Intuition

Your intuition is the greatest compass that you possess. It is the barometer of your soul. It will never lead you down a road that you are not meant to walk. Quieten your mind and listen to your intuition then follow with faith where it will lead you. ~ ACN

We often hear talk of our intuition or our gut and are told repeatedly to follow it. The definition of intuition is to instinctively be in the state of awareness or knowing. Sounds quite complicated doesn’t it? Yet it really is quite simple.

Your intuition or gut feeling is the greatest compass that you will ever possess. It will give you guidance, even without your even asking for it. It will lead you to places you should go to, it will alert you of potential harmful situations and in so doing protect you. It shows you who are good people to have in your space and who aren’t. It warns you of dangers. It tells you when prospective good is coming. You have only to be still and listen and you will feel its guidance.

We have all had that tightening feeling in our solar plexus or stomach. Yet how often do we actually take note of it? We often ignore this wonderful inbuilt tool given us by our Divine. We imagine that we cannot possibly feel what is been given to us. And worst of all, we desperately try to control it.

We question it continually never fully believing that it is one of the greatest gifts we can have.

Try this exercise. The next time you are out and about, sit quietly in your car for a few minutes. Ask that you be given direction on the route to drive to your destination. Now be still and allow your body to answer you. You will have a feeling in your stomach or solar plexus and may even hear or receive a thought. Follow it implicitly believing, and having faith that it will be the right route for you to take. On arriving at your destination, listen to those around you who may have travelled from the same area and hear what delays, accidents, congestion etc surrounded their chosen route. You may be pleasantly surprised to hear that you have avoided all them.

This exercise can be practiced every day and as you become accustomed to using it, you will find that you receive deeper and greater guidance.

When we fail to follow our intuition we find that we lead ourselves to places we should not be. We land up missing opportunities that may forever change our lives for the better. Your higher self, your soul, knows exactly what you need. Pay heed to them, don’t ignore it and please do not control it. Simply surrender! Have faith! Know that where it leads you is where you need to be.

In love and light,

Amanda

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Talking Your Truth

Words are so quick to exit our mouths, yet do we think of the impact of them on those to whom we direct them? Some can lift one, some can drop a person crashing into a chasm of despair. Watch your words; once spoken they can never be retracted. Speak only words of love and peace and in so doing raise your vibration and that of the world around you. ~ACN

Most of us have heard the expression “to talk our truth”. It is a time, when we can talk to our friends and our family with honesty, revealing to them our “take” on the issue under discussion. Oft times we do this when in a confrontational circumstance, when we argue or defend ourselves to others. In anger we say things that cannot be unsaid. We say hurtful things for a variety of reasons. What few of us realise, or perhaps on an inner level we do, that words can harm a person irreparably. We can smash someone’s confidence in a moment, or destroy their ability to love themselves. In fact, we can very easily and often do take away every little semblance of worth that a person may have.

Talking our truth is very healthy for us. If we constantly swallow our words, never allowing our own deep inner feelings to surface, we are left with health problems that can become catastrophic. We develop thyroid disease, tumours in the throat area and often cancer in this area, to name but a few. We should never hold back on what is in our hearts for to do so is destructive to the beauty of our souls.

Consciously ensure that you always have balance in talking your truth. To do this means to talk it, yet talk it always with absolute love and compassion. Think carefully before you speak and always consider the feelings of the recipient of them. Consider where they are at in their lives. So often we hear people saying at funerals especially “oh well, he /she lived a good life and they were old or too sick”. We forget that the recipient may be the daughter or son, or perhaps the mother or father and that these words, no matter how true they are cause them greater grief in their time of loss. Or when someone ends a marriage, we often say things like “I told you that you should not have married him / her”. Again this may be our truth yet it becomes extremely hurtful as the person may have great regrets and knows that they may have made a mistake.

Remember always that circumstances dictate the scenario and we should be duty bound to always uplift the other no matter what has happened, no matter how angry we may be in the moment. Speak your truth with honesty and integrity. Be open and positive about it. Be direct and clear in your intention. You don’t have to beat around the bush as this will just amplify the negative and will open the door for the recipient to take offense to your words.

Take a deep breath and stop before you speak, remembering always to speak your truth in and with compassion, love and peace.

In love and light,

Amanda

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In Solitude with Your Divine

When one is comfortable and at one with ones soul, then loneliness does not exist. In this state of being we can sit in solitude and commune with our Divine. For it is when we are in this state of communion that we are with one with our Divine. ~ ACN

Most of us are forever chasing something in our lives to fulfil the gap we find within ourselves. We, especially us ladies, go from shop to shop, buying needless articles in the hope that we will find fulfilment. We buy clothes we do not need and often never wear. We ooh and aah over them and then pack them away. The men go dashing off to the hardware shop buying tools they hardly know how to use in the hope that, should they discover how to use them, that they too will fill the gap in their lives. Then off we go again hunting for the illusive item that will satisfy our need.

We do this with relationships too. We enter one, find it does not work and go hunting again for that special man or woman to fill the void. The cycle continues over and over again, never bringing us fulfilment, never bringing us to a place of peace.

Yet should we sit back in a quite comfortable spot and reflect upon our souls, we will soon discover that the need to need things is just a way of putting off what we really do need.

We need to be at one with our soul.

When we reach a stage of complete acceptance of our being, practicing compassion, love and peace for ourselves, then and only then can we really “be” at one with our Divine self. This means not being judgemental of you, no hating of you, no criticism or disdain of you but accepting each and every aspect of self as a Divine creation, the most awesome of all creations. Then to really love self, honouring and respecting it, treating it as a Goddess or God and recognising that it is in image of our Divine Creator. We find then, the need to fulfill that illusive gap is no more and we become whole within ourselves.

Once in this state of absoluteness, we are then in a position to pray and meditate in a state of peace where no thought intrudes and where you are at one with your Divine.

In love and light,

Amanda

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The Thorn

Ever wondered why the rose has a thorn? It is to remind you, when you prick your finger on it that, to never lose sight of the beauty of the rose. Like the rose, you are beautiful! So when you forget this or lose sight of it, remember the thorn and be returned to the beauty of you. ~ACN

Most of us assume that thorns on roses are negative things. We forget that they serve a really good purpose for the rose. The thorns stop certain creatures that would no doubt devastate the rose, eating it and leaving nothing for the rest of the world to look at. It prevents the rose buds from becoming entangled with each other and in so doing preserve the bud allowing it to bloom beautifully amongst other roses on the same rosebush.

I like to believe that the rose thorn is to remind us of the magnificent beauty of the rose. We always pay attention when we experience pain. It is when we experience pain that we sit up and take notice of what is going on around us. Where we did not previously see the rose, we now see it. We take careful note of its colour, its fragrance, and its spender. In fact we generally will reach a concession that it is indeed a beautiful creation.

We, as the rose was, are created in such beauty. When we lose sight of our own inner beauty, it is a tragedy to the creativity of our Divine. Unfortunately we do not have physical thorns to remind us of this yet emotionally we have the innate quality to look within. We are able to use what our Divine has gifted us in nature as tools and reminders to bring us to a state of introspection. Give thanks for this and look each day to these tools that will enlighten your being and allow you to give cognizance to what you are.

Receive with grace then, the reminder of the thorn. When you lose sight of your inner beauty think about the rose thorn and then give thanks and be in gratitude for that which you are; A beautiful creation of your Divine.

In love and light,

Amanda

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Looking Back

Look not to the past in judgment. Look to the past in learning. Live for the now and be the difference you want to see in the world. ~ ACN

Imagine if your head faced the back of your body. How strange would that be! There is a good reason why we are born with our heads facing forwards. Our Divine wants us to learn from our past experiences not look back on them with regret and misgivings about what has been. We are not able to change what is gone yet we can take what we have learned from it and apply it to our lives going forward.

Take the example of burning your finger. You may have dipped your finger into a pot of hot oil just to see how hot it was. You experience the pain of doing so and a memory is created within your brain. The next time you have hot oil; you will recall that memory and will remember the pain associated with it. With this knowledge, you will know not to do the same thing again.

Carrying past experiences forward is just like sticking your finger into the boiling hot oil. You have the experience (stick your finger in the oil), you experience the pain (result of the experience), you create the memory (reminder of the pain), carry the knowledge forward (know not to do it again).

We may have had a life where there was little or no trust for example. You may have learned from this experience that trust is a tenuous thing, that your trust can be easily broken. You store this memory and continue in life. The next time you enter a relationship with someone, you should enter it in a trusting fashion. Just because you have had your trust broken in the past does not mean it will happen again. The circumstances’ surrounding the broken trust is the lesson you must carry forward not the actual ability to trust. Each relationship we have is different and each has its own lesson for us. When we take each relationship as a unique experience, we are able to live in the “now’ with it and “be” with it thereby using past knowledge as a tool and not living the past experiences in the current circumstance. It stands to reason then, that we can be different in our approach to it and hence grow from it. Allow each experience to enhance you as a peaceful, loving and compassionate being. You are, after all, the difference you want to see in the world.

May you be blessed at you continue to look ahead with an open attitude, carrying no baggage from your past, and be all you can be in this life time on Mother Earth.

In love and light,

Amanda

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To be Free

Just for today, I shall lift my spirit and be free. I shall fly like the bird that soars through the sky, I shall laugh like the clown pleasing the crowds, I shall sing like the nightingale as it charms its mate. Just for today, I will be free.~ACN

Each day we have a choice to be what we chose to be. We can choose to be in a state of despair and darkness or we can choose to lighten our energy and be free. In times of darkness, when you feel so alone visualise things that bring you to a place light and happiness. No one can make you happy. People, circumstance and things can enhance your happiness but ultimately it is your choice to allow these to affect you in positive or negative way.

It is perfectly okay to have down days for it is our soul’s way of letting you know that something is not right with your life. Depression is like a barometer of our how our life is going. However, give yourself a time limit to be in this space. Do not allow it to consume. The longer you stay in the depths of depression, the more difficult it will be to lift yourself out of it and eventually it will become a comfortable space, a safe space, as you will not have to step up and take responsibility for changing. Listen to these times and take action upon them.

Having said this, when we are totally in acceptance of ourselves, when we love ourselves unconditionally, when we have learned how to forgive ourselves and be at one with what is happening in our lives, then we arrive at a place of inner peace.

When you are in this place of peace you will find freedom within your soul. You no longer concern yourself of others thoughts of you. You are able to be whatever it is you choose to be. Be a little crazy today, jump up and down in glee, laugh with abandon, run outside and wave your arms about and twirl in the morning sun. Or go to a shopping mall and tell a stranger sometime nice about themselves. Do whatever it is that makes you feel good and raises your vibration. As you do this, you will bring joy to others and will raise their vibration and in so doing raise the vibration of the world.

In love and light,

Amanda

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“Everything is as it should be at this time”

In times of disappointment, rise up and be with the situation at hand. Your Divine knows what you need. Experiences are sent to you to learn from. Accept them graciously; opening your heart and your mind and fully enjoying them before letting them go. Be at one with your Divine as you give thanks for that which you have learned at this time. ~ ACN

The dictionary defines disappointment as the feeling of sadness or frustration because something was not as good, attractive, or satisfactory as expected or because something hoped for did not happen.

Oft times we experience disappointment in life because our expectations were not met. We place expectations on the outcome of so many experiences. We expect people to behave in this way or that, we expect results from certain things that just do not materialise because of influences outside of our control or we expect that if we control a situation the result will be what we want.

We also face disappointment when we do not accept that our want is not always our need. As you grow as a soul, you come to realise that our need is what we predestined it to be. Our wants do not always align to our needs although they should. When you are at one with your inner being, you realise that wants and needs should be in line with each other. When we learn to listen to our higher self we begin to comprehend that what we need is what is of importance. We live in a society where we constantly want, mostly material things, yet do we really need them? An example of this is when we already have a vehicle that is in good roadworthy condition and then a newer model is launched and we suddenly have a desire to have or want the new model. Is it necessary? Do you really need a new vehicle? Then when we find that we cannot afford it, we become disappointed.

Now on an emotional level, we all want to be happy. We sometimes journey through experiences which do not always allow us to achieve a state of happiness. The experience is there to teach us something, be it compassion, patience, perseverance to name a few and because the experience is not a good one we become disillusioned and disappointed, sinking into a state of being sorry for ourselves and often accompanied by depression. It is during these times that we need to realise that the “need” of the situation was to teach us what was essential to our growth whether or not we wanted to have it. A mantra I often use in times such as these is “everything is as it should be at this time”. This brings me to a place of acceptance.

Accept whatever lesson you are given to achieve the end result. Process it, learn from it, give thanks for it and then let it go, carrying only what you have learned forward.

In love and light,

Amanda

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You are Your Soul

Each day, as you open your eyes, reflect on the soul you are. Celebrate its greatness for the answers you seek are hidden deep within. ~ACN

Ahh, the soul! What exactly is a soul? The dictionary describes the soul as the complex of human attributes that manifests as consciousness, thought, feeling and will and is regarded as distinct from the physical body. Shew... this sounds like a mouth full doesn’t it.

In the last 100 years there have been numerous scientific findings that the soul exists within the body as tangible matter. There is a great deal of debate on whether it is housed in the brain, heart or another part of the body. Research has not yet been able to determine its exact location within the body; however, it has been established by weight measurement studies conducted during and after expiration of the body that the body mass changes as a result of inexplicable loss of matter.

For the purpose of this post, let us focus on the metaphysical manifestation of the soul. The soul is what you are. It is the essence of your being. The soul is what your persona is. It is how you think, your attitude to life, your inner love, your actions, emotions, your memories and so much more. It is surely a greatly complex thing. Ethereally, your soul is connected to your body with an etheric cord. During periods of Astral Travel, our souls are able to leave the body yet stay attached to it via this cord. Imagine an umbilical cord. It is sort of like this and is said to be a silvery colour with great elasticity allowing it to stretch to the heavens for our journeys thereto. As we approach our physical death, the death of the body, the cord becomes shrivelled and brittle allowing the soul to sever completely, consequently allowing the soul to return to Universe to continue its journey in the after-life.

With each experience we have on this earthly plane we learn and grow as a soul. We chart our own experiences before we incarnate and store that which we have learned within our soul for use in future life-times and ultimately to be used when we manifest to guiding other, younger souls on their journeys. During your current incarnation you are fully able to access all these memories if you so choose and can do so at will. All it requires is dedicated meditative practice to do this.

Each experience you have forms the complexity of your soul. As the brain is said to be the world’s greatest computer, so too is your soul for it is far more complex than the brain even. It is you. Just as you are today and will be tomorrow it is your being. It is a Divine creation and is pure Divine Love.

Take a moment then to celebrate your soul, its wisdom and its love, giving thanks to your Divine for its creation.

In love and light,

Amanda

Photo courtesy of: http://www.setamark.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/living_soul.jpg