Connect to Mother Earth...

The Catskills                                                                                                                                                               B Upton

Connect to mother earth 

to breathe more deeply

Breathe more deeply

to connect with beauty

Connect to beauty

to open to gratitude

Open to gratitude

to focus on what is working

Focus on what is working

to draw more of it to you

Draw more of it to you

to follow your heart 

Follow your heart 

to live your soul's purpose

Live you soul's purpose

to be you. 

A synopsis of the Seven Steps to Inner Peace

Wishing you a day of ease, deep breathing, gratitude and love!

The LOVE Revolution!

 My 25 Year Old Christmas Cactus- a gift from Nan who was a gift to this world and is now making angels laugh      B Upton                                   

If you are really paying attention you know we are in the beginning phases of a revolution- but true to our unprecedented times- it is a revolution like no other before it.

It is a revolution of the heart.

Across the globe, people are wiping the sleep from their eyes, taking deep breaths and starting to once again connect to the earth, one another and their deepest selves. We are connecting to the true and unwavering goodness that resides within us. We are also seeing that inherent goodness in every other person. We are awaking to our divine oneness! We are seeing the world with new eyes- eyes of love and reverence for our small, blue miracle of a planet and we are more passionately assuming our rightful roles as earth's protectors.

We are rapidly evolving from creatures of fear- who distrust, believe in scarcity and who are quick to violence, to people who create their lives from love- who radiate compassion, vitality, creativity and joy. It begins with making peace with yourself- honoring and loving every aspect of who you are, forgiving those who hurt you and forgiving yourself (although on a spiritual level- there is nothing to forgive).

When we open our hearts to ourselves, we are able to open them to our brothers and sisters across the globe. We no longer project our rejected and hated parts onto to others and instead recognize our shared humanity. We reconnect to our responsibility to make this world a better place for all.

What flows from making peace with ourselves is that we also make peace with time. We are able to experience the eternal now- the peace of being in the present moment, without struggle or worries. I'll be writing more about this in future posts.

The LOVE Revolution is birthing a new human- one connected, at peace, intuitive, compassionate, passionate about justice and unafraid. It is a challenging time, but also an exciting time to be alive... filled with the promise of a more just, sane, loving and sustainable world!

Occupy the Planet!

Times of Healing and Hope

My first attempt at YouTube! If after viewing, you feel a little calmer, more hopeful and can breathe a little deeper then I will be happy.

 

If the message resonates please share! Peace to you!

The Seventh Step to Inner Peace- Connect with Your Divinity

"Heart Light 1"                                                                                            B Upton

I have to confess that when I began writing about the Seven Steps to Inner Peace last August, I wasn't sure what they all were!  Something told me to just trust my intuition, write when inspired (hence, the time it has taken!) and to let the words spring from my heart. I have enjoyed doing it and hope the steps and images spark your own inner knowing! 

Here is a review of the first six steps (click on the step for more) with a new anchoring affirmation for each!

Step 1. Connect to the Earth
Bring more awareness to your body and allow the strong, nurturing and healing energies of our beautiful earth to fill you.
Affirmation "I am one with the earth. I am grounded. I am safe. I belong."


Step 2. Connect with Your Breath
As you allow your breath to naturally slow down and deepen, your body and mind will also relax.
Affirmation "I breathe in vitality and exhale tension. I become more peaceful with every breath I take."

Step 3. Connect with Gratitude
Your state of mind creates your reality. When you focus on gratitude you shift your focus to what is right and working in your life. What you focus on increases.
Affirmation "I easily recognize and give thanks for the blessings in my life."


Step 4. Connect with Beauty
Beauty nourishes, heals and restores you at your deepest level. Beauty is a requirement of your soul.
Affirmation "I walk in beauty. Beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty above me, beauty below me...beauty all around me." (from a Navajo prayer)


Step 5. Connect with Your Shadow
There has never been a better time to declare a truce with yourself! Bring acceptance, light and love to the parts you once rejected in yourself. Remember, feeling "unlovable" is fed by fear and based on an illusion. Bring understanding, compassion and acceptance to all of who you are.
Affirmation "I am healed. I am one. I am whole."


Step 6. Connect with Your Heart
Your natural state is to have an open heart overflowing with warmth, light and love! Forgiveness unlocks the sweetness of your true Self. All love is founded in self-love.
Affirmation "It is safe to give love, receive love and be the love that I am."


Step 7. Connect with Your Divinity
"The divine exists in me, as me. I honor my creator by recognizing the light within me and living from that place of unconditional love."


You find your divinity in the same place as you find your rejected self- in your shadow. Although the shadow is mostly made up of parts you find unacceptable and have denied in yourself, it also contains your unowned brilliance!

"Messages in the Shadows"                          B Upton

I know it is hard for some of us to realize that the traits we find so appealing in others are projections of what we already have in us. We are not encouraged to embrace our talents, or our inner-light! We are taught that is is egotistical to think well of ourselves, but the truth is, if we are at war with ourselves, we will not be much good to anyone else. Don't worry about getting a "big head". You have a lifetime of put downs to counter so that you may arrive at a truer picture of the extraordinary being you are!

And don't stop there! Practice expanding your sense of identity to include others, the earth, the universe and the divine, because at your core, you are one with it all. The Light of the Divine Source lives in your heart. It is not something you need to earn. It is already one with you. This sacred light has the ability to heal others, yourself and the planet and no one has more of it than you do. 

You are not just a drop in the ocean. You are the mighty ocean in the drop ~ Rumi

The one tool I have found most helpful in connecting with this luminous Reality is meditation. I know "meditation" is a word that can strike terror in many people's minds! I used to approach it as a "should" and worried too much about whether I was doing it "right". But then I realized there are as many ways to meditate as there are people. Walking meditation was the answer for me (combining Steps One and Seven). If you currently practice meditating - good for you and keep it up! If you have tried and given up, or this is new for you, I hope you will give it a try (again). The rewards of being in the stillness of the present moment are great. I believe in simplicity and in what works so I will be sharing some tools and  techniques that have helped me in meditating in future blogs.

The Seven Steps only become effective by practicing them, but this is a practice that you can make joyful (I'm a big believer in joy). For instance, to practice Step One, you could give yourself a couple of minutes every morning (hopefully outside) to face east, breathe in the light of the new day and to feel grounded, strengthened and supported by the earth.  You could  tape the affirmations and listen to them as you go to sleep, etc. Come up with practices that sound like fun to you.

With time, I sincerely hope the steps help you experience greater and greater levels of inner peace, self-love, oneness and the joy you deserve!

I can think of no better way to end these steps than by quoting Marianne Williamson who sums it all up beautifully in this famous quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

                                                               
                                                          Namaste!

"Heart Light 2"                                                                                         B Upton

Connect with Your Heart

Crescent Earth                                                                                     NASA

If you spend a lot of time in your mind, I am asking that for this sixth step to inner peace that you drop down into your heart. Just as a change in perspective reveals a beautiful crescent earth, new possibilities will be revealed to you.

When we connect with our hearts, we are connecting with our feelings, our infinite capacity for compassion and to our true essence, which has been and always will be love. When our hearts are wide open (their natural state) we are in a place of oneness with the earth, all life, our deepest selves and our divine source. We are home. 

All of us are on the path to a soft and open heart, but if you are like most, you have erected walls, even fortresses around yours. I think it is important to first simply acknowledge if this is true for you. Can you see your defenses without judging them, without making yourself wrong? You must have had a good reason to build those walls of protection!

But now those walls are blocking out the light and diminishing your ability to love and to be loved. They are causing more trouble than they are worth! The good news is there is a better way.

In Sanskrit the name for heart is anahata which means unstruck or unhurt. What this is saying is that underneath all the drama and the stories of victimhood you tell yourself, there is a part of you that can never be harmed- your eternal, vast and beautiful self! You are already safe.

You can access that sacred self by choosing moment to moment  to live from your love-filled soul, rather than your fear-driven ego. The best (and only) place to start is with your relationship with yourself. That's why the shadow work in step five is so important. When you look at yourself with more compassionate eyes you see the world in a more loving way. When you declare an inner truce you project a more harmonious vibration into our world. When you are able to see without the distorting lens of fear, the other becomes your brother-your sister, the earth becomes your sacred home and you are one with All That Is.

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the sweetness of your true heart. Ah, forgiveness! Nothing keeps us stuck in our hard and closed hearts more than holding a grudge. Yet, I know how hard it is to let it go! Forgiving can't be forced, but is always an option available to you. I think it helps to begin by reframing forgiveness- it is not about condoning hurtful behavior- it is about setting yourself free! You do this by recognizing your humanness and forgiving yourself for sometimes "missing the mark", which was the original meaning of the word "sin". Then you can extend forgiveness to others, knowing that they too have been wounded and were only doing the best they could, even if it fell very short of your expectations.

"The Spiral Goddess Says Embrace Yourself!"  B Upton

In any moment you can justify your anger, resentment and fear, or choose to walk through them. The nature of emotions is to flow. You feel them, to release them. The pain is in the resistance. 

Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. It can release you from the past and allow you to step into the magnificence of your true self; vibrant, healthy, joyful, loving and free! Just saying that your intention is to begin the work of forgiveness, will set up powerful forces for change that will bring you more naturally into your heart- into your true essence. 

In the dream below I heard that the message for humanity at this time was to "seek your heart". I send you blessings and strength on your quest to live from that divine place within you.

                                         ___________________________________________

"  Close your eyes and put both hands over your heart. Picture a stream of brilliant white light entering your heart. Focus on the vision of light and say out loud: "  I am willing to let the love in." Feel the energy flowing into your heart." - Louise L. Hay

A Dream

"Evolving"                                                                                       B Upton      

About 20 years ago I had a dream that I will never forget.


While I was dreaming I suddenly felt that I was going to be gifted with a message of great import. I heard that it was a message most needed by humanity during these times. Well, that got my attention! I remember feeling very alert and excited .


Then there were letters- hundreds of them- all swirling before me. "Oh, no" I thought, "how will I ever make sense of  this?" But I was so sure that a secret would be revealed that would help us all, I willed myself to concentrate harder. The letters swirled faster and faster then came to an abrupt stop and this is what they said:

"Seek Your Own Heart."

I was baffled at first and thought- that's it? And what does it mean anyway? Well, my understanding has evolved overtime. Today, I see that it provides a key to help us to connect to the divine, everlasting and beautiful souls that we are. 

It is all about the sixth step to inner peace- connecting with your heart- that I'll be writing about soon. But for now, you might like to review the first five steps I've written about below. They are briefly: grounding, conscious breathing, giving thanks, appreciating beauty and meeting, accepting and eventually loving your shadow- every part of who you are. They prepare us and Step 6 will propel us on our journey of awakening! 

The Fifth Step to Inner Peace- Connect to Your Shadow

Saturn's shadow                                      Cassini Probe-NASA

I hope you have had a chance to try out the first four steps to inner peace below. They can provide a loving and strong foundation for the fifth step- connecting with your shadow. Oh dear, I can hear the groans now! This is a step most of us would rather skip, but paradoxically by entering the darkness we can find our brightest treasure; the gift of our shadow.

I remember asking a woman once if she would talk to others the way she talked to herself. "Oh, no", she said, "that would be rude!" We had to laugh, but the truth is most of us spend too much time and energy beating ourselves up, regretting, fretting and making ourselves miserable for falling short of some ideal of who we think we should be. We banish our little, orphaned "unacceptable" parts to the basement, where they lurk as our shadow.

Everybody does this. We all suffer the pain of self-rejection, but we also have a choice. We do not have to feel guilty for our "bad" feelings, or for pretending we never have them. We can begin instead with forgiving ourselves for our humanness. We can declare a truce with ourselves and to begin seeing ourselves with kinder and more compassionate eyes. When we befriend all of who we are, we are able to experience the joy of being our authentic, whole, joyful and lovable selves. Repressing or denying parts of ourselves only cuts us off from that wholeness. The way out is in!

Saturn Back Lit by the Sun                                     Cassini Probe

Astrologically, it is said you cannot enter the more advanced levels of consciousness represented by Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, until you have gone through the rings of Saturn- the limitations, fears and obstacles of this life. Saturn tests us, but it also gives us an opportunity to confront challenges with awareness instead of blame and with love instead of fear. When we are no longer at war with ourselves life flows with more grace. We can listen to the messages of our shadow instead of being at the mercy of its impulses. And perhaps most importantly, we no longer have to project our hated and denied parts onto others and make them the enemy. When we are healed, our world is healed too.

If you are having trouble pinpointing your rejected parts simply look at who and what triggers you in life. Traits we deplore in ourselves are so much easier to see in someone else! 

Debbie Ford had an exercise in The Dark Side of the Light Chasers for meeting your various selves that I found intriguing. A sense of humor will come in handy for this one! You simply imagine a bus coming and that each of the passengers on it is a part of yourself you may not have acknowledged in awhile, maybe for decades. As you board the bus, you can expect to see a whole cast of characters - all looks, sizes, and temperaments. Sit down with one and start a dialogue. He or she may be a little cranky for having been ignored or unaccepted for so long. Let the part know you are sorry and are really ready to listen to him or her now. Listen without judgment. See how this part of you has been hurt and how past thoughts, feelings and behaviors (no matter how unwise, or ineffective) were chosen to ultimately make this part feel more secure and more loved. Have compassion for this part of yourself. Together find a new role for this part that honors both of you.

I was surprised when I did this exercise recently to find one of the passengers was me, at the age of twelve looking just like my seventh grade photo. Barbie was wearing an orange plaid, wool jumper and bright, pink lipstick (that she had smuggled into school).  Her hair was short, but she had draped part of it over her right eye for dramatic effect. (I remember when I first saw that photo I thought I was the ugliest girl in the world.) So there she was feeling too tall, lonely and totally unlovable. Barbie turned away when I sat down. Slowly, she opened up and told me she felt like she was from a different planet and would never fit in. I felt her pain and it made me feel tender and protective of her. It felt good to invite this vulnerable and rejected part of myself back into my heart and I knew it would have an impact on how I viewed insecurities in my life today. Before I left the bus she was smiling and I was feeling more whole and content.

This may seem a little strange, but if exercises like this (or finding a good therapist, or confiding in a trusted friend) can help us on our journey to greater self-acceptance and self-love, it is worth it. In fact, I think confronting our "unloved" parts is one of the noblest, most courageous and worthy projects we can take on in this life. 

If you are still having a hard time imagining connecting with your shadow- maybe you can think of it as the ultimate service to humanity. World peace evolves from inner peace. It begins with each of us bringing light and love to our wounded selves. Then we can receive the gift of our shadow - the remembrance of who we really are- undamaged, whole, compassionate and loving souls -  here to make a difference.

The Waking Planet Flag                                                              Barbara Upton

The First Four Steps to Inner Peace

"Bliss"                                                  B Upton

In her book Conscious Evolution, Barbara Marx Hubbard talks about how we are poised to birth a universal humanity and compares what we are experiencing to the metamorphosis of a butterfly. 

As soon as the caterpillar starts weaving its cocoon, imaginal disks appear that hold the blueprint of the butterfly to come. The immune system of the caterpillar does not recognize them and attacks them, but they only continue to grow. When there are enough of them and they link up- the disks turn to cells and the butterfly is created from the old. Hubbard says that each of us who believes a different world is possible is an imaginal cell in the new global culture! Our numbers also continue to grow and technology is allowing us to "link up" like never before. Everyday, we grow in strength and in our ability to co-create a more conscious and loving world.

But for us to be most effective in creating the blueprint for an awakened humanity, we first have to make sure we are awake and compassionate to ourselves! 

Don't fret if this makes you a tad bit uncomfortable- we are conditioned to think of loving ourselves as being egotistical and selfish - when in fact, egocentricity and selfishness arise from lack of self-love. If you want love, you first have to give it to yourself. You cannot give to, or receive from another, what you will not give to yourself. Putting an end to self betrayal and embracing our essence as pure love is the work before us.

I will be sharing seven steps to help you experience more inner peace and self-love in your life. I offer the first four here. They might sound too simple, obvious, weird, etc. to work- but I hope you will give them a try because the world needs you to be in your power right now and I'd love to see you be in your joy more too!


1. Connect to the Earth
Spend some time everyday in nature. Enjoy a few quiet moments as you feel the earth beneath you. You might want to imagine that you have "roots" extending from the bottom of your feet and spine sinking deep down into the earth. Feel yourself growing calmer as you go deeper...then on a big inhale, draw the earth's healing and nourishing energy into your body- into your every cell. Exhale tension and all your worries down into the earth and inhale peace and strength. Give thanks. It's beautiful way to begin the day.


2. Connect with Your Breath
Breathing- we do it about 20,000 times of day, but how often are we conscious of the nature of our breathing? Check yours right now. Is it smooth, effortless and deep? Or does it feel shallow and tense? Unfortunately, for most of us it is the latter. Our breath is reflecting the incessant chatter of our minds! We are seldom without thoughts that keep us anxious and in a decidedly non-peaceful state. But when you begin to simply observe the breath, not trying to change it, just watching it and being aware of every sensation - a funny thing happens. Your breathing naturally slows down and the ties of your ego/mind begin to loosen. As the breath deepens naturally you may find it easier to dive down past surface thoughts, letting them go like the ripples on a pond. As you allow the breath to more completely fill your lungs, let your tummy relax...your mind will follow. In many languages the word for breath and spirit is the same- get acquainted with yours!


3. Connect with Gratitude
You will find that as you connect more with the earth and your breath that there will be a natural bubbling up of feelings of gratitude for life's blessings. You may start noticing little things that were under your radar before- a stranger's smile, a cool breeze, or the scent of  flowers on your path. Some like to hone their ability of appreciation by keeping a Gratitude Journal (and it can be a nice thing to leaf through when you are feeling down.) Remember nothing is too small to note! A positive side effect of this is that it is impossible to be in a blaming, judging mind when you are connected to gratitude- over time you literally begin seeing the world in a new way!

"The Irresistible Flowers of the Butterfly Bush"              B Upton

4. Connect with Beauty 
I think beauty is a requirement of the soul and without it something in us withers. Beauty comes in many different packages- from a pink and gold sunrise to music that stirs our soul- from leaping dolphins to a poem that delights. The beauty and the bounty of our natural world awakens our most loving and protective instincts to be responsible stewards of this jewel of a planet. When we look into the eyes of someone we love and see the light of their soul shining back, it triggers our respect and compassion for all humanity. I hope with time you will come to appreciate your own beauty- the beauty that comes when you align yourself with your highest, most loving and most authentic self!

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey I hope you will treat yourself generously and compassionately, realize that your pace is just right, that you are perfect in your imperfections and that there has never been a better time to do the work and to come into the power and magnificence of your true self.


The next three steps to inner peace will be coming soon. For now I hope these four will help bring more awareness, peace and acceptance of where you are in life now. 

PS Enjoy this little video that I call Butterfly Love- sorry it is a little blurry and they get lost a bit in the grass, but then again, they deserved a little privacy!

The New Path

Peace Soul Card by B. Upton

We are undergoing a renaissance of spirit that will  forever change the way we view the earth, others and ourselves. We are leaving behind the old- based on separation, scarcity, exploitation and fear and ushering in the new that is founded on connection, abundance, reverence and love.

Evolutionary leaps in consciousness are birthed out of difficult times like these. We are now being presented with two clear paths. There is the path of the old that mistrusts, sees "the other" as the enemy and fouls and destroys our earth. In our nuclear/technological age, this path will eventually lead to our co-annihilation- by war, global changes or both. Many are understandably distraught by this. For the first time in the history of humankind we are not guaranteed a future. No wonder the use of antidepressants is through the roof! It can feel bleak, until we see that there is another path shining before us.


It is the New Path of remembering that not only are we are not alone, but we are also loved just as we are. This epiphany helps us to remember that just as we have worth and inherent dignity, so do all the people of the world, our human family. We connect to the sacredness and unity of all life and passionately take on our roles as stewards of our beautiful earth. We connect to our true essence which is unconditional and everlasting love. From this place of radical self-acceptance and healing self-love we are free to joyfully co-create the heaven our earth was meant to be.


If this sounds too lofty or unreachable- then this is the place for you! Because we will be sharing what has helped people to find more inner peace, joy and love in their lives. If you already feel a deep connection to your deepest and most loving self then this is also the place for you! Please share what has helped you to remember who you really are!


I'll be talking about the first Four Steps to Inner Peace tomorrow! Let's help one another to wake up, be kind, give our gifts and live our magnificent selves!