Woo Woo 101: You Have Seven Chakras

This is the first post in a series called "Woo Woo 101."

A chakra is an emotional energy center in the body that governs the organs in a certain area. There are seven and they each have a different color. They go unseen in the relative world, though many have the gift of seeing them and Reiki healers can feel them with their hands.

Many people think chakras are some spiritual new age “woo woo,” but they are actually quite obvious, especially when you are stressed or sick.

You know how some life issues make your stomach turn, while others make your legs feel weak and then others make your chest tight. Those are your chakras. Where you feel your disturbance is not a coincidence. The world of energy medicine asserts that all physical ailments and injuries have an emotional/chakra component. Pay attention to where and why your body lights up/experiences stress and you will find a dynamic and vast world of energy.

I love chakras for many reasons, but here are the top three: First, what they stand for is totally beautiful (I get all choked up just thinking about them). I will be covering this in upcoming posts. Second, they provide incredible feedback for what is really going on for us. Our minds create all sorts of crazy stories about what is happening, but our chakras are straight up. Always in the moment and radically honest, chakras are an amazing map to a wonderful life. And third, although all beings have chakras, as I see them, they are an unambiguous portal into the divine-feminine.

So there you have it. If you think I might be onto something, do the simple and profound task of noticing the sensations in your body. See if you notice themes with certain people and situations. Simply notice.

Did any of your chakras light up while reading this? If so, why not light up other people’s chakras by passing this along. My heart chakra thanks you!

And if you don’t want to miss future “Woo Woo 101″ posts (and they are going to be packed with mind-opening info) sign up for “The Pleasure Report” and get the goods delivered to your inbox.

I Love Men

I just ended years of frustration with the opposite sex. I have put down my sword, studied the male mind, came home and told my man to plan his next surfing vacation. I feel so peaceful, free, complete.

Yesterday, I completed Allison Armstrong’s Celebrating Men course. Since awakening to the expansive power of my feminine essence, I have been searching for a course with this very name.

I am going to be very transparent. My minds ability to see the brilliance of women is uncanny; however with men I was finding myself too often frustrated, baffled … and pissed. Fortunately, I knew deep down that my frustration had to be my problem. If the feminine essence was drenched in divinity so was the male. I just wasn’t seeing it and I needed a course correct on men … bad. I got exactly that and then some.

I heard about “Celebrating Men, Satisfying Women” from one of my Nia students, the exquisite Cherie Martin-Irwin. Cherie told me how both she and her girlfriend met their future husbands three months after taking the course. These kind of results get my attention.  I looked it up as soon as I got home.

Sisters, if you are struggling with men or lack of men and suspect that you may have been poorly educated, this course delivers the goods. My being is now overflowing with all of the beautiful things I learned about men.  Allison Armstrong is the real deal. Her vision for the world is stunning and she is making it happen. She is elegant, professional and hilariously funny. By the end, women were weeping and in complete awe of men.

Since I am town crier for anything that will effectively end unnecessary suffering, I am a LOUD and PROUD affiliate for this program which means if you use this link (or simply tell them your heard about it from me) I get a share for sharing. Please know I am very appreciative.

I know so many of you on this list are national, so go check out the site and find the next course nearest you. For those of you in Seattle, they are having a free intro-course this Wednesday night 5/19, at 6:30pm.

Here’s to men and all of their golden generosity.

In Funk I Trust

For a woman to clearly experience her intuition she must free herself of negative emotional charge.

Ten days ago I went into a swamp, funk, whatever you want to call it. I couldn’t stop crying and I didn’t want to leave my bed. I am still there, perpetuated by a mean cold and a burning sore throat; tears continue to stream down my face. It is not common for me to get this funky or for it to last this long, but I take refuge in the fact that feeling sad is key to “energetic integrity” and is 1000% divinely feminine. Seeing that these are the allurements of Volver, it is only fitting that I go down this road first.

One of the main things that has me down are all the decisions I made where I bypassed my intuition. Ugh. In our modern world, one of the greatest roots of unnecessary suffering are that women are disconnected from their inner voice. Why would we trust it? We are inundated with messages and values that completely ignore it and encourage us to doubt it. Our households and left-brain academic systems are void of intuitive and emotional teachings. Our vulnerability is the muscle of intuition, and by flexing it we create the space to connect with our multi-sensory abilities. We are not “too sensitive” or “too emotional.”

Wouldn’t it be cool if researching emotions and intuition was an open conversation amongst family members? Where parents supported the decisions of their children and taught them to trust themselves simply by affirming “good choice.” These simple words could help create confident children who trust their clearest feeling of “yes” or “no.”

My swamp is long overdue. In comparison to my twenties which were defined by lots of partying, boys with dreads and motorcycles, and half-assed attempts to figure out my professional pursuits, my thirties were much heavier. Kicked-off by the passing of my father and followed by one too many choices made with my pretend penis, I have a lot to grieve. And this is the true path to my deepest desires: to heal emotionally, for intuition to be my co-pilot, and to spin seven beautiful chakras.

So, here I go. Grief, you can have me as long as you want me. It’s you, me, a box of tissues (and the “New Moon” DVD of course). See you and my blazing intuition on the other side. In funk, I completely trust.

Did I make even just one cell in your body smile? If so, please share this with your world (and let me know – I love to beam with appreciation )

Burning to Return

Whenever the pressure to achieve feels like too much, I write down every single thing I want to do and think I should do. Then I burn it.

This move instantly returns me to the truth of my energy body.  Reminding me that my emotional integrity is more important and efficient than chasing after my list.

By burning it all up, I am giving it all up.  This creates lots of room for goodies, adventure and blazing intuition.  So much so, I am beginning to see the bubbling of overwhelm as a sign of sweet surrender to come.

What are your favorite rituals?

Getting Right on Wrong

“People are more important than their opinions” – Jorge Luis Borges

After about a year into my fabulous hiatus from saying “sorry,” that silly word snuck back into my everyday vernacular. With my wacky days running after little ones, old habits die hard and it just seemed easier to say it than not.  However, I celebrate that my year-long sorry cleanse has had a gorgeous effect on my mind - the ghastly gavel is gone. What a relief.  Now, sorry comes out of my mouth for one reason only – because I care about the person I am saying it to.  This feels so good, so clean and so … well … right.

I realize for some of you what I am saying is a no-brainer.  Though for most of us, worrying that we did it wrong or that we might do something wrong is a frequent and time-consuming process in our minds.  If you can relate, this blog post is for you.

Now, here is an idea that I am crazy passionate about and I would love for you to consider: it is impossible to do something wrong.  I know, crazy.  But think about it for a minute.

If the above is true, it would mean that all this right and wrong stuff is truly just in our heads.  It would mean that we are complex and interdependent individuals interfacing with an even more complex and interdependent planet.  It would mean every moment is a new and wild set of variables that we have never experienced before.  It would mean none of us really knows what we are doing and we are all doing our best.  It would mean making yourself wrong is illogical.

This is the mind of compassion.

For most, the intent behind “sorry” is to convey that you care about someone and how you affect them.  But wouldn’t it be just as effective and more uplifting to skip all the right and wrong nonsense and simply say, “I see that I hurt you,” or my favorite, “I see you.”

Yes, yes, yes – we do need a certain level of right and wrong thinking to organize and navigate life.  Law and order is extremely useful and I am very appreciative of it.  However, turn right and wrong thinking on our emotional world and you are in for an arduous path.

Getting right on wrong is a passion of mine for personal reasons and because I believe that the current state of our world is a reflection of our right/wrong psychology gone awry. More about this exciting topic in future posts …

How do you get right on wrong?

Did I make even just one cell in your body smile? If so, please share this with your world (and let me know – I love to beam with appreciation )

Returning with Danielle LaPorte

It really is a perfect world.  Just as I am launching my “Returning Interviews” with energy and divine feminine superstars, I score an interview with Danielle LaPorte. How much more perfect can it get?!?!

Danielle is the creatrix extraordinaire of WhiteHotTruth.com, which is a blog I love. Through radical transparency, grace and a keen eye for what is “hot” in the world of self-realization, Danielle ceaselessly inspires us to be 1000% true to our calling. She is the greatest inspiration for my blog.  Without further ado, it is my ridiculous pleasure to introduce Volver’s very first Returning Interview with Deep Sea Diva Danielle LaPorte:

In this moment what is your top brag (things you are celebrating), top gratitude and top desire?

That’s easy! The Fire Starter Sessions, baby.
Desire: I’d like it to be one of the best selling, most inspiring digital works of it’s genre, like, ever.
Gratitude: Friendship. So many kindnesses have been shown to me as of late. Buddhist gems of wisdom when I needed it most, apologies accepted, overflowing creative input, technology rescues, and a general and life-affirming holding down of the fort while I hid away like a mad scientist. If I ever doubt the power of love and simple affections…well, I never will again. Simple as that.

If you had everyone in the world’s ear for one minute – what would you want them to know?

Everything is progress. Everything. Scientifically speaking, the universe is always expanding, so I think even Albert Einstein would back me up on this one.

When the pressures of our modern culture soar too high – what practices do you engage in to return to yourself?

Tonglen meditation. Kundalini yoga. Lavendar oil baths – the hotter the better. People Magazine and documentaries. A nip of chocolate everyday.

If you could spend 24 hours with anyone in the world, it doesn’t matter if they are alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Can’t pick just one.
Rumi. I want to lie at his feet and hear him recite his love poems to the cosmos. While eating grapes.
Oprah. Stength. Inspiration. Doing good. I’d ask her about power, and loneliness.
Johnny Cash. One down to earth, gnarly talented son-of-a-bitch. I ask him about art, redemption, devotion.

What are your top three greatest pleasures?

Snuggling with my kid = pure euphoria.
Laughing ’til I snort with my best girls.
Writing late at night when the world is quiet and I feel like I’m getting away with something sacred.

What is your greatest inspiration for the work you do?

One word: innovate.

What aspects of your feminine essence are your greatest allies?

Ooo. I love this question. One of my most desired feelings is divine femininity. When I’m being whole, rocking my Priestess capacities, I feel so…loving. Loving in that way that a mother truly loves. Embracing, smiling, and ruthlessly compassionate. That Very Big Love loves you and tells you the truth without attack, with a twinkle of your full potential in her eye.

Now you see why I love this woman.

Returning Stardom

Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as my blog was complete I hit that infamous wall called “writers block.”  Funny how that works.  I’ve even had moments of “do I really have anything interesting to say?  Is my blog going to be one of the many that sit idle with no comments/tweets and is only updated a few times a year?”  Brutal.  There were many great topics rolling around in my mind, yet none of them felt visceral and demanded to be written.  Then I began searching online for a star photo and this article flowed through.

The star symbol has shined bright in my psyche lately.  In Mayan astrology the “star” symbolizes the energy of harmony, beauty, giving/receiving love and the ability to shine bright in front of others.  In my Mayan astrology chart the “star” is my achilles heel, my obstacle, which for me translates into having a ton of ambivalence about shining bright.

Where some stand in front of crowds with ease and grace, soaking up every last drop of love and attention, I freeze up. Yep, me.  Give me a great cause or a hot Nia routine and I can hide out in my leadership ability, but anyone who is very sensitive to energy can clearly feel my discomfort in the moments when it is simply me.

So added to my 2010 desire list is to let myself be a STAR.  From this day forward I am researching the move of going from low light to STARlight.

One of the reasons this has been so tricky for me is the barrage of judgments I had about people acting “better” or “superior” and that blatantly outshining others was lame – good people “should” be humble.  Ugh I know, I was so confused and I clearly see a trail of difficult situations that were created due to my inability to claim my … stardom.

These crazy beliefs, that are currently falling victim to my self-love sledgehammer, are epidemic.  Women are taught to keep their lights dim for fear that they might make someone feel bad, or worse, induce the poison arrows of envy and jealousy. Turns out this psychology benefits no one.

Rockstar, superstar, stardom, whatever you want to call it, I am a junkie for the truth and the truth is I am a STAR.  I am a brilliant light of energy that synthesizes my unique path into gifts that shine beautifully on the world. Yep, me.  And YOU are a STAR also.  You are a brilliant light of energy that synthesizes your unique path into gifts that shine beautifully on the world.  Ahhhhh, the truth feels so good.

We are ALL stars and that is the extra special bonus to this whole set-up on earth.  The night sky is beautiful with a single star, gorgeous with a few hundred stars, but it is only when the sky is blazing with gazillions of stars that we are filled with pure awe, knowing deeply that we are part of something magical.

Sorry Free

I am sooooooo NOT sorry and it feels so good. After a lifetime of being sorry, I finally realized this word was coming out of my mouth WAY too much. “I am so sorry,” “sorry about that,” “sorry.” I was using this word as a phonetic gavel – “my fault,” “I’m wrong,” “my bad.” I used to pride myself on my ability to take “responsibility,” and would be bummed if I thought I was owed a “sorry.” Now I hardly say it at all and often wince when I hear people use it.

Besides expressing compassion “I am sorry your father passed away,” “sorry” is mostly used to convey that you are at fault and regretful. However, if we examine the situations we are eager to apologize for, we usually find that we did nothing wrong at all.

Listen for who is saying “sorry” and for what reason. What you will undoubtedly notice is that women say it often and many women use the word 10-30 times/day. Like my beautiful mother’s helper Ingrid. This Goddess, who many of you have heard me brag about, must have said “I’m sorry” 30 times during her first two days of working with me. I finally conveyed that my house was a sorry-free zone and she needed to say “I am so adorable” instead, which she happily did. Even when she walked in on me pumping breast milk out of both boobs. “I am so adorable” she smiled.

As I see it for us compulsive sorry sayers, saying sorry to be polite or to take “responsibility” is another yucky energy leak (a belief/behavior that drains your life-force energy versus infusing you with it.) It perpetuates dualistic thinking by fueling the illusion that there is right and wrong. This pretend world of right and wrong breeds guilt, self-doubt, and suffocates the beautiful needs and talents of our energy body.

But don’t listen to me. Check it out for yourself and have fun doing it. Make tomorrow a “sorry-free day.” Count how often you say it and/or catch yourself wanting to say it. If you really want to go for the gold, replace it with “I am so adorable” – because you truly are.