Your mind serves your heart.

Sometimes I have an over active mind.  It’s true.  From time to time it can get the best of me.  For the last couple of weeks my mind has been doing just that.  It’s been hard at work driving me insane.  It create scenerios, envisions outcomes, has conversations–with itself!  They go like this, “first I say…, then he says…, then I say….”  The subject of these conversations are positive, so at least I’m not creating arguments, but still they are maddening!  I mean they are not even happening!  Do you know how frusterating it can be to have conversation after conversation with your own mind?  If you’re human– I bet you do.

So how do you handle this very human tendency?  Well I must say the answer I discovered this week startled even me.  I am used to my mind, I am aware of how it can sometimes get in ruts and think endlessly about things that are totally not helpful for it to think about it.  Initially when I noticed this thinking rut I was in, my tactic was to  just let my mind do it’s job of making up stories, without getting upset about it.  Then came a certain point where I actually got tired of the subject- and still my mind kept going.  So when I could see that these make believe conversations were  driving me to the point of nausea-  I started pulling out my usual box of “tools.”

I would methodically switch to repeating a mantra in my mind when I found myself thinking about the subject.  I would breathe deeply and look around me- trying to bring myself back to the present moment and out of my mind.  I went on walks.  Man I went on walks!  I tried to get as grounded in the present as I possibly could.  Sure these things worked– for a while.  But not with any longevity.  I dug through my box of books for a title that had helped me in the past: Mystery of the Mind by Swami Muktananda.  I lay on my bed reading it.  It helped.  Some.  But still my mind had things to say.  It couldn’t let go of the subject, it wouldn’t let go of the subject.

It was two days ago when I finally realized what was going on.  Actually, it wasn’t my mind that was trying to communicate with me, it was my heart.  ”I’m lonely,” I finally heard it say.  Here I was getting all bent out of shape because of my mind’s rampant imagination when all it was trying to do was communicate the notions of my heart.  My heart needed to be heard.

Let me tell you, the silence that enveloped me after my heart spoke was immense.  For the first time in I don’t know how long my mind was quiet.  It was pure and blissful silence.  It felt like poetry it was so beautiful.  It was as though my mind had finally  just shut off.  If it had had a thought it probably would have been something like, “Finally she gets the message!” said in an exasperated and relieved tone.

This experience rocked my world– in many ways.  First because I realized that it wasn’t even the actual loneliness that was eating me up, it was the being totally unaware of what was in my heart that was causing me pain.  But mostly because I realized that my mind IS completely aware of its job to serve my heart.  For so long I thought this was something I needed to train my brain to understand.

After this experience I realized how naturally, without any outside prompting, the whole amazing mechanism of my human body including my complex and intricate mind, intrinsically understands its focus on my heart.  In so many subtle and profound ways it is this ever-beating organ that both keeps me alive, and makes my life worth living.  It points me to what is important in life– people, connection, friends, and makes me able to have those interactions.

So the next time I find myself in a thinking rut, the first thing I’m going to do is to ask myself instead not how can I change this line of thinking, but, “Heart what would you like to say?”  Then I can move directly on to the real business of my life: serving my heart.

Aimée Cartier is an intuitive, writer, and the founder and director of Spreading Blessings Media.  To find out more about her work or sign up for her regular newsletters and blessings click here.

Relish the Present!

Someone once asked me, “Would rather be able to see the future or change the past?”  Without hesitation I replied.  “I can see the future.  But it doesn’t help me get there any faster.”  No matter what—without exception—in order to get to the future you have to go through the present.

That means even if you can see it, even if you know, like many people do, when change is coming, you still have to live this moment—this very moment to get there.

Sometimes this is hard.  I mean when you know you are ready to have a new job, or you are looking forward to changing this about your life, or you can’t wait to go on that vacation—living in the present can be very difficult.  It’s like you want to get to where you are going.

And yet all of the sages, both ancient and modern tell us that the juiciness, the real gems are in the present—in this very moment.

So how do you continue to enjoy the moment even when you do have advanced warning of where you are going?  This was the very question I asked myself yesterday.  And the answer that came to me was, relish. 

The beautiful gift of knowing where you are going, whether that means a vacation or a complete change in lifestyle, is that you can relish the present that you are in.  Knowing that these moments will change can make them all the more precious.  You won’t have this job forever, or be doing this particular activity for a life time, your child won’t be this age forever, and furthermore neither will you.  Whatever it is that you are living right now will change—guaranteed. 

So use that knowledge to appreciate what is around you.  Instead of pining for what is to come, recognize the luscious opportunity you have right now to enjoy what IS in front of you.  Revel in the preciousness of what is here.

Ironically enough, this very act is what will lead you unequivocally into the future.  Think about it.  When you know you have enjoyed every bit of what is in front of you, you are that much more ready for the change when it comes.  You haven’t wasted a single precious moment—you know you have been present and happy in each one of them, you know you will leave that experience without regret.

So try seeing your life as a continuum—knowing that this moment will change will help you relish it all the more.

This is an excerpt from the June 2009 Spreading Blessings Media Newsletter.  To sign up to receive these monthly newsletters in your inbox click here.  More about Aimée and her work can be found at spreadingblessings.com.

Help is on the way

I’ve been getting one clear message over and over lately.  ”Help is on the way.”  On a daily basis, for let’s see, at least a week now I have heard this message.  ”Help is on the way.”  I love it.  It feels so freeing, so liberating.  It’s like this gentle but insistent reminder that I’m not required in any way to do everything myself.  What a great feeling!

This is not just a message for me though, it is a message for everyone.  Do you have an area in your life that needs a little fixing at the moment?  Some part of the plan that isn’t quite clear or hasn’t quite worked out?  Well this message is for you too.  I’ll keep repeating it: “Help is on the way.”

Think of it this way.  Right now, behind the scenes your peeps, as I like to call them, your Spirit Guides and Helpers are doing everything in their power to get things to line up just so.  These certain conversations have to happen, these revelations need to be made by another, these actions needs to be taken– all of these things and events need to line up perfectly in order for things to be set just right for you.  That’s a lot of work!  That’s a lot of orchestrating, and watching happening behind the scenes so that they will know when the time is right to give you the signal.  That is a lot of effort on on your behalf, even without your awareness.  Just because you don’t hear or see anything happening, doesn’t mean that it is not happening.

So do yourself, and your guides a favor.  Instead of worrying about the things in your life that don’t seem to be adding up yet, the events or circumstances that haven’t seemed to align just perfectly yet– give yourself a break.  Remind yourself, “Help is on the way.”

It’s coming.  It’s almost here.  And when it gets here– you will be so much happier with yourself if you are able to meet it with open expectant arms instead of a baffled caught-off-guard surprise.  Trust me, it’s coming.  It’s almost here.

Aimée Cartier is a writer and intuitive.  More about her writing and readings can be found at www.speadingblessings.com

To share your story of “help arrived” email us at contact (at) spreadingblessings.com.

How to enjoy the ride, even when you want to reach the finish.

It’s easy for me to get ahead of myself.  Sometimes I am so clear on where it is that I am going, or what it is that I want, that I don’t always allow for the proper time, meaning the natural course of things, to happen.  I am like the race car driver who goes 0-60 in seconds flat.  But more than that, or perhaps worse that that, when I am in this state- I think only of the finish line.

Basically, I like to have what I want immediately.  This has actually been a common theme of my life.  Even, or especially when I was young I did not  allow time for things to run their most natural course.  Once I could find the possibility in my mind, I expected to be there.  And it’s true many things do come to me like that.  However there are always things that take time.   

“Isn’t it all about the journey?” a friend reminded me the other day, “I’ve heard that mentioned a time or two,” he added wryly.  The reality is, things take time.  Whatever you are manifesting needs to grow.  And sometimes it is the most precious things that require the most time.  

To help myself get over the frustration that I sometimes feel when things don’t happen NOW, or yesterday, as I sometimes wish they would, I play a little game with my mind to help it get back into the space of enjoying the journey.  

I pretend that I am on vacation.

Remember how it feels to be on vacation.  When you wake up, you don’t think to yourself, “Oh I’ve got to get in the shower, and start the coffee, and get to work.”  And you certainly don’t think to yourself, “Oh, I’ve got to get this rest and relaxation over with so I can get back to the grind!”  The finish line, or the end of the vacation, is not in sight.  Instead, you move as though there is plenty of time for everything, as though this moment were truly all that mattered.

The last time I was on vacation in Hawaii I remember waking up, lying in bed and relishing the sea breeze dancing on my skin.  When I got out of bed to head toward my morning tea, just the feeling of my bare feet on the carpet felt exquisite.  Every little moment was so ripe and full– I wanted for nothing.    

When you are on vacation, you get out of your pajamas when you feel like it.  You snorkel when you have the urge.  You eat when it is time– and you don’t think about the end.  You are actually present for the deliciousness of every moment instead of trying to race to the finish line.  

There is such an exquisite beauty in waiting for the natural urge of each action to arise before doing.  It doesn’t require a beach and some flip flops for you to make it happen.  It takes only a simple shift in attitude.  Decide you are on vacation.  Pay attention to and act on your own natural urges and impulses.  Act as though there is time enough for everything, and you will really and truly feel that it is the ride that brings the joy, not the finish.

Aimée is an intuitive, writer, and the founder of Spreading Blessings Media.  This post and the others are part of her regular blessings and inspiration, available for free in your inbox.  To find out more about her work go to www.spreadingblessings.com or click here to sign up for regular blessings and inspiration in your inbox.

How can I get what I need?

The universe is providing you exactly what you need. 

Just take a breath for a second and feel that.

The universe IS providing you exactly what you need.

The universe is already providing YOU-

EXACTLY what YOU need….

I always get messages from my dreams.  Some times, many times actually, it is the work that I do in the dreamtime, the insights I have while sleeping that help me understand the life I lead while awake.  Last night was no different. 

In my dream, all of my needs were met.  Sometimes they were met by strangers, other times friends, but the wide array of people, places, and events that was actively meeting my needs was startling to me.  I felt this joyful, grateful sense of amazement at just how supported I was, and how it came from every possible direction.  It wasn’t just one person who was responsible for providing for me.  It felt as though some unseen force was guiding the people in my dream to provide for my every turn.  But that wasn’t the most startling thing to me.

The most startling thing was that consistently I wasn’t even consciously aware of what my needs were until they were already provided for.  A woman showed up with a gorgeous piece of chocolate for my morning cocoa at just the right time.  A gleeful and handsome man whisked me out of this funny situation, and delighted me with his love for me.  At each turn, with each occurrence or presentation (like of the chocolate) I realized that my every need was being provided for even before I became aware of the need myself.

At one point when some woman had again provided just the thing I needed— even before I became conscious of it, I said to her, “Wow! I feel so supported!”

She just looked at me matter of factly and said, “Yes.”

I had gone to bed last night with the question playing in my mind, “How can I find the feeling of being supported?”  The answer was very clearly—it’s everywhere.  You already are.  Just look for it. 

Whether you are aware of it or not, the universe, is providing for your every need and whim.  To revel in this feeling for yourself, all you need to do is become aware of the fact.  Simply understanding that support for you and your life IS right now already coming from everywhere.  The universe is at all times conspiring in your favor—it wants you to live—it wants to support you in being and becoming who you are.  It wants you to have everything you need, and in fact it is already doing the work of providing it. 

All you need to do is recognize it. 

Aimée is an intuitive, writer, and the founder of Spreading Blessings Media.  To schedule a reading, and get specific messages about your life, email contact (at) spreadingblessings.com today. 

Surrender to the magic and let it do its thing.

The other day I was looking over some notes from an astrology reading I had some time ago. The quote I read from the astrologer was this, “Your life is already aligned with higher forces in so many ways, you are really just being asked to let go of your own illusions and let the magic— generations of magic— just do their thing.” Re-reading that quote made an impact on me. It epitomized the very message that I had been getting strongly recently—one that I referenced in one of my most recent blessings: Get out of your own way! How many times have each of us had a limiting idea about who we are in the world?You think you can do this, or you think you can’t do that. Especially as we get older and have more experiences we seem to get locked into certain preconceived notions about ourselves, and what we are capable of. When the truth is—you are capable of far more than you’ve ever imagined. Your life experience hasn’t even begun to make a dent into the things that you are actually capable of— no matter who you are. The truth is that even if you have spent years doing things a certain way, or thinking of yourself in particular terms, there are talents and capacities you have that still remain virtually untouched. You can, for example, sing in a choir even if you have never done so, or write a poem even if you’ve never tried, or create a beautiful yard sculpture from materials in your garage, even if you’ve never considered this in all of your years. There is so much more that you are capable of than you currently consider. The April Spreading Blessings newsletter is dedicated to exploring those talents. But not in a forced “I’ve got to let go of my limitations!” way, but a magical, dynamic, listening and responding to the universe way. And by that, I mean letting life provide you with experiences and reflections of yourself that you hadn’t even considered. It’s about surrendering to the magic and letting life open doors and show you what you are truly capable of. Happy surrendering. All my love, Aimée To get tips, practical advice, and read a real life story about how to let your life show you the magic.  Subscribe to our free newsletter.  (Your name is never shared.) Aimée is the founder and director of Spreading Blessings Media.  A company dedicated to providing tools for inspired living.

Get out of your own way!

Lately I’ve had all of these grand plans brewing.  I’ve been focussing a lot on aligning with what my soul is here to do.  The way I see it, that is real reason I’m here.  The rest is just the icing on the cake.  I mean the soul is what comes with you from life to life, it’s the essence of who you are.  It knows all about you and why you came to live this time around.  So from my perspective, being in line with my own soul is the most important thing I can do.  It is quite literally the reason that I came.

So, I’ve been focusing on that, and making all of these grand plans.  I’ve been plotting moves (in location), praying for guidance , and locking on to the expanded visions that have been coming my way.  

This has all been wonderful, but last night I had a dream that revealed the underside of all of this plotting and planning.  Even though the dream’s message was a bit startling, when I finally grocked what it meant I felt a complete sense of peace.  

In a nut shell, the events of the dream, and more exactly what I said in the dream, revealed to me that in truth, I had no idea what I was doing!  In the dream I was going snowboarding.  But instead of down a mountain I was shot out directly into the ocean.  I suddenly found myself swimming in the waves with my snowboard strapped on to my feet- totally baffled.  

There was a woman wading next to me.  She had a mildly amused expression on her face, and she was just sort of watching me to see what I would do.  Totally shocked at being surrounded by the heavy ocean (and not air) I tried a few times to lift myself and my snowboard out of the water- to sort of launch myself like a water skier so that I could ride on top of the waves.  I could see a few people out in front of me, riding the waves on their snowboards in this water skier type fashion (but without a boat).  But as I tried to get on top of the water I just couldn’t.  It was just too heavy.

I turned to the woman next to me and said, “I don’t know if I can do this.  I have absolutely no idea how to launch.”  Oddly enough, I didn’t feel trapped or even frustrated by the situation.  I just felt totally baffled.  It was just like this “Holy Cow, I have no idea what I’m doing!” moment, and it felt a little humorous.

When I woke up this morning and started writing down the dream I realized, that quote right there was what it was all about.  For all of my grand plans and dreaming, I really had no idea how to launch!  In truth I had no idea how to get from where I was in the water, to riding the waves.  I could obviously see that it was possible, and I suppose I was in the right place to make it happen (the ocean) but the “how” remained totally mysterious.

As I’ve been reviewing the dream this morning and afternoon, what has come to me more than anything else is this notion of getting out of your own way.  

Looking back I have the sense that the woman wading next to me knew just how to get me out of the water and on top of the waves.  But she was just sitting there watching me struggle and try to go at it alone.  After all I hadn’t asked for help.  It was amusing to her.  Of course, what I was attempting was completely impossible.  I couldn’t just launch myself and my snowboard out onto to the top of the ocean alone.  I needed help.  

Sitting with my morning cup of cocoa later writing the whole thing down I felt such a sense of peace come over me when I came to the simple realization that I had no idea what I was doing!  It was sort of like a revelation that allowed me to step back and breathe.  The silence that came from me doing this felt profoundly opening.  Like suddenly I wasn’t sitting there listening to my own self struggle in the water anymore.  The absence of this created a vacuum of silence which was obviously the only real vehicle for a solution.  Stop struggling, stop trying to figure everything out, just listen.  Give over to Spirit, make space.  And above all, ask for help!

So, my blessing today is just that, “Get out of your own way!”  Stop struggling and trying.  Make space for the silence of solutions, the true and unfathomable strength of Spirit, and the effortless help that can come if you’ll only ask for help. 

More about Aimée Cartier, her intuitive readings, and other work can be found at Spreading Blessings Media.  You can also email her with comments at aimee(at)spreadingblessings.com.

Dancing with the dynamic movement of Spring

Spring is the most volatile time of year.  Why just yesterday where I live it started out beautifully sunny, then it rained, then it hailed, then snowed, then hailed again.  From one minute to the next there was no predicting what the sky had in store for us.  And it doesn’t even usually snow where I live!  

At this time of year our emotions can sway to this same natural, wild, and unpredictable course.  One minute you’re happy, the next your sad, overwhelmed, back to happy, bouncing on sad, oh here comes overwhelm again… You get the picture.  Likely you know exactly what I mean because you’ve been living it.  

It’s fine to feel all of these emotions.  It’s fine to let them course through you, understanding that like the weather, the indomitable forces of nature are seeking out and finding in you all of the spaces that need release.  It is however another thing to let them control you- this is neither wise, nor helpful.

Is it possible to do one (feel) and not the other (be controlled)?  Absolutely.  How?  By meditating.  If you’re groaning right now because you’ve been putting off starting a meditation practice for months, okay years, trust me, there is no time like the present to begin.  No other time more than spring will the natural, calming, soothing, and centering affects of meditation be apparent to you immediately.  Like the trees in their rooted stance, you will be able to feel the wind, snow, sun, breeze, sadness, happiness, overwhelm without letting it unground you.  The unsettling and uncontrollable ride will feel instead like a beautiful and passionate dance.  One in which you are able to ride on the currents of whatever is needing to be expressed, but not be ravaged by it.

Meditation has this unaltering ability to connect you with the Source.  Your Source, and the Source of the Universe.  It’s that place inside of you, that like the Universe, watches peacefully and joyfully, the passing of all seasons, appreciating them all for their own raw beauty.  

So if you’re ready to dance, instead of be thrown about by the dynamic movement of Spring- sit down and meditate.  Trust me– YOU will be glad you did!

Aimée is an author, teacher, and intuitive.  She is the founder and director of Spreading Blessings Media- a company that offers tools for inspired living.

Blessing: May you dance with (not be ravaged by) the dynamic movements of Spring.

Soul Family

We were at the height of our move. We had just finished a “white knuckler” drive towing a trailer up to our new house in the Colorado mountains. Tensions were high. My boyfriend at the time and I were at the end of that frayed rope that seems to be a natural consequence of uprooting yourself and all of the belongings you need (don’t need?) from one place to another. We had just unloaded the bulk of the load, when like a breath of fresh air she strolled right through the open door and into the kitchen.

“I brought you some beer and some chocolate chip cookies,” she said, her hands full of the goodies. She followed that with “Hi, I’m Laura.”

“I’m Aimée,” I said, pulling out a dining room chair for her to sit on and taking a beer from her outstretched arm. “You couldn’t have come at a better time.”

That was our “formal introduction.” A soul appointment, I like to think of it now. And like Laura, it definitely had flair. Though we had technically only just met, every time I looked at her I kept hearing in my mind the words, “Now what were we talking about?”

It was as though we were long lost friends who had just spent a couple of years apart. And in truth, I believe that we were. I didn’t really have a name for it at the time, but now, I refer to these people as my “soul family.” In my life they have come in both the most remarkable and ordinary of ways, and in the most unusual of places. Laura and I (and her twin girls) met in Rollinsville, CO. If you drove past Rollinsville, the word “town” would not even enter your head. You would more likely think, “Oh look, a bar.” The most prominent –and nearly only— feature of the town is a huge double story, barn-looking bar. A couple of other buildings including a car mechanic and a post office make up the entirety of the place.

Aside from Rollinsville where I met quite a few of them, I’ve run into members of my soul family in Greatfalls, Montana, the Catskill mountains of New York, in Senegal, West Africa, just to name a few. They come in all shapes and sizes, and they tend to run in packs. I’ve found that in sitting down at the dinner table of one, I am likely to run into another. I hit a veritable jackpot in Port Townsend (PT), Washington.

I met one of them within my first 30 minutes in PT. Hers was the first store I walked into, and as I had my hand on the doorknob to leave she said, “You look like you live here.” In truth, as even she will testify, she just simply recognized me. But it was thanks to her that I did live there for a time. That day, before I left her shop, she had handed me a piece of paper with the details of a place for me to live.

To this day, I actually believe that I landed in Port Townsend to make some soul appointments. It turned out I had a whole gaggle of long lost friends there. Oddly enough, (or not) it was my friend Laura who insisted that I just must see PT.

These lovely people have provided pivotal information, been on my welcoming committees, and generally helped confirm my next steps in life. One of them even showed up for the first time, at my going away party in Port Townsend. She was living on Vashon but considering a move to Port Townsend. As she remembers it, the first thing she said to me was, “I think I’ll stay on Vashon and be your friend.” And that she did.

The longer I live the more of them I meet, and for this I can say, I am truly blessed. Sometimes I can’t wait to turn the next corner to find another. For me there is nothing like being in the presence of these beings. They turn out to be friends, lovers, sisters, brothers, aunts, or uncles to me— they run the gamut of soul family relations so to speak.

To most others, I suspect they look like ordinary human beings, but to me, no matter who they are, nothing in the world beats the loveliness I feel in their presence. It is the sweet, sweet, elixir of having loved someone for eons. It sings in my soul each time I am with one of them. It’s a melody with a very distinct tone, and it rings of nourishment.

So for all of you who are a part of that for me, and for all of you who are a part of that for someone else, all I can say is “thank you for coming.” I’ll keep my eyes and ears pealed for our next “chance” encounter. I’m sure it will be the one that sets the blood in my veins back to singing that old, old love song. By now I know the lyrics well, they go, “so this is why I came.”

Aimée is the founder and director of Spreading Blessings Media. She writes, does intuitive readings, and teaches from her home and studio on Vashon Island.  Sign up to receive her regular blessings and inspiration via email, or contact us to get a reading by phone.

The cure for restlessness

Restlessness: according to the dictionary this word describes a person unable to rest or relax as a result of anxiety or boredom.  Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve outgrown your life?  That it is time for something to change, and perhaps something to change in a big way– but that you’ve no idea how to make that happen?  I have.  And let me tell you–it feels like restlessness.  It’s like waiting for a dinner guest that hasn’t arrived yet.  The table is all set, the food is piping hot, the candles are all lit, and there is nothing but silence at the door.  No knock, no nothing.

In my life I’ve discovered that when this happens you have two choices.  The first one is– you can try to distract yourself.  You can go somewhere, or call a friend, or watch a movie, or peruse your facebook. Unfortunately, though it seems like the thing to do, I’ve found that this isn’t the best cure for restlessness.  Contrary to what you might imagine, and certainly what I imagined for many years of my life when I tried to cure restlessness with distraction- this is just a temporary fix.

It’s probably true, you do need to go somewhere or change something.  But if it isn’t the right thing, it won’t cure your itch.  I’ve found that I am particularly prone to restlessness at this time of year.  Around me, the earth waking up again.  Life is starting to stir.  The ground (at least where I live) is warming.  Buds are starting to dream of opening.  And even the trees, (if only on the inside) are awakening, preparing to sprout their summer foliage.  

And yet, not much has happened yet.  Like the dinner guest who hasn’t arrived, or the season that hasn’t yet changed, at the moment, the future is still nothing but a dream.  Everything is going on beneath the surface.

So what can you do to cure this feeling?  What is the second option?  You can get inside of yourself.  Move into the silence, embrace the stillness, slow down in every possible way.  Take a bath.  Meditate.  Journal.  Do whatever is necessary for you to reach inside of yourself.  You need to touch the part of yourself that is ready to create.  You want to realign your spirit with your body so that the two of you can make your magic together.  

Because in the end, you are not preparing for just any dinner guest.  You are not attempting to grow just any flower.  Like a bud opening on a tree, what you are yearning to grow comes from deep inside of yourself.  It is a product of you.  And the best way to move it to fruition is to touch it, and revel in it’s wonder, even before it appears.  Because we all know that the buds do sprout, the flowers do bloom, but that most of this work remains unseen.  That’s because it happens on the inside.  

So get inside of yourself.  Feel the power of your spirit and your being preparing to sprout another beautiful thing– enjoy the magic of it– even before it appears.  Turn your restlessness into wonder- by going inside.

 

Aimée Cartier is an intuitive and an author.  To receive her regular blessings and inspiration by email sign up here.  To find more about her work, go to spreadingblessings.com.