Author: Mercedes Déziel-Hupé (Page 11 of 18)

I'm a yoga mama of four littles, wife and holistic life and wellness coach and author.

Things To Do On Earth Day

April 22 is like a nature’s festival for me. Spring is here most days (even in Canada!), tulips and perennials are starting to pop out of the ground, and the litter that spent all winter hidden under the snow is also sprouting…

Spring cleaning isn’t just for our houses. Fellow homeowners will know what I mean when I say that even see the yard work seem to magically reappear. And that house siding needs a good pressure wash and that fence needs painting. Our bikes need tuning up. In the midst of all these chores, we realize the impact of seasons. Earth Day is a day of awareness, but it’s also a day of gratitude and responsibility. We must be grateful for the bounty that’s available to us through nature’s cycles and rhythms. We are also responsible for caring for the Earth as we would our homes.

It should be Earth Day every day because really, where else are we going to live?

Source: ChibiGuardianAngel, on DeviantArt

Source: ChibiGuardianAngel, on DeviantArt

Here are two guiding principles to rock your Earth Day.

Get Involved

There are many ways you can educate yourself on environmental issues or take a proactive Happy-Earth-Dayapproach. Perhaps you will feel compelled by a community garden project or you’ll want to clean up your local park. Maybe you want to learn about local wildlife and how to help protect these animals.

Ideas to get involved, make a difference and learn!

  • Attend a plant swap or check out your local garden club
  • Install a rain water barrel in your yard (some cities subsidize their purchase)
  • Get a composter (some cities offer the service or even offer free compost)
  • Sign-up for a plant walk or a medicinal plant course
  • Clean your lawn, stoop, balcony and pick up the trash that blew from the wind
  • Pick up trash from your nearest green space, whether a park or a playground
  • For a cleaner commute: tune-up your bike or dust-off your running shoes
  • Volunteer at a park, like this one in my area
  • If you’re ready for commitment and love animals, shelters are always looking for good families

earth_1Re-Connect

Earth Day is also meant to celebrate! I feel it’s important to honour our relationship to the Earth and nature because we are part of it. The better we understand our place and our relation to other living beings, whether they be animals, plants, crystals, water or soil, the easier it is to live in harmony. The relationship of oneness becomes clear and rewarding. We feel connected and we find purpose. Through this experience and mindful action, we create meaning.

Ideas to get you to nourish your relationship to all that is.

  • Go hiking or walk in nature for at least 1 h
  • If you live near a body of water, walk along it and admire its greatness and depth
  • Go birding or walk your dog somewhere new and green
  • If you work in the city, take your lunch outside
  • Prepare a raw, vegan meal – experience food that is alive and not-processed
  • Try a hatha yoga class or find a guided meditation on Youtube
  • In your mind, try thanking your food today, and everyone who brought it to you: “Thank you, you are life, you are love.”
  • Get your hands dirty: plant seeds or re-pot house plants

 

Personally, I’ll be taking nature walks, attending a yoga flow class (to help me with the flow of change and seasons) and downsizing my closet to favour natural fibres.

I hope these ideas get your green creative juices flowing and that you feel the wonder and brother and sisterhood of Earth Day.

Happy-Earth-Day-2

HAPPY EARTH DAY, EVERY DAY!

Tell me how you’ll be celebrating.

Manifestation: 2 Lessons Missing From The Secret

Manifest_thesacredfeminine

Source: TheSacredFeminine.com

Until a few years ago, when there was all the rage with The Secret, most of us hadn’t even reflected on the concept of manifestation. I can’t speak for others, but I hadn’t thought that my thoughts could have an impact on my life. In fact, I didn’t suspect that my recurring emotions, mindsets and deep-rooted beliefs had any bearing on the opportunities that came into my life, the ideas I had or the company I kept. To me, it was all luck and fate.

Along with legions of people around the world looking for meaning, I watched and studied The Secret.  Many areas of my life have improved since, but I can’t say that there were sudden, miracle-like changes following that enlightening film. That’s because that film is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to manifesting. What the film doesn’t explicitly say, is that The Law of Attraction does not lead you to wants, if those are not in line with your beliefs. It takes the shape of the world you believe in; it reflects YOU.  On that, the sequel The Moses Code is very enlightening. You can also find it on Gaim TV.

Everything Open Blessings Coming To MeThe 2 Lessons Missing From The Secret:

1-The Universe will give you more of what you believe, whether you think you want it or not. If you don’t want what you’re getting, take a look at what you believe – and replace it with something true to you.

I’m also on the journey of exploring my beliefs and my deeper, “agreements”. The areas of my life that are mediocre are that way because of something I believe. Whether we admit that we are responsible for attracting experiences or not, science has already shown the correlation of happiness and attitude.

I may not like to think that I’ve attracted student loans, or job losses or tax issues. I may not like the idea that I had a part in landing a job that lead me to a burnout.  But on some level, I know that my beliefs about abundance and support had an immense part to play in drawing these experiences to me in the first place. I’ve often thought that money was hard to come by and that work was hard or that I had little support. The truth is, “truth” is relative and so facts may be interpreted differently depending on your perspective. Someone’s tragic car accident is another person’s wake-up call.

Granted, there are things that happen to us because of other people’s free will and this is a little bit difficult to comprehend in cases such as childhood illness, but the fact remains that perspective plays a big part in how events unfold. Some Holocaust survivors have reported living happy lives while depression soars among people who’ve never lived war. Let that sink in.

I decided to replace my “I’m not supported” belief with “the support I need comes to me”. This then becomes an exercise in perspective; whenever something happens that makes me feel unsupported, I review the event and look for the thing that does make me feel supported and focus on it. This then changes how I feel about, which usually leads me to a solution or at least closure.

HarmonyWithUniverse_ChrisCade2-The Universe will give you what you need. If your communication is off, your messages will be distorted. Find ways to reconnect to ease the process.

In First Nations cultures, there’s no doubt that the Universe is ONE and as humans, we’re children of Earth and Sky. From my understanding, Father Sky gives us a purpose; Mother Earth gives us presence. Father Sky gives us a soul and Mother Earth gives us a physical body and the human experience. They love us so much. Whenever I practice pranic breathing in honour of my spiritual parents, I feel a windfall of love and support. When we connect to the heritage of both are parents, which is to say we’re aware of our purpose and we’re present, then we find meaning. When we’re connected, they can provide for us.

Have you ever noticed how certain people are naturally happy, have a great outlook and seem unnaturally fortunate or lucky? Good things seem to happen to them and you wonder “Geez, I wish my life were that easy” or “I wish I were going on a trip in the middle of winter – how do they do it?”

They may not be aware they’re doing it or even adhere to the concepts I’m simplifying here, but these folks are simply enhancing their natural energy (their good vibes, if you will) through their beliefs. They’re probably also quite adept at practising gratitude or they’re good listeners. These are all practices of people who are mindful and present. In other words, they call “Earth Mom” more often to let her know how they are.

These “fortunate” people – let’s call them Naturals – probably know themselves very well and have a certain zest for life. Or perhaps they have a particular passion that drives them. In essence, they’re found purpose and created meaning in their lives.

I Want to Manifest A Better Life Now

keep-calm-have-an-attitude-of-gratitudeIn a nutshell, manifestation can only happen when there’s a connection (purpose and presence) and the right conduit (belief). Find the reason why you want experiences, people and things in your life and start appreciating where you are in the process, while keeping in your heart why you’re doing it.

Practising presence or “being in the moment” also makes it easier to break a pattern; the most powerful creative time (now). Awareness is only possible now and so is action. Those are key elements to breaking free from a pattern…

Adding more love to your thoughts, actions, beliefs and habits… I addressed this in my post on “Raising Your Vibe“. When we add love (whatever makes us feel loving) we make it easier to manifest our needs and many of our wants. Whatever that is for you, do more of it! If you like to cook or enjoy gardening, all the power to you. If you like to belt out Adele while you’re cleaning or you love knitting, then knock yourself out! Carve out time to do YOU and find ways to bring your jam into the less-awesome things we all need to do, whether it’s paying your bills or doing groceries.

Lots of love to you all on your manifesting journey!

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