Growth

At times we find ourselves
Standing amidst a storm of chaos and uncertainty
Wondering if we shall weather its force.

Unsure of our own abilities
In this new and unfamiliar situation,
We can either retreat to the relative safety of our comfort zone
Or we can learn to adapt and survive.
Finding the gift within the struggle.

It helps to know that these new and unsettling challenges
Would not be bestowed upon us
Unless we were ready to meet them head on
And grow from the experience into more intelligent, capable and divine beings.


~ Kristen Luther ~

Broken, Yet Whole

We have moments in our lives
That change us forever,
Shattering beliefs and ideals;
And visions of how we expect our life to play out.

In that moment, we are broken, yet whole
Knowing that as we pick up the pieces
And reassemble them, into perhaps a more colorful mosaic
Life becomes new, a rebirthing has taken place.
And life takes on a different perspective.

How we choose to perceive this new life makes all the difference.


~ Kristen Luther ~

Faceted

We are each brilliantly cut gemstones in our own right;
Each facet shining brightly colored light
On who we truly are.....

Our gifts and our talents
Our strengths and our weaknesses
Our victories and our challenges

Each cut shapes us.
While some cuts may be tricky
And potentially damaging;
It’s those cuts that show our truest strength and beauty
From every angle
And from every facet

It’s those cuts that make us shine
More brilliantly today than we did yesterday
And tomorrow more brilliantly than today.


~ Kristen Luther ~

Universal Truth

Listen to and open yourself to the Universe.
Surrender to its will.
Let go of the need to control the order and outcome of your life,
and just enjoy the ride.

When we move with the current instead of against it,
possibilities present themselves
that we would’ve otherwise missed
because of fear and mistrust.

Allow the unexpected
and everyday will yield a new surprise;
the gift of a more joyful existence.


~Kristen Luther~

A Patient Practice

I am a pranyama away from being a yoga instructor. A dream that was realized over the summer and has been taking shape into reality ever since. My first class will be on Tuesday at 11:00am. It's a new class listing at the gym, so not very many people know about it yet, which is such a relief to me since I am just starting out.

It hasn't taken me very long to arrive at this place. In fact, it's been surprisingly speedy and everything has been happening in my favor......even when I was asked to start teaching a yoga class right after I got my online and workshop certification. I was scared. I hadn't even practiced on anyone yet. I wasn't confident enough to get up in front of a room full of people seeking my guidance in the practice of yoga. Then I found out that I needed to be CPR certified to teach. That bought me some time to practice on my friends and put together a few different sequences. I've had time to prepare and this has made all the difference in my level of confidence as a teacher.

Around that same time, I felt pressure to have a deeper practice, a more flexible body, the ability to perform asanas that my body clearly wasn't ready for. As a result, I seemed to have a different minor injury every week. If it wasn't my low back from doing camel, it was my knee from attempting mermaid pose, if not that, my hamstrings were tight. One day in class, I just lost it. Frustration had pushed me to tears and thankfully, my instructor, Nina helped me to see the lessons my body was teaching me. I needed to slow down and listen to my body and honor what it needed in that moment. My body needed me to be gentle and patient with it, I needed to deepen my breathing in order to open and release the tension and stress I'd been under that had been contributing to my injuries. I needed to learn to modify my practice instead of pushing myself to be the most flexible and agile person in class. Yoga is not a competition. It's a turning inward to tune into what your body needs in that moment.

With these realizations in the forefront of my consciousness, my practice is back on track and I often feel stronger with every Chaturanga Dandasana. The frustration and the sadness that came with it have evaporated and I'm eagerly welcoming the adventure of being a yoga instructor and sharing the peace and practice of yoga with those who wish to learn and bring that same peace and tranquility into their lives as I have received in mine.

Until next time.......

Thanks for reading.

Kristen

Coincidences?

Here I have been working on my yoga practice and becoming more flexible everyday. I even got myself into mermaid pose a few days ago.
This is not an easy pose for anyone to get themselves into, so I was elated when I accomplished it with witnesses around me at the gym......much to the chagrin of my knee. I managed to hyperextend my knee while in this pose and have been nursing it back to health ever since.

I've been very focused on increasing my flexiblity and feel I have achieved a good range that I now want to step up my strength so I can take my yoga practice to the next level.


But I find it funny that as I switch my focus to increasing my upper body strength, my knee gives me trouble. My legs are very strong, so there's really no need to focus on that part of my body as much right now anyway. It's as though my knee is ensuring that my legs don't get a work out right now so I can in fact work on my upper body strength and really focus on it.

Here are a few pictures of what I hope to do with that strength:



The trainer I'm working with is a gymnast and has been putting me through the wringer......so I'm glad he hasn't had the opportunity work my legs......yet. However I think it's an interesting coincidence that as I switch my focus something happens that ensure the focus stays on where I want to work. It's like the universe is conspiring on my behalf. I'll take it! More on this later.


Until next time.....

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

Social Conspiracy??

While I was at the gym yesterday, I was listening to my audio book of The Secret because I felt I needed a dose of inspiration. I was listening to it while I was on the treadmill and hearing what was said about the fact that thoughts become things and the power to create the life I want is merely a thought away. Well, as we all know, gyms have TVs on all the time. And I was frustrated because I kept getting distracted by the TV as I was listening and realized I was missing part of my audio book because of the TV.

And then it HIT me like a ton of bricks! OMG! How could I be so blind? Society is being brainwashed and forgetting how to think for themselves because of all the TV that we as a planet consume! Okay, so that sounds a bit paranoid, but stay with me. In The Secret, a bit of history is given about the origins of the Secret and how it has traveled through time.....if you have seen the movie or read the book, you know of what I speak. For most of history there has been no television......only for the past 100 years or so has the technology been around, but ever since the television entered people's homes, people have shut their minds off.....and with it, their imagination and power of visualization. Think about it......why would we use our imagination when the television provides us with all the images? If you have seen the commercial for HULU with Alec Baldwin, you should be scared by that.....because even though it's meant to be funny....it's pretty damn close to the truth.

And when you consider all of the powerful and wealthy people of the world, how many of them do you think spend a lot of time in front of the boob-tube? Very few I'm sure! It makes me wonder if the the television is a tool for keeping the power within the powerful and keeping everyone else in the dark about their own personal power and spiritual abilities. Okay, so this still sounds like I've fallen off my rocker and hit my head, just keep up.

As a child, yes, I watched a lot of television, but I also played outside a lot! My family had woods behind our house where I played and spent a lot of time. As I grew, I spent more time in front of the TV and I think that hindered my creativity, but I never forgot my childhood spent playing in the woods and still often cling to that for inspiration. I found that one of the biggest drawbacks to watching too much TV is that we as a society are fed all these opinions and ideals from politics to beauty and our attention is so focused on these things that we forget to focus on our purpose on this planet and finding our true happiness. TV has played an integral part in keeping human beings from realizing our true potential because we get so wrapped up in the drama and so called "reality" that is fed to our brains through television. I can honestly say that I have a hard time visualizing because I have become so distracted by things I've seen on TV or other images that are media produced.

We need to become a human race again that knows how to use their minds for the things they were intended for and that's manifesting our happiest life and dreams. Not wallowing in hours of mind numbing mellow drama that is sure to leave us less creative and less powerful in the long run. Children today spend WAY too much time in front of the TV and in front of video games.....my kids included.....and now that I've had this epiphany, I feel really bad for subjecting them to the mind musher. I want my kids to be imaginative and play outside and make up games and stories with wonderful characters and really begin to visualize what they want their life to be when they grow up. It has to start young, or they may just get confused about what they want to do by all the mixed messages on the TV and never really find and pursue what they love. There is probably nothing worse than being stuck in a limbo where you can't figure out what your life purpose is.

More on this later.

Until next time......

Thanks for reading!
Kristen

Action vs. REaction

I have always been a highly reactive person. No wonder I was dubbed Sarah Burnheart as a child by my mother. I was so full of drama and overly reacted to nearly everything. Now as an adult, I'm finally understanding how annoying that must have been for my mother.....since my own daughter has adopted my reactive response to everything in life as well.

Given that I have unknowingly passed this trait onto my daughter, I hope to now curb it.....and the only way to do that is to be more conscious of my own behavior and not react to every little thing my children do that upsets me. This is a difficult task as one might imagine. I need to go back and retrain and recondition myself to take a more laid back and nonreactive approach to dealing with my kids. They are afterall only modeling the behaviors they witness on a daily basis. And if I'm overreacting to them, they will only overreact to me and everything else that happens in their life.

How do I go about this? Lots of deep, deliberate breathing, emotional preparation for situations that may arise throughout the day and mental methods of coping appropriately. Not easy....especially when there are a million things going on at once. It's not always easy to remember to use my calm voice and not punctuate everything with my hands.

Instead, I have been trying more to ACT. If I don't want my children to do something, I try to DO "no" instead of SAY "no". An example would be if my son isn't getting his way at the store because I won't buy him something that he wants......instead of saying "no", I gently take the toy away, put it back on the shelf and walk away. He will usually follow, crying, but he'll follow because he doesn't want to lose me. No words are necessary, a child's need to stay securely near their parent is motivation enough for them to keep up. I also try to prepare my children ahead of time so they know what to expect when we enter a store, such as doing a return vs. browsing the aisles vs. looking for something specific. That way, they know it's not a free for all and we are at the store for a specific reason and once we have fulfilled the goal, we are leaving. It works most times.

It's amazing what we pick up from our parents and then pass onto our kids......it's not just genetics; it's behaviors, too. Life is not so troubling that we must create more stress through our reactions to things. Reacting to a stressful situation only gives that stress more power and control. Life is best when it's free of worry, fear and anxiety. Breathe!

Until next time.....

Thanks for reading!
Kristen

Intuition

For as long as I can remember, I've always had a strong intuition. Sad thing is that I never listened to it. I always second guessed it's honesty about people and situations and ultimately found myself in unfavorable situations as a result. I can clearly remember being in a situation and everything in me said to walk away or don't do something, but I'd do it anyway because either I was having too much fun or I just discounted my intuition as being paranoid.

What few people fail to realize is that intuition is more that just that little person standing on your shoulder advising you about you next move.....it's a direct link to a higher power that will NEVER lead you astray and will always guide you down the right path. Why is it then that so few of us trust this this little voice that implores us start up a conversation with a complete stranger that could be the key to finding a piece of our happiness or to not drive the normal route to get to the doctor and avoid being held up by an accident?

The answer: is different for everyone. Most people don't recognize that tell tale twinge in their gut as a sign to follow what their gut is telling them. That twinge can be mistaken for nervousness, constipation, hunger or any abdominal ailment. But the fact is, if a there is a big decision to be made, that twinge will be more pronounced. And if the decision that one is leaning toward is the wrong one, that gut twinge will be really strong.....imploring the decision maker to come up with a better option. Only when there is a comfort and calm around the decision will one know that all is well. And the universe will unfold what it has in store based upon that decision.

Now, most people may feel that this is faulty logic because perhaps comfortable decisions have been made in the past that resulted is less than favorable outcomes. However, one must remember that our gut will never lie to us. There is a reason for everything and if unfavorable outcomes occur based upon a comfortable gut decision, one needs to step back and take in the whole picture. Perhaps that less than favorable outcome opened the doors to a new opportunity or new people that could take life in a different direction than was planned, which leads to personal fulfilment and happiness. Of course the flip side of the coin is that once one has experienced an unfavorable outcome based upon a comfortable gut decision, they are less apt to trust their gut in the future. The key is to have unwavering faith that one's gut will not lie and that life will unfold as it should.

It's a hard lesson to learn or re-learn in my case, but I'm working on it. I'll do little exercises while I'm out and about running errands. I'll ask my gut which way we should go and whichever way has no twinge is the way I go. There is also a link here on this blog to the left, under my lables to Rediscover Your Intuition. Aine Belton is fabulous and full of insight to help sharpen your intuitive skills. Intuition is a crucial and yet primitive skill to have, so best to leverage it.

Until next time....
Thanks for reading!
Kristen

My Journey

I have been on a spiritual journey for a little over two years now. It started with a strong interest in Paganism and all things having to do with the earth and the energy within. I was struggling to embrace the Catholic beliefs I was raised with. Everything I was taught became a hard pill to swallow. From the requirement to believe the stories in the bible to the collection and sacrifice of one's hard earned wages to the constant repenting for one's sins or be damned to hell for all eternity. I was tired of having to constantly monitor my behavior and then also inflict the same guilt I was raised with onto my children.

The Catholic faith, through my eyes was an overbearing and watchful parent with no patience for bad behavior. I felt a deep need to explore something kinder and more nurturing. I had always been attracted to paganism ever since a classmate had introduced me to it in high school. At first, it was the idea of having power over people through the casting of spells that lured me in. Over time, and with much studying I began to see it as a way to tap into the earth and become more in tune with nature. As a matriarchal religion, I found comfort in knowing that this religion was congregated mostly by women and women were also revered and held positions of power within their respective covens. At the time, I felt I had little power in my life and certainly wasn't feeling any more powerful by following a faith that made me feel like nothing I did was ever good enough and I was ultimately damned to hell.

When I was 32 I found and befriended a fellow pagan and we would share ideas on the subject and perform rituals and spells together, much to the chagrin of my husband who was trying very hard not to be too judgemental. He did after all think he married a Catholic woman, so I was faced with the dilemma of guilt......Catholic guilt, since we had married under the pretense that we were both Catholic and would raise our children as Catholic. My husband felt deceived and I felt bad for coming into the marriage not knowing precisely where I stood religiously.

I remember at that time feeling especially torn and stressed over the situation and wanted nothing more than for there to be happiness and harmony again around the issue of religion in my marriage. At the time, I was also dealing with an injured shoulder that had been bothering me for about a year and had made arrangements to get surgery to alleviate my pain. I remember being on Cafemom.com one day when one of my "friends" sent a link to the movie The Secret. I had heard a lot of hype about The Secret, but hadn't really been interested in checking it out. I decided to watch the movie.

By the end of the movie, I was in tears because of the powerful message that was delivered throughout the movie. Everything they spoke of was true and that truth resonated within me with such force that my I knew that my life would be forever changed. I had found the holy grail to personal power and satisfaction in life. The key to happiness and abundance! I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I needed to trust the universe to deliver all that I needed in my life. I cancelled my surgery for my shoulder after my mother suggested I use alternative therapy (which is not my mother's style) and used acupuncture, meditation, massage and gentle range of motion exercises to heal my shoulder. I was healed in about 6 weeks. That was the first miracle!

The second miracle.....I was finally happy for the first time in my life! Life was suddenly magical and held so much promise. I found the courage to start my own business and make my own products, beginning with stunning ribbon bookmarks, which led to key rings, wine charms, note cards and jewelry which I affectionately refer to as LUXE Luther Creations!

My beliefs in paganism or any organized religion fell away as I became more and more aware that all of it originates from one truth, that there is a Higher Self, a Higher Power, a God, an Energy in this universe that we all recognize and seek to understand. Societies around the world all have their own interpretation of God and they choose to put a label on it. Sadly, in my opinion, this is the reason for so much war and hostility in the world. If only we could all simply agree that there is something bigger than us out there in the ethers that is also within us and not try to put a label on it, perhaps world peace could be possible.

I myself am currently agnostic as I explore all the different facets of faith and spirituality. I may never give my beliefs a label and that's fine with me. I take comfort in knowing that my Higher Self is guiding me through intuition and leading me to every happiness life can offer. As for the religious debate in my marriage......my husband doesn't care anymore what path I follow as long as it doesn't involve witchcraft.

Until next time.....

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

An Awakening?

I had the pleasure of meeting up with my friend Lissy this weekend before she had to be at a baby shower for another of her dear friends. We got our iced teas, sat down and caught up before taking a walk around downtown Katonah to reap the benefits of the amazing and unseasonably warm weather. We stopped in on a few shops, many of which I'd never seen before. Katonah has experienced a lot of turnover, but there are a few shops that thankfully have stayed the course. The first shop we visited catered mostly to trendy older women who like to wear the very bold prints. The clothing wasn't exactly my speed, but there was a very cute book that Lissy and I began to thumb through and read passages called, If Women Ran The World, Shit Would Get Done. Knowing how the economy must be affecting the Katonah businesses, I decided to purchase the book as my contribution and to show my support. Did I need the book....absolutely not.....but the shop needed my support....and I was happy to give it.

Next, Lissy and I ventured into a shop that has been in business for about 20 years, called Offerings. They have the most wonderful artisan created goods there from pottery, to jewelry and a host of carved wood pieces. The shop is very ecclectic and looks like it caters more to the "organic" crowd, which I am proud to say I am a part of. While in the shop, I asked the owner how things have been for her with the economy being the way it is. She said things have been pretty bad and that many of the shops in Katonah are going to go under. I purchased a pair of earrings to show my support(and who knows, that may be the $20 that makes all the difference for her), I wished her the very best of luck and Lissy and I continued our walk around Katonah discussing life and what good may be coming out of the current economic "crisis".

We theorized that probably the best thing that could come out of this recession is having more people in the world who have stepped back to reassess their lives and their true purpose after having been laid off or lost thier business. Usually what happens when people experience a crisis such as losing a job, they start to ask the typical questions, "why?, how could this happen?, what is my purpose?". When a person asks these questions, they begin to question the universe which is the root of all organized religion and belief system on the planet. Ultimately, people begin to open up to the mystery and possibilities the universe holds for us and thus brings an awakening in human consciousness.

So, the recession has created much stress and hardship for many people, but if we just look at the silver lining and the opportunity to truly explore the possibilities instead of wallowing in fear and angst, the earth would be filled with enlightened and awakened people who can appreciate the lessons in life and reasons for why things happen the way they do. In my opinion, let the lay offs continue, let the businesses fail. The more people there are in a crisis, the more opportunity there is for a true awakening in human consciousness and perhaps a better chance for world peace in the future.

Until next time......

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

Go with the flow

All my life, I've fought to have everything go just as I plan. If I didn't get my way, I'd whine and have a tantrum of sorts. Man, what a brat I was. As an adult, if things didn't go as planned, I would sink into horrible disappointment and anxiety.

Clearly this method of dealing with life's ups & downs is counter productive to getting anything done. But for the longest time, that's how it was. Then I came across an online course called Awakening Joy that illustrated that if you just go with the flow and let the current of life carry you downstream, instead of trying desperately to swim upstream, you will not only be much happier and a bit calmer, but life will unfold as it should.

I've been taking this course for the past 3 months and it's been wonderful and full of insight and inspiration that helps me to instill more joy into my day and my life. It's worth checking out!


Well, that's all for now!

Until next time.....

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

Letting Go

Today my family and I went to a car dealership to begin the negotiation process for returning my Honda Odyssey. The lease is up in the middle of May and we plan to downsize in order to save money in both fuel and payments.

As I took a Rav 4 for a test drive, I was so very unimpressed. For the past 3 years, I have grown accustomed to a spacious interior, leather, heated seats, DVD for the kids, a third row so the kids don't have to sit next to each other if they don't want to. All these creature comforts that I will most likely forego in a smaller, less pricey vehicle. The idea of giving back these comforts in exchange for something less than made me so sad that I knew that when the day came, I would probably cry.

I am so very conflicted about how to proceed. On the one hand, I would most likely be leasing a brand new car, which is nice because, well, it's new. Or we could buy the car we currently have and be able to keep all those creature comforts for a while longer......and most likely be paying more as well.

But in my readings, I have read that while here on earth, in this physical body, we are merely temporary custodians for all the things we perceive to own......our house, cars and "toys". Therefore, it does little good to become attached to these things because it only creates inner conflict and "suffering". Instead, we should enjoy them while we can, but don't get attached, for the item will own you instead of the other way around.

I fear the discomfort of letting go because it's a change for what I perceive to be bad. Change is hard, especially when it involves a level of comfort that makes a person feel secure. That is what I am feeling now, insecure. I'm hoping that in the next few days I can overcome this fear and embrace the inevitable change that is in my near future.

Until next time......


Thanks for reading!!!!

Kristen

The Meaning of Life

Yes, let's start this blog off with a controversial subject. We all question our existence, why it is that we were put here on this earth; this paradise turned chaotic mess. What is each individuals sole purpose in life?

Most religious traditions would have you believe that we were put here for the sole purpose of procreation. Obviously, as mankind is coming into a new state of consciousness, these statements feel more and more like half truths. I myself believe we are here for many reasons, most important of which is to follow your dreams....and in doing so, be happy.

In this day in age, most teens and college grads go out into the world thinking that the ONLY way to be happy is to have huge amounts of money so they can do all the things they want to do that actually do bring them joy. The problem is that they take a job that may afford them the lifestyle, but they are miserable because what they are doing for a career doesn't speak to their heart and by ignoring that, one goes through life feeling empty and unfulfilled.

We are all born with innate talents and gifts that we are meant to take out into the world and share with mankind as way of expanding our consciousness and that of our fellow man. Somewhere along the way, we get mixed messages about life and our priorities. Our parents, our teachers, our pastors, our peers all contribute to the confusion and chatter in our mind, feeding us false belief after false belief. Pretty soon, we have been conditioned to believe what all the masses believe as well. We loose sight of our dreams and our joys. Our energy is sapped by all those who live a miserable existence and before we know it, we are just as miserable as everyone else.

The main reason for all the misery and feelings of powerlessness are fed by the media who's sole purpose is to report on all the horrid things taking place on a daily basis. Is it any wonder that we all feel like our planet is going to hell in a hand basket? Imagine the difference it would make in the lives of everyone on earth if all the media did was report on the good news.

Another source for the conditioning into mediocrity comes mainly from those closest to us, our parents......those two wonderful people who raised us from infancy to adulthood; whose opinion and authority we would rarely question. The problem with that of course is that parents are often operating based upon what their parents taught them and what their parents taught them before and so on. Beliefs can be hereditary! Imagine if you just stopped for a moment and thought about all the "beliefs" you grew up with and questioned them for a moment to sense check if they really ARE true or if you just believe them because it's what a trusted person told you.

You would be surprised at how many things are just beliefs you have accepted based upon someone else's opinion. How does this relate to following your dream? Simple. Here's a hypothetical. If a child loves to dance and has a natural talent for it, but the child's parent makes any sort of negative criticism about the dancing, the child may put that natural talent up on a shelf based upon their parent's opinion regardless of how much the child LOVES to dance. The child goes through life with low self esteem and doesn't feel like anything they do is good enough. The love of dancing has been long forgotten and the child feels lost and dissatisfied in all her endeavors. If confronted by the idea of dancing again, she may feel that familiar anxious joy she once felt, but may not recognize it for what it is and avoid it vs. pursue it. Thus continuing the cycle of living in mediocrity.

So, how does one overcome false beliefs brought about in childhood, inadvertently passed down through one's parents? Well, that's tricky. First of all, one must recognize their lack of happiness and truly want to change things. Change begins with AWARENESS. With awareness comes insight and introspection, thus opening oneself up to the possibility that they have been living under false pretenses all along and therefore need to go back through their life and reassess their belief system. Once this happens, amazing changes begin to unfold. One can feel confident knowing they finally have a mind of their own and have broken free of the droning herd. They can feel free to pursue what they truly love doing, knowing they are adding value to the world and thus understanding the meaning of THEIR life.

There are several wonderful films that illustrate what I am talking about. The most recent one being, At Sachem Farm with Minnie Driver and Rufus Sewell. The film itself is not new, but I just found it and loved it. The message was a good one to ponder. Another great film that is more recent is The Peaceful Warrior with Nick Nolte. GREAT flick. This movie really makes you think.

If you are looking for other movies that will makes you question things, check out What the BLEEP do we know??? and The Secret. When I first watched The Secret, I didn't know what to expect, but it changed my life for the better.


"Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life."
—Leo Buscaglia

Thanks for reading!

Kristen