Tag: #connection

Consciousness, Healing, personal development, Spirituality

Eternal love is the breath of life

MariaTeresa

My dear readers, I have written often about the self healing techniques, rituals and ceremonies I practice in order to stay connected to my authentic self and to further integrate my soul into my being. Yesterday I took part in another breathquest ceremony that my dear friend Chrissy-Marie hosts via her Voyagers membership group that can be accessed here https://theartofaliveness.mykajabi.com/ Conscious breathing is so beneficial to welcoming in more life force energy which is what brings overall well-being to our body, mind and spirit. Directing such energy helps rid the body of stress and trauma, allowing for further expansion. The more room one can create internally, the more freedom one feels. It’s invigorating my dear ones!

I’ve been taking part in these monthly ceremonies for over ten months. I can firmly attest to the abundance of overall harmony I feel once the release of stagnant energy takes place where trauma has been locked in my body. The areas that are most impacted are the autonomic nervous system (ANS) which is connected to physical processes such as digestion, respiration, heart rate, immune function, and peristalsis. Also the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is our fight-or-flight response. For someone like me with CPTSD, this has benefited me most in regulating this response so that I can be more present while helping me focus and meditate much easier.

This information is quoted in an article I read to research conscious breathing and its benefits, and can be found at https://kripalu.org/resources/benefits-conscious-breathing-body-and-mind

“The other branch of the system is the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), often called the “rest and digest” or “calm and connect” system, which allows us to recoup from the stressors of life. If you find yourself breathing slowly and deeply, feeling a sense of calm and peacefulness, your PNS is activated, enhancing digestion, increasing blood flow to the GI track, lowering the heart rate, and enhancing sexual arousal. This system also activates certain parts of the brain, dampening fear-response regions and increasing the reflective, responsive regions. The result? More reflective, conscious behavior and action; an increased feeling of calm; and greater mental flexibility and creativity amid life’s challenges”.

The work I practice as a shaman requires me to read energy on other dimensions and has me dance with irrationality. I’m a storyteller for the soul, therefore it’s important for my being to be as healthy, neutral and well attuned as possible. These breathing techniques have helped shift my own consciousness and behavior in innumerable and priceless ways. I’ve begun teaching the art of shamanism while maintaining a steady client base and by God’s grace I have become quite busy. This week I really needed this breath course to reconnect with my soul, breathe and rejuvenate myself. I took a much needed day off yesterday and enjoyed restful sleep. Being still, feeling calmness and tremendous inner peace is a reward for all the hard work and dedication I give to this craft, my way of life as I walk the shamanic path.

For it is in breathing that we can let go, allowing more truth and love into our being. These little deaths create new beginnings. In the moments one feels anxious and wants to hold (breath) is the exact moment our body desires us to release and breathe. When we feel the urgency to speed up is actually the time we need to slow down. Breathing deep and often, consciously makes all of these actions flow more easily and helps us make more healthful decisions.

These two poems embody how my soul feels. Connecting to etetnal love, which supports all life in the Universe and how vital it is to feel the breath of life. The amount of aliveness one feels is directly related to one’s soul’s health. Healing the soul, connecting all parts of self spreads love throughout our human operating system. This allows us to be as whole as possible and as joyful, peaceful and loving as we want. I highly recommend you try it my dear ones! Breath is life!

Breath is freedom
Love supports all life

In light and in shadow, always with love. If you’re interested in a shamanic healing session, tarot card reading, my recorded meditations or to purchase any of my 4 books of poetry please click the link below. For a personalized autographed copy please send me an email and use my PayPal account for payment.
https://linktr.ee/Ladysag77
paypal.me/tinyd9

Spirituality

Setting my sights West

MariaTeresa

Since returning from Idaho less than one week ago, I can’t stress enough to you my dear readers how monumental a shift I feel now that I’ve  officially been anointed a shaman! It’s quite disorienting mostly and I find myself just wanting to be in solitude and in nature. The energy where I live is toxic and not a vibrational match therefore, I find myself very distracted by thoughts and feelings I know aren’t mine. Shout out to the other empaths and psychics out there because you all know what I mean.

My partner and I have plans to move soon yet in the meantime my patience in wearing thin. Today I’m experiencing a lot of the pain of being human my dears. I’ve been patiently awaiting my partner’s arrival since May. I know why we needed to be separated during my apprenticeship and now that it’s over, time is standing still! I know I’m divinely protected and that this chapter here where I live is ending soon. Today however, I’m just plain over it🤪

I rallied and had a good talking with myself. I hopped on my bike and took the longer, more scenic route to the beach. After I arrived I felt 100% better, much more present and focused. I want to share with you some of my latest poems. This reintegration process is a challenge I wasn’t expecting. I understand all I can control is my reaction to my current situation. I must admit I often find myself daydreaming about how wonderful it was to be in Idaho, with a woman who is my soul family and who understands me more than any other human being ever. Plus, the energy there was so chill. I’ve always felt as though South Florida has been my 2nd home after New Jersey. Now I want to experience life on the west coast. I’m over the fast paced, in your face vibe that is prevalent here. I believe my time on this coast is up!

I’m so blessed to find myself in a place where I’m not tied to anything so that making my next move feels exciting. The opposite of how many of my moves have felt in the last ten years. This one is 100% my choice, not a “have to” but a “want to”. I’ve had so many loving and supportive people around me that have graciously taken me in while I healed all areas of my life over the past 9 years. Financially I haven’t been ready to be on my own again since the divorce was finalized in 2012. It’s been a long 8 years of living with others, out of suitcases and boxes. I’m ready to claim my own life again and this is a feeling and a opportunity I haven’t had for quite some time.

In the past few days, I took full advantage of the glorious sunshine and low humidity. Here are the poems I wrote, based in observation of both my surroundings and my internal story. As always my dear readers, so much love💚🌱

Feel free to reach out to me via this link to book a healing session, request a tarot card reading or purchase any of my 3 books of poetry😊

https://linktr.ee/Ladysag77

Written 1 year ago, now finally realized
Backdrop picture by me, the view over the lake
Seeing so many dragonflies still💜
Free spirit ✨
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Spirituality

Channeling my inner goddess of empowerment

MariaTeresa

Happy New Moon my dear readers. This is the second to last new moon of 2019. Since I’m a Sagittarius and will be turning 42 in two weeks, it’s that time of year when I reflect upon the past year. It’s hard to believe we are at the end of another year but even more astounding is thinking about the end of this decade. I recently got involved in a social media challenge to celebrate saying goodbye to 2010-2019 by posting a picture of myself from 2010 and one from now. It’s the time of year I get uber nostalgic by looking at old pictures, rereading my journals and cleaning out my closet.

Me at my 1st road race 7/4/10 in NJ

Me at the boutique I manage here in downtown, Dallas last week.

This decade has seen the ending of many important events in my life. I got separated and divorced from my ex-husband which was a huge catalyst for many intense and much needed changes in my life. I moved around more times than I can count or care to acknowledge in this decade, changing my address, even the states I reside in. I started this decade in Rhode Island where my ex-husband’s from, then I moved to Florida where I met my fiance and we relocated three years ago here to Dallas, Texas. Just the change of region within our great country has been quite an adjustment for me to say the least. My fiance’s Mom likes to call me a Damn Yankee. It’s a term of endearment coming from her which means I’m from the North, a Yankee, I moved to the South and stayed becoming a Damn Yankee 🤣

During these past ten years I took a deep dive, plunging head first into my own mental health by beginning my spiritual journey and awakening after a suicide attempt in 2011. Hindsight is always 20/20 and boy oh boy has this been a long, painful, challenging, beautiful and awe inspiring experience. I spent an entire year going from inpatient to outpatient and back again in a private psychiatric hospital where I learned life lessons that taught me so much about myself for an entire year! That hospital became a big support system for me for a few years, 2011 to 2013 exactly, while I began healing from the many traumas I have endured. At times I remember feeling really ashamed about needing to return so often to which my doctor replied, you are learning and that requires repetition, there is nothing to feel badly about.

Thinking about the woman I was then, feeling very broken and fragmented, a shell of who I have grown into today is like reflecting upon the weather. That time feels like there was always a raging thunderstorm brewing creating hurricanes that at times became blistering winds knocking me to my knees and forcing me to crawl. This past year especially has felt like finally being able to see the Sun peak out from behind those dark clouds and turning my gray skies into a clear and brightly colored blue hue accompanied by a peach colored warm Sun.

As a child I loved to lay on the ground and watch the clouds dance across the sky. My sister, our friends and I used to shout out whatever shapes we thought we saw up there in their white puffiness. At times I feel like I am living a dream that I could’ve created out of those clouds.

Recently I have decided to stop apologizing for my inner strength and personal power while I shine brightly like a 1,000 watt bulb. While speaking to a dear girlfriend yesterday, I told her this and added that if others take issue with this, they ought to put on some sunglasses. This is my time. Period. 😎

It’s virtuous to think of others before yourself but for my entire life I did this to the detriment of myself. I held myself back and focused all of my energy on others. I first did this with family members. I’m a middle child and being born the fifth child out of the six my parents share together provided a great opportunity of how to get along with others. Then I got married and had my two boys. Needless to say, their needs took precedence over my own and I was obliging to that.

I believe I did this in search of unconditional love and acceptance that I truly never felt I could ever receive or be worthy of from others as a highly sensitive person, an INFJ personality and an intuitive empath. My entire life, I have always felt different, awkward and not a part of. Some people are called the black sheep of their family. My Mom can tell you I definitely marched to the beat of my own drum! What I have come to discover is that ME and only ME can love myself in that way. I wrote in a previous post that only Maria can take the best care of Maria.

Awakening to a higher level of consciousness recently has taught me to name and recognize where my thoughts are coming from. For instance, when I’m having ego centered thinking, that is my psyche trying to keep me small and protected. When I’m thinking as my wounded inner child, my thoughts are centered around needs that weren’t met as a child. These mindsets are often triggered or tripped like a wire attempting to throw me off my peaceful voyage through life. When I am putting some space between these mindsets I can recognize and acknowledge my true and authentic self, my original spirit. I feel more ME than I ever have before because I’m integrating my fragmented self. The parts of me that I clung to for protection and safety. I truly am a multidimensional spirit having a uniquely human experience!

All of this being explained, I awoke earlier than usual on Monday morning. Mondays are my days off and I was wondering why I was up so early, being so alert and awake, but something was pulling me. I put on one of my guided meditations and started free flow journaling. As my thoughts were coming together and I was feverishly writing, I had a thought to look up the different goddesses of empowerment.

I found myself being drawn to a blog post that described these 7 goddesses in detail. The first one struck me with such an intensity, I reread the passage three times before I decided to write it down. Immediately it made perfect sense to me why I was up before I usually am.

The more I read about the Egyptian goddess Isis, the more I felt myself channeling her spirit. She is known for her ability to transmute bad situations into good ones. According to mythology, Isis is the queen of the sky, Earth and moon by being the most enigmatic of the goddesses who embodies the female psyche as she has for thousands of years. As with any of the female deities, her strengths are motherhood, fertility and nurturing yet her main areas of expertise are in the areas of magic and healing.

Isis has an incredibly intense determination and excels most at alchemy. She is said to have served as the template for all other female deities around the world, across cultures and religions. Most importantly she embodies the power of alchemical transformation. As the goddess of magic, she teaches us how to use our own unique gifts to create the life we desire. She also serves as an agent of change. By channeling her through my spirit, I am learning to use my ability to show unconditional kindness and love to others to abolish negative energy, healing myself.

Her influential energy as been circling within me for some time now I believe. This most recent transformation is due to a Kundalini energy release. Kundalini is your life force energy. It’s believed that in those who are unawakened, their energy remains coiled at the base of their spine. For those who have an awakening event like me, we become conscious and that energy spirals upward, activating each chakra leading to enlightenment.

That is where I believe I am at right now in my evolvement dear readers. Part of my soul’s purpose is to transmute negative energy into positive by using my powers of kindness, understanding and unconditional love for all who cross my path. This is a task and duty I humbly take on with a gracious commitment to create a life beyond my wildest dreams not only for me but for those around me. This is what I believe we empaths and light workers were sent here to do. We are the light bearers, the leaders pointing to the way towards a path of Divine love and higher consciousness. We lead by example in the way we naturally interact with others. It’s a blessing to be able to go forth with this purity of love in my heart and a conviction for making this a better world for all to coexist in together. We are all connected. Life is truly a beautiful gift🌍❤✌🌠🌈😊

Spirituality

“Thou she be but little she is fierce”

MariaTeresa

This is one of my favorite quotes. It’s one I lean on when the weight of the world is on my shoulders. It’s by William Shakespeare from his play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” from the third act…..
Hermia won’t hurt Helena even if you try to help her. Oh, when she’s angry, she is keen and shrewd! She was a vixen when she went to school. And thou she be but little she is fierce.

This post is dedicated to all the powerful women, soul sisters, a tribe of females who support, remind and inspire me on a daily basis. I firmly believe that I wouldn’t be where I am without these badass ladies. I am nothing if not a woman who sticks her hand out to my fellow female warriors just trying to make sense out of this wild wild world.

As competitive as I can be, I have always believed in rising up as a collective. Not only me but why not all of us, hand in hand together? It does sincerely take a village. There is true strength in numbers my dear readers. When I am in doubt, I don’t isolate myself only relying upon my own stinking thinking. Nope, not anymore because I know I have a solid counsel of women whom I can reach out to and ask for advice, guidance and to throw me a life preserver when I’m drowning in my ego!

I was raised in a family of strong women starting with my Mom’s mother, my dear Nana. If you have been following me from the beginning of this blog, you know I have looked up to this woman as the matriarch of our family. I also have three sisters and lots of female cousins. My Mom is a petite and feisty woman who has taught me to always speak up for myself. Here is a poem I wrote last year with Nana as my muse. Celebrating her beautiful and generous spirit and recognizing how she served as such an influential role model for me on how to treat others💖

Since I was the age of two studying dance, I have always been around more females than males and I definitely feel more comfortable around girls. This sisterhood in which I am a part of share a camaraderie that is unmatched by any other group of women I am lucky enough to call my friends. We have bonded by sharing our growing pains, as young girls transitioning to our awkwardness as teenagers blossoming into women and mothers. Practicing all styles of dance, seven days a week for hours creates more inside jokes, silly stories and laugh out loud anecdotes than I can count, only these ladies and I know. They know who they are and are forever bonded in my soul.

Expressing my gratitude towards my sisterhood tribe is the focus for this week’s post. As the holiday season looms near and the end of 2019 is close, I want to take this time to tell these ladies how much of an impact you have made upon my heart and soul. Your strength, wise words, laughter, hugs, comfort and advice is priceless to me. Love you ladies forever. I see you, I thank you and I love you all 🙌🙏❤

Mental health

Celebrating the small steps

MariaTeresa

In the last few days an undeniable and solid peace has washed over and is comforting me. My analytical mind wants to call out all of the reasons why I think this is so. Again, even while writing this and essentially downloading my thoughts on the subject of furthering this self healing journey I am on, I can’t help but see how both parts of my brain are working together. Not just the logic seeking, results driven analytical part but also the communicative, creative and empathetic part too working in a kind of see saw effect. I once dwelled so intensely in just the analytical part of my mind. So much so that I would get lost in the whys and feel terribly stuck. Sound familiar to anyone?

In the past as I just mentioned, I felt cut off and deprived at times from my creativeness. I believe that to be the lighter, more carefree and fearless part of me, I need show myself compassion and grace. These two sides are no longer at war with each other. They have founded a new partnership and by doing so I am feeling a real sense of freedom.

I spend a lot of time these days reading about and exploring levels of consciousness. I believe that I am in the process of teasing out two concepts. One being observing how my ego mediates between superego and the identity aspects of my personality. The stories each can spin in order to protect myself and impede the incredible shift that I’m undergoing are challenging my entire thought process while I expand my consciousness. Uncovering my true self, rewriting old and unfounded beliefs, lies really that don’t match my reality is for me just a higher level of awareness.

The second concept is integration of my shadow self and how much awareness I now have whenever I feel myself getting uncomfortable with parts of myself that feel at first shameful and threatening to my sanity. By digging a bit deeper and unconconditionally loving those parts of myself, I have created space for more acceptance of myself.

For example, the beliefs I have surrounding my own sexuality used to feel dirty and wrong. Instinctively I have been both dissoactive and dialectical when it comes to sex in general seeing it as both beautifully pleasurable, necessary as a bodily function while also feeling negatively full of shame. Yes, that is due to the sexual abuse and trauma I have experienced but it’s amazing how many other stories my ego would silently scream at me surrounding other aspects of my personality that aren’t part of my sexual identity as a woman.

I am continuing to tap into my self care rituals and reestablishing my yoga practice, breathwork and meditation has been hugely effective in gaining more mindfulness of both my thoughts and my physical awareness. How my feelings feel in my body. The most recent being a redefined focus of how anger feels. I know anger is born out of fear and while most of my life has been run by fear and anxiety, it makes sense to me that I am now paying closer attention to how anger feels.

I had blocked, stuffed and dissociated myself from these two most uncomfortable and troubling feelings. It sounds silly now to me but fear played a role in my drive that in the past I felt necessary to propel me on in life. Anger was something I completely denied and wouldn’t allow myself to truly feel. When I’m angry I have felt ugly, wrong and unworthy. These were the mixed messages my brain was being sent that only drove me further down sufferings path.

Now integrating these different yet vital pieces of my psyche I can clearly see how each one serves me and allows my resilience to grow. I’m having to have patience with myself which is extremely hard for me. I’m great at holding this space for others but when the focus is on me I immediately become impatient with myself. Meditation allows for and creates space between these conflicting thoughts. Once messages are challenged and the universe sends me signs that tell me to accept, love and care for myself in spite of my shortcomings, peace and contentment can grow and take root in my soul.

It’s so richly rewarding to be taking care of myself in these ways. Reparenting my wounded inner child, loving and accepting the small accomplishments will lead me to succeed. I have always held space for others, putting them before myself being and being the ultimate people pleaser. These days I am reevaluating how I feel in each of my relationships and establishing stronger boundaries. I’m deciding what is and isn’t my responsibility and what I will or won’t allow from others. It’s the ultimate in self love dear readers.

I’m really seeing how much these last 6 months of deep diving into integration of my shadow and reexamining my self acceptance, holding space for grace towards myself has given to my entire outlook on life. I know success is in my near future now. Doing this work has allowed me to open up my ability to tap into my flow state more. Operating from a much more conscious place. Focusing on really learning to love me.

Untangling shame is so empowering and is helping me alter my perceptions which give my creative mind even more to explore. Dwelling in the sticky uncomforbility of it all, challenging difficult emotions and moods is becoming a new superpower. I have accepted that only Maria can take the best care for Maria. This conversation I’m having with myself represents true inner beauty and acceptance because both light and dark must meet in order to be completely authentic ❤️