impacting on your health and your daily circumstances. If it were possible to change that simply through your thoughts, attitudes and words...wouldn't you want to give it a try? 

One last thought on water...Another life lesson to be learned through water is the example that we are shown through how water behaves. Water reacts well to a changing environment, it can actually change the environment itself as it moves between rocks and across land. Water will always seek the lowest place to settle and likes to keep moving; becoming stagnate if it stands still too long. Water can mold to any shape and fill any void. Perhaps we should seek to be more like water in our day to day living...

"Let my thoughts and words today speak love and light into my life and into the lives of those who cross my path. May I live like water, ever flowing, flexible, and yet through my actions may I change the lives of those around me." ~ Namaste