She zeroed in on my word choice, ‘inspired’, and posed this observation and question…

“I felt a stirring of curiosity.  Is that the same as inspiration?”

Wow!  …have YOU ever pondered this distinction?

Thanks to this brilliant question, I did…and I discovered some pretty cool stuff!  See if it leaves you curious…inspired…or perhaps curiously inspired!  ;`)

Curiosity & Inspiration Just May Be BFF’s!

According to my MacBookPro dictionary, curiosity = a strong desire to know or learn something. 

And inspiration = the process of being stimulated, a sudden brilliant creative idea, THE DIVINE INFLUENCE that created the Bible (how’s that for awesome!?!)

Curiously Inspired

In my book curiosity and inspiration often go hand in hand.  You might even see them as BFF’s!  

It’s like, curiosity poses the possibility, peaks an option, an interest… and inspiration opens the door and carries me through.

• Curiosity points at something and says, hey, that could be cool, interesting, crazy, awesome, bizarre, fun, odd, etc… I COULD be interested in knowing or learning more about that.
• Inspiration feels it and says, oh yeah…this thought, this idea feels good, I feel good about moving in this direction, something inside me says this is a good idea, the right path in this moment, a good thing for me to try/experience.
• Curiosity feels more mental, in my head…more intellectual and thus more open to my questioning, my analyzing (perhaps even doubting) before I’ve even given it a chance or experienced it.
• Inspiration is pure, positive energy and is resistance free. Inspiration feels good, every time. Inspiration stirs from the heart, not the mind…it’s energy is fueled by the heart & intuition/Source (God’s) Guidance. Inspiration is me, tapped in, tuned in, turned on.
• Curiosity feels limited in it’s motion and movement. I can feel curious about something, but not feel any inspiration or desire to actually act on it. Inspiration is the carrier.
• Inspiration feels limitless, boundless, open, free and full of vitality…it’s the ultimate spark that ignites all.

What exactly does it FEEL like?

If curiosity is accompanied by flutters in the heart or stomach area, some kind of sensation stirring below the head area…inspiration is there, too!

Sometimes, (for me) curiosity stirs when I know I want to step out & try something new…but I’ve not experienced it before…and so sometimes it’s mixed with a wee bit of fear or anxiety of the unknown.

So, I look at that. And I know that any fear I have isn’t my Joy of Brilliance Self talking, it’s that part of me that isn’t sure she can step out of comfort just a little bit to try something new…and I know that the bigger part of me feels and knows that it’s going to be A-OK…(’cause I’m not a thrill seeker, so it’s not like I’d be curious about jumping off a building, or anything else that could bring me real harm! hehe)

After enough times of stepping up to the edge and trying something new, I find more stepping stones along a path that feels more alive and aligned (resonant) with what my heart and soul yearn for (what my Joy of Brilliance, God Given Self yearns for) and inspiration accompanies (and often over-rides) my curiosity.

Can you relate?

I just feel inspired to do it. I love the feeling of inspiration. It’s like a loving propulsion forward. Propulsion without resistance. The kind that carries me forward with JOYful motion.

Whoa!  Did You Feel That?!?

I love noticing even the smallest stirrings of inspiration. Listening for the still voice inside that beckons my attention in one particular direction at just the right moment…

Like… Wow! If I wouldn’t have listened to my inner voice saying, Stop! Look to the left! I would have missed seeing the most beautiful little bird sitting in the bush, hidden completely from one who may have continued on with some other purpose, not listening to the sweet voice of direction from within.

Heart First, Mind in Tandem as Faithful Second

It’s about dropping into the heart space and listening from there. Our culture teaches us out of our heart and into our heads.

• Our heads are wonderful. Our intellect is necessary. And…
• Our heart needs to be in the driver’s seat, giving direction and guidance.
• Our mind/intellect listens and is directed by our heart. Our mind works for us.
• Our hearts (our Divine Selves) give our mind a job to do and our mind acts as the faithful servant to the heart with eager willingness to be guided.

We forget that this is the way it is meant to be.

What is your heart/head relationship?  Have you considered it?  Who’s in charge within you?  Are you heart centered?

When we come into our hearts, everything becomes EASE-ier. Everything begins to make more sense. Isn’t that funny? Our hearts are what helps us get clear…not our minds. Brilliant! 

So, I say…

• Embrace curiosity. 
• And trust inspiration. 

Together, they’ll take you to a more blissfully JOYful experience!

What recent curiosity stirs within you?  Have you experienced inspiration’s invitation lately?  Which of the two leads you to respond more desirably…curiosity or inspiration?  Let’s meet in the comments to further discuss!

In the Flow of JOYful Inspiration…

DebSoul ~ Your Joy of Brilliance Inspired Friend and Guide

Photo:  ’Curiously Inspired’ by ME!  …thanks to my sissy, Deann for modeling, even if she didn’t exactly know that’s what she was doing.  Ahhh…JOY in the moment generally leads to further inspired moments.

Thanks to Lori for inspiring this post and for courageously committing to following her JOY.  Shine On, Brilliant One!

In life, we experience much.  Much of it FEELS GOOD.  Some of it does not.
It’s what we do with the ‘some of it does not’ part that I’m speaking to here.

When life delivers something seemingly less than we’d hoped for we can wallow in it, carry it around with us like an old-over-stuffed piece of baggage, or we can take one look at it and see the something more than amazing that arose as a result of it.

It’s a choice.
I’d like to propose that life can be even better than the proverbial bowl of cherries or the best box of chocolates when we choose to recognize and appreciate our Phoenix rising.

We are the Phoenix.  Time and again, we rise!

Mythologically speaking, the Phoenix, steeped in many traditions, gives us plenty to wrap our feel-good-hearted heads around. The Phoenix represents~

• Light,
• Sun,
• Forward Looking,
• Undying,
• Perspective,
• Higher Good,
• and Transformation to name just several.

Isn’t that incredible?
The Phoenix is representative of us.

In our Joy of Brilliance, we are the Phoenix~

As this Phoenix, we continue to rise from and rise above adversity, challenge, the contrast.

• We rise stronger, surer, keener, more aware.
• We rise knowing ourselves more deeply than we did before.
• We rise appreciating the vastness from whence we came…and the greatness toward which we direct ourselves as a result.

Phoenix Rise!

This is me.  Appreciating the Phoenix in you.
I recognize the Phoenix in us all.

I choose to see, to focus on the Joy of Brilliance that shines forth from within each of us.

And in so doing, the world becomes brighter.  My life experience becomes lighter, more free, more exhilarating.

And as that occurs, I stand in the presence of own Phoenix rising before me, rising within me as brilliant as the sun.  Again.

I am Phoenix.

You are Phoenix.

Together we rise.

Together we shine.

Have you hugged your Phoenix today?  I’m hugging mine.

Photo Credit

I know. That title could take us a variety of places. You’ll soon see where I’m going.

Alternate Title:

Cruella Cloudy with a Chance of Sunshine Meets Suzy Sunshine with a Chance of Clouds

or

Who Are You…and What Did You Do with My Rose Colored Glasses?

The past forever (scratch that, three weeks) have been some of the most challenging (scratch that, interesting) in the story of me and my becoming in a long while.

The usual naturally JOYful, centered, clear, aware, in-her-Brilliance-with-a-capital-B has taken a back seat to someone I haven’t seen much of in a very long time.

This visitor was uninvited and her arrival came as quite a shock, to say the least. …and like the occasional visitor that we’ve all had, it seemed as though there was no intended check out date!

Checking In…

What?!? You mean, I’ve got to live with this Mini Me?!? I’ve got to put up with this less-than-all-that-I-AM-me…this not-so-shiny-playing-small-for-no-real-apparent-reason-at-all me?!? What’s up with that?!?

Mini Me is in the House

To be completely honest, I don’t know how I could possibly have managed this intruder (uh, I mean, guest)…except that Mini Me did agree to take frequent down time so that I could still see, feel and touch the Bigger Me…the Brilliant, Joyful, Got-shine! me.

Just ask Mark, my hubby; having Mini Me in the house has been less than a picnic for him, too. However, he’s been the perfect example of “well, that’s your parade…I’ve got my own and you’re not raining on it!” For Abraham fans that’s a good thing.

Mark knows that to leave his Brilliance (his Vortex as Abe calls it) in order to assist another is futile. So from his shiny vantage point, he continues to see me with my shine on (and trust me, that’s not been super easy these days with Mini Me running rampant). He showers love and continues to walk in his light, knowing, *trusting* that eventually (let’s face it, hopefully sooner than later) I’ll meet him in the light.

Out of the Blue~

Some of you may be wondering… So where did Mini Me come from? Why this visit now? (and who gave Mini Me a passport & visiting visa here, anyway?!?) OK…well, I wondered that.

Trust me. I’ve been asking myself these questions, too.

Here’s the tricky part. Knowing what I know… I know that I am responsible for my reality. I create every tiny detail of it. I can not blame anything or anyone outside of me for *making* this happen. I *can* observe certain things that *may* encourage me to dull my own shine and shrink back from my Bigger Me, my Brilliant Me. …knowing full well that if I go there it’s MY choice.

I can tell stories like, I feel like I’ve lost my best friend ‘cause he’s out paddling every (OK, not every) day with his new buds and it’s just so different for me. I can tell stories like, why does he have all the fun while I just sit here taking care of dull details? I can tell stories like, I’m bummed, I don’t feel well, my back hurts, and no one likes me! Waaaaa!!!!
(Oh brother! Is that what I’ve been sounding like?! Sheesh! …and ew. Seriously. Shudders.)

Mini Me in the House!

So here I am as Mini Me. I still have access to Bigger *Brilliant* Me…but I’m keeping her at arms length.
There will be no Suzy Sunshine wearing her Rose Colored Glasses ‘round these parts right now!
OY! Seriously?!?

(Who’s ready to have me admitted? LOL Did you know you were dealing with a crazy??)

Abraham shares stories about Esther and her experience staying out of the Vortex for two whole days straight! *gasp!* Hah! While that’s given me comfort on some levels, two days is nothin’! I’ve got that beat by a landslide.
OK, wait. Am I being too harsh on myself?
Who’s writing this anyway? Mini Me? You’re outta here!

Taking the Bounce~

Truth is I’ve had lots of ‘Bounce’ experiences within these last three weeks. Plenty of moments where I found myself playing small and less than I know myself to be. Plenty of moments where I found myself on the opposite end of my usual spectrum where everything is sunshine and roses. (It’s dark over there! …and kind of creepy.) Thankfully, I was still in touch with the bounce. I knew that when I hit the contrast of the doom and gloom, woe is me experience that it created a provocative bounce to what I really wanted…making that super clear (…even if seemingly out of reach at times, available).

Contrast has been, shall we say, BIG from my perspective (and that’s the only place I can see it from).

From my Brilliance, the world around me is still painted magically delicious! All is WELL. Vibrant, alive, blissful, peaceful, JOYously, perfectly, amazing.

Thank God I can see that!!!

I remember a time when Mini Me was a larger part of my reality, and Bigger Brilliant Shining Me was still a growing part of my reality…unfolding petal by petal like the rose coming into full bloom.

The petals of this rose are in continuous unfolding.  (There are a LOT of petals, I choose when I’m complete…and I can always add more petals. It’s a BIG, beautiful rose.) Mini Me is now like an ant crawling amidst the gorgeousness that I’ve created…that I continue to create.

For what ever reason, I’ve been holding a magnifying glass up to Mini Me…amping her power, giving her more magnification in my experience.

Funny thought: Where was the sun while I was choosing to hold up that magnifying glass? Had I been shining, I’d have fried her!

Too scary? Sorry. Hopefully you can receive the metaphor.

Are You IN or Out?

Abraham also says that most of us live our life experience more out than in, regarding the vortex…or living in our Joy of Brilliance as I like to say.

I’ve had the experience of living more IN than out. And I want that. Always good to know (and be clear about) what we want…creates an ease and flow path right to it. Whew for that, huh?

So has Mini Me left the building? No. Not entirely. And I’m guessing that’s a good thing. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be as aware as I am, I may not be as able to relate to others as I assist and guide them take their bounces and come into their most amazing Joy of Brilliance.

Am I ready to step back into my shine and take my place at the helm of this magnificent journey I continue to embark on? Absolutely!

Will I be gentle with myself if Mini Me slides into the front seat again? I sure hope so.

The Credits!

In my next post, I’ll share a video that came to me via Kelly, a Joy of Brilliance fan and Earth Harmony Home frequent flyer. It was Kelly’s email and link that lit the fire of inspiration for this post. The Bigger Me was SO desiring to write. Mini Me had a lock on the keys.

Thanks to Kelly for being more than she knows in my experience! What a catalyst. Love and Hugs to you, Kelly. All aspects of me are in appreciation of YOU…and your Joy of Brilliance, in this shining moment right now.

Thanks to all of you reading this. Knowingly, or unknowingly…you’re all a part of what makes my desire to shine so great. I love and appreciate each and everyone of you for being here…and for growing in your Joy of Brilliance each and every day.

Joy is the Journey. The destination? Does it matter?
(Ooo…I *like* that! Yup. Juices are flowing. Brilliance engaged. Woo-Hoo!!)

Talk to Me~

Have any of you had any *you* vs. *YOU* experiences lately?

I’d love to hear about them… Always so good to know we’re in good company. LOL

Photo Credit

This family, Rupert, Kristen and their soon to be 5 year old autistic son, Rowan took the journey of a lifetime…together.  The outward journey in and of itself is a mystery to behold.

For me, the real journey lies in the commitment Rupert had to his inner guidance and the commitment Kristen had to believing in Rupert’s seeming insanity around making this trip to Mongolia with their very young, very autistic child.  Kristen’s knowing was that trusting her beloved husband’s knowing was enough…the rest would work itself out.

Are you saying YES! to your journey?

The story wraps itself around the travels on horseback in extreme conditions, meeting shamans, and eventually *the* shaman who brings healing to Rowan’s continuous bouts of tantrum, incontinence (imagine the worst), and seeming inability to relate with the world of humanity around him.  All of this birthed from Rupert’s desire to connect with his son and his observations of Rowan’s clear, deep connection with horses.  Rupert, having grown up with horses, knows the power of their presence and the deep wisdom that abides there.  On a whim, he introduces Rowan to horses, first Betsy…and in that introduction their lives would be forever changed, the journey of their lifetime was born…and so it unfolded.

Rupert’s telling of the story reads like a brilliant adventure novel.  At many points it’s hard to imagine that this telling is truth–reality experience, and not fiction.  I don’t know many people who’ve lived a story like this.  And yet, this family has.

As the father of an autistic child, Rupert’s heart is huge.  He wants what any parent wants.

• He wants the very best life for his son.
• He wants his son to know love, to experience life and all it’s blessings.
• He wants to know his son.
• He wants his son to know him.

These very things that many of us fleetingly take for granted; Rupert can’t.  He needs a bridge to Rowan’s world; he’s seemingly separated from his son’s experience…and he wants a road in.  With horses and his intuition he finds the road and follows it.

For me, the most important pieces of this story that changed the course of this family’s life forever were not the ones that took them journeying to far-reaching corners of the earth, through challenging adversities that most would never even fathom, much less say realistically consider.  Instead, I believe the most important pieces of were the ones that let them know that listening to their inner guidance, their inner-most truths and following *that* journey of discovery with themselves and each other is what created the ‘healing’ that Rupert lovingly sought for his son.

The Road to Our Joy of Brilliance

And was it healing?  Or was it the continuous path to heightened awareness and alignment that drew them all into the space of coherence and understanding.  The place where they met their autistic son Rowan for the first time and where Rowan could comfortably and brilliantly present the wholeness of himself to his parents and the world.

When we commit to our deepest knowing and allow that to set the course for the unfolding of our JOY of Brilliance, the most immensely beautiful expression of that which we are born to be, we are FREE.  In this space, the world opens up to us and not only anything is possible…EVERYthing is possible.

Did Rupert, Kristen and Rowan need to take the physical journey across the world to meet their destiny?  Maybe.  Because for them, it was the (their) way.  And it was perfect.  For them, in their timing…in the brilliance of their being-ness.

Rupert is a human rights activist/journalist.  Kristen, a psychology professor.  Rowan, a child of autism…whose world becomes open to all when he is in nature, with animals he loves.  In this world, he experiences relationships that are untethered, in grace and ease, filled with mutual knowing, trust, respect and connection.  In this world, he is set free and his world makes sense in relationship to the world around him.

Does this mean we all need to physically journey in this way to find our true nature, our Joy of Brilliance?  Of course not.  …only if our hearts are calling us to do so.

When something calls us, from the inside…calls us so strong that our hearts leap in anticipation, wonder and joy, that’s when we do best to respond with a resounding YES! and allow life to show us the magnificence it has in store.

Riding on horseback across the steppe in Mongolia is one way.  There are many.  The path to our Joy of Brilliance is unique to each of us.  It’s not hard to find.  The map is well laid within us.  The key is easy to read.  Our only challenge may be to step up and say YES!

• Do you have a sense that there’s more to life, more to your life, than you’re currently living?

• Do you know that it may be as easy as choosing JOY in as many moments as possible?

• What would it look like if you really listened, gave attention to, honored your heart’s desires?

• What would it look like if you said YES! to one deep burning desire each day that you’ve been turning a deaf ear or a blind eye to?

• What kind of a difference might that make in your experience?

• What would that difference, a difference that feels really, really good, be worth?

YOU ARE WORTH IT!

If there’s one thing Rupert and Kristen know now, at the end of their journey (which is never an end…only another new beginning) it’s that they wouldn’t trade it for the world.  Their journey gave them the fullness of their lives.  It gave them their son, in a way they didn’t know was possible.
It gave each of them a more brilliant, JOYful, awake, aware, alive version of themselves.  Who could ask for more?

What aspect of your journey will you say YES! to today?

Photo Credits

For those of you who read my blog and perhaps aren’t yet familiar with Abraham,  Esther, and the Vortex…Abraham describes themselves as a group consciousness from the non-physical dimension.  Esther, who Abraham inspiringly speaks through, refers to Abraham as ‘infinite intelligence’.  And the Vortex?  Well, that’s where we are, when everything we’re being, and everything we’re doing, comes from our most aligned selves.  It’s our ‘sweet spot’.

For me, I see the Vortex as our Joy of Brilliance.  It’s that place that is the YOU of you.  It’s that ever-glowing flame of divinity within, it’s our true nature, it’s what makes us come alive!

Once Outside, How to Get Back In?

For Esther to be experiencing a 24 Hour Out-of-the-Vortex Bug was a pretty big deal.  She pops in and out of her Joy of Brilliance like the rest of us…but to pop out and stay out for more than a little while…well, that was not common.
In fact, when we spend a lot of time tuned in to our Joy of Brilliance, or in the vortex as Abraham refers to it…spending even a little time outside of it is less than pleasant.

Abraham talked with her…reminded her of ways she could coax herself back into her greatest alignment.  (Of course, that’s where we love to be, because it’s from there that all things are possible…in complete grace and ease.)

Esther wasn’t having it.  She was just in a place. And I guess, we can all relate…sometimes we just feel like being ba-hum-buggy.

After some time, Abraham suggested that perhaps Esther would enJOY (hmm…that’s a vortexy word) thinking of words for each letter of the ABC’s that come from within the vortex.

She agreed…though she didn’t feel it would make any difference.

Abraham, unattached, said that was fine and they proceeded to play with the Vortexy ABC’s.

Feel Your Way to Feeling Better with the ABC’s~

So, from Esther’s ‘out of the vortex’ perspective she reached for a word that was from inside the vortex that began with the letter A.

Esther said, “Appreciation”.  (She wasn’t feeling it.  It was just a mental exercise.)

“What else?”, asked Abraham.

“Allowing.”  “Alignment.”  (Wasn’t feeling either one; they were just words.)

After finding those three words, Abraham asked Esther if she could now find the feeling of Appreciation.  She said she couldn’t, but that it was fun asking.
They moved on to the letter B.  Esther immediately said, “Basking”.

Now, this word moved Esther’s energy a little bit.  She LOVES to bask.  She is the ultimate basker.
Abraham asked Esther, “what is basking?”.  Esther said, “I don’t know, what is it?”.
Abraham replied, “basking is looking around your immediate vicinity for something to feel good about”.

Esther also thought of Balance, but Basking was by far the best for her.

They moved on to the letter C.  Esther thought of Clarity.
Abraham says that Esther loves the feeling of clarity, in opposition to confusion…the feeling of clarity moved Esther’s energy in a further good direction.

Then D for Deliciousness
E for Energy.  Ease.
And then F for Flow.
Ease and Flow.  Ease and Flow.  That felt pretty good to Esther.

Then, she moved on to G for Goodness.
H for Happy.
I for Inspired.
and…
J for JERRY!  (Esther’s husband and supreme love of her life!)

It Doesn’t Take Much!

By this time the exercise was complete for Esther.  Getting to J and Jerry and moving through Basking and Deliciousness, Ease and Flow on the way there felt amazing to her.

Her energy had shifted and she found herself back home in her vortex.

Isn’t it amazing how very simple it can be?

Esther didn’t have to ‘figure anything out’.  She didn’t have to waffle back and forth…banter about. 
She didn’t even have to know why she was out of her Joy of Brilliance, her vortex…she just played a little with finding words that felt better until the energy shifted enough to where she was aligned again and feeling like her usual vortexy self.

This is really what life is about.
Abraham always says, “The basis of your life is freedom.  The purpose of your life is joy.”
Period.  It’s that’s simple and I whole-heartedly agree.

Later in this same recording, Abraham reminds us that we’ve done enough of the ‘work’.
Now, it’s time to release resistance, bring relief.  Our only work is to Appreciate and Bask and find Clarity and look for Delicious Ease and Flow.

Our only work is to look for what feels good in life and do that…from the heart.

This particular track spoke to me SO deeply!  And…what a FUN journey to JOY…the ABC’s!!

Abraham ended this session with these words that are oh so right up my alley.

“You gotta play more.  You gotta laugh more.  You gotta release more.  You gotta think less.  You wanna meditate more.  You wanna bask more.  In other words, don’t make it a thinking game, let it be a feeling game…and then watch what happens!  So much there for you!”

Amen to that!

Let’s Play!

Let’s feel our way to FUN in our JOY of Brilliance…and pick up where Abraham and Esther left off in their alphabet game.

Which words inspire you to your best feeling place…

I’ll begin by adding a couple that Esther didn’t…  Bet you can’t guess WHAT they would be???

J for JOY  (Sorry Jerry, I love and appreciate you…but JOY is my J word)
B for Brilliance  (Cause you know how I love it when we shine like the sun!)

OK…your turn…

**This post is loosely scripted from the Boca Raton Vortex of Creation Workshop Series from 2010.  Deep love and appreciation to Abraham-Hicks for their continual inspiration and Joy of Brilliance inducements.**

Photo Credit

I love the whole thing.

The story~

Jessica showcasing her FEEL GOOD rampage (see video below).

Jessica’s all out JOY about Life is infectious in the absolute best way possible.  Her JOY of Brilliance is shining.  BIG Time!!

And the story behind the story~

In the comments on YouTube it says that this video was made in 2001, and that though it sounds like Jessica starts out by saying, “Look!  I can be a Sark!”, she actually has no idea who Sark (the famous, inspiring, JOY-ilicious author is)…and in fact has no idea what she was referring to all those years ago.

Apparently Jessica, now 12 1/2 is surprised at her sudden YouTube fame (her Dad’s a wee bit shocked as well).  The video is quickly going viral over the last couple of weeks.  According to Jessica’s Dad, the video hung out around 1,000 views for a long, long while and has just now skyrocketed!

When the timing’s right, it’s right!  You GO, Jessica!!

I’m all about going on a FEEL GOOD rampage.
Doing it Jessica style, on the bathroom counter, in my PJ’s, may add another level of JOY to the ritual!
I’m gonna give it a try.
How about you?

Oh Jessica?  Thanks for showing us, with complete and utter JOYful finesse, how it’s done!

…and Jessica?  For the record, I like your hair, too! 

And now…

On with the Show!  Starring Jessica and Her Amazing Daily Affirmations!!!

Not geographically… Rather, emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually…etc.

JOY of Brilliance is my chosen, beloved, ecstatically WONDER-full State of Being.

When giving presentations, I share it like this…

“Where do I live?  I live in a State of Being called Joy of Brilliance.  And I have a second ‘home’ I love equally; it’s the pathway to Joy of Brilliance if ever I feel  displaced from my Joy of Brilliance, and it’s another state that just feels so good.  In fact, both feel so good that I’ve learned to bi-locate and live in both simultaneously.  That state is the State of Appreciation!

Joy of Brilliance, when matched with a State of Appreciation is a place of BEing-ness that FEELS SO GOOD.  It is a ‘Connected to the Source Within Us’, JOY-full, Brilliant State of Being that exudes our uniqueness, our naturalness, the magic of Who We Really Are.”

When we live in and from natural Joy of Brilliance…

• we are ALIVE in all senses of the word…
• and we THRIVE blissfully in all we are…
• not to mention in all we do.

How do you find your JOY of Brilliance?

• You FEEL your way there!
• By focusing on what FEELS GOOD…
• By focusing on how you want to feel, and choosing to feel that right now.

I ask again…

• Which State do you live in?
• Are you choosing consciously?
• Does it FEEL GOOD there?

Joy of Brilliance has room for everyone!  It’s an open circle…a community of yumminess!!

Are you coming?

Joy of Brilliance Guidance~

I lovingly assist others to their own Joy of Brilliance,
through the gateway of Self Love,
following Path of Feel Good,
where we re-member that our thoughts create our reality…
and the reality we desire is to live JOY first and foremost.

The word BEAM…ever so slowing created space in the center…now revealing two words.  Be Am.
How profound, I thought.  I’d never thought of the word ‘beam’ in this way before.
For someone who’s all about shining her brilliance and beaming the light of her Divine Spark just because it feels so good, you’d have thought I may have considered this nifty word’s hidden message before.

BEAM ~

How cool is it that BEAM, which defined as a noun means:

1. A ray or shaft of light
* a directional flow of particles or radiation (energy beam)
2. A radiant or good-natured look or smile (a beam of satisfaction)

And that BEAM, when defined as a verb means:

1. transmit (energy) in a specified direction
2. shine brightly
3. smile radiantly

…how cool is it that BEAM as it is defined is so magically supportive of the two words brilliantly encoded within it, BE and AM?!?

Got BeAm?

My Joy of Brilliance Messengers rock so deep!  They know just how much I LOVE words and discovering more to them than meets the eye, so to speak.

Awakening to this BEAMing sign was one of those moments that has left me tingling with JOY ever since.

BE and AM ~

I’m sure I learned this somewhere back in the history of my grammatical English training.  And I’m sure I haven’t thought about it a day since.  Until now.

• The words BE and AM are representative of one another.
• ‘Am’ is the 1st person singular present of ‘Be’.
• Of course it is!

Both words have the same definition.
Be and Am ~

1. exist
2. occur; take place
3. having the state, quality, identity, nature, role, etc., specified

BEAM the AHA!

When we BEAM our BE AM-ness, we shine our light into the world from the inside, out…exuding the very qualities of our Joy of Brilliance!

It’s the eternal I AM.  It’s BE-ing.  It’s beam, with a wonderful, magical, brilliant capital B!

From this point forward BEAM will forever hold a deeper, more meaningful significance in the expression of my Joy of Brilliance.
I’m beaming with JOY, visualizing each and every one of you receiving this message of BeAm-ness into your experience.

‘Shine on’ rides side car today.
‘BEAM on’ is in the driver’s seat. Be Am your Joy of Brilliance to the max!

What will you BeAm today?
BEAM me up…let me hear all about it!

**All definitions courtesy of my MacBook Pro Dictionary**

Photo Credit

I’ve written about the importance of Self-Love before…here and here … oh and HERE too.  (OK, so it’s a fave topic of mine.  In fact, the theme of Self-Love is inherent in most every post I write, blatant or subtle, it’s there.)

Now, it’s time to get down to it.

Can you shout from the mountain tops and proclaim your Self-Love?

What…? Is there a part of you that feels a little squeamish at the thought of that?

Why?  When you think of another in your life whom you love, is it easy to come up with 5 things you love about them?  Can you rattle those 5 things off without blinking an eye?

I believe it’s important for us to recognize the qualities within ourselves that make us fall in love with ourselves over and over again.

We’re better in everything we do when we have an honest, loving relationship with ourselves.  We’re better in every other relationship we have in our lives when our relationship with our Self is in L-O-V-E, Love.

Define Self-Love

Do you know what the dictionary says about Self-Love?  My Mac dictionary says this:

“Self-Love~ regard for one’s own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic).”

You see?  Even the dictionary agrees Self-Love is a desirable trait! And a ‘regard for one’s own well-being and happiness’?  Hello.  That is truly what life is all about.  Abraham says life is meant to be JOYful.  Seems to me that Self-Love is the passageway.

So let’s go ahead and give ourselves permission to rattle off 5 things we love about ourselves.

I’ll go first…

5 Things I Love About Me:

1. My infectious smile. When I smile I feel it in my whole body…every cell, every nerve ending, every single bit of me feels my smile.  And it feels good.
2. My JOY factor. The smallest things turn me on.  I love that about me.  It doesn’t take much…and I’m all gleeful…like a kid in a candy store.
3. My HUGE Heart. I love how much LOVE I feel inside.  Sometimes I wonder just how much my chest can expand…I mean, there’s gotta be a lot of room in there for this great big heart!…really easy to get to 3 things……slight pause now……oh, and here come the other two…
4. My Way with Words. I love how words flow through me…I love how easy it is to communicate with my words…and how I find lots of feel good words floating through my thoughts.
5. My Inner Knowing. My sensitivity. (Does that count for two?  …for me they’re kind of the same.  Close relatives.  Like twins, if not one and the same.)  I’m a feeling person.  I love that about me.  I love how my sensitivity, my inner messenger, draws me nearer to my Brilliance, the one true essence of who I AM.

There.  5 Things I Love About Me.  Woo-Hoo!!!  …and you know what?  Now that I’ve proclaimed these 5 I can feel a river of love qualities flowing freely. Mmm…that feels good.

OK…now it’s your turn!

Please come along!  Use the comment section to Proclaim Your Self-Love from the Mountain Tops!

I want to hear you shout 5 things You LOVE about Your Self…right here…right now!

Self Love Fortune Photo

As I pondered what to write I considered all the topics that speak to me…and grabbed the one that sings to me.  The topic of Brilliance and Living Your Shine to the Fullest. As soon as I knew that’s what I wanted to write about I stumbled upon the quote that you’ll read a couple sentences from now.  I had the spark and the quote ignited the post.  I LOVE it when that happens!!

The Good Vibe Community loved the post…and naturally I wanted to share it with you too.  Here it is!

Hafiz wrote:

“You are a Divine Elephant with amnesia trying to live in an ant hole.”

The imagery of this quote is alarmingly vivid.  Seriously, are you picturing it?

The funniest part is, this is exactly what each of us looks like when we choose to live smaller than the brilliance that we are each born to be!

A portion of one of my all time favorite quotes from Marianne Williamson says,

“Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”

It’s becoming ever clearer to me that we, as a humanity are awakening to our purest Soul Brilliance.

As generational stories of oppression and suppression dot the path of our histories we are becoming more and more enlightened by the idea that we are meant to shine more than anything else in this life.

The Spark of Divinity that courses through our veins has been there since the beginning of time.  No matter what experiences have gone before us that spark is alive and well.  It can not be extinguished.

No matter what the ‘looks as if’ is on the movie screen of life…something deep inside continues to pulse, telling us there’s a better picture…a picture we alone create for ourselves.

It is our Divine Right to shine.  And it is our choice to exercise this right.

What are you choosing?

• Are you the elephant w/amnesia trying to squeeze yourself into the ant hole?

• Or are you the elephant divinely aware of your majestic nature, fully aware of your HUGE Brilliance, fully willing to Live Large?

Perhaps you are the ant.  One ant in a colony of millions.

• One ant who in that colony of millions could choose to get lost in the ant hill of anonymity…

• Or one ant who will choose to claim his uniqueness and be counted as the one he is.

No matter the choice, choose on purpose.

• Choose because you want to.
• Because you know you can.
• Choose because no one else can make the choice for you.

Let the amnesia fade.

Stand up and claim your birthright.

You are a Divine Soul living a Human Experience.

What a gift!

The best part?…

It’s a gift that keeps on giving.  Another line from the same Marianne Williamson quote says,

“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.”

I know my perfect JOB.  It’s to serve others through my own Light, assisting others to fully discover their own Light…their own Joy of Brilliance in life.

Just by becoming the Divine Being we are…elephant, ant, human…each of us uniquely brilliant, shining our gleaming wonderfulness in all we are…leading by the clarity of our example as Abraham suggests…

…just by this, we encourage others to do the same.

It’s that easy.  It’s that important.  It’s that brilliant.

We create heaven on earth just by being the brilliance of who we are.

Heaven feels good.  I choose brilliance.  In JOY.  Will you join me?

Let me hear you claim it!

• What amnesia have you recently come out of?
• What is the “Brilliance of YOU” that you are now, more than ever, willing to BE?

Living amnesia free ~ In my Joy of Brilliance…  Debra  aka @debsoul

Divine Elephant Photo

Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

At this point in our development, no one has yet come up with an instrument, tape or sound that will work specifically to heal an imbalance for everyone. Certainly some people are remarkably assisted by the specific sounds from instruments created by those who believe we are all vibrating at the same frequency. We know of miraculous experiences that have occurred–wondrous healings and the like–but we also know of people who have not received help through such sounds. And the question is why?

The most likely answer is that, indeed, there are those who will vibrate to specific frequencies that are the same and those that do not. This is very simply most close to the truth as we know it.

It would seem that even in our traditional medical fields, the different pharmaceuticals that are applied do not work specifically the same for all individuals. One person will get miraculous results from one drug, while another person will not have much effect at all and another person will have what is known as an allergic reaction and become sicker from the drug than before. If we were all of the same vibrational rate, would not the drug effect all people the same way? The same thought, of course, could be applied to the concept of organ transplants. There are many variables that go into the consideration of this. Not every organ is going to work for every individual. The same approach could be applied to sound.

In Ayuvedic Medicine, for example, there are three basic different types of people and what works well for one group will not work well for the other group. Could a similar situation exist with sound and help explain why one sound may work well for one person and may not work well for another?

With astrology, which is based upon the the vibrations of the planets and their effect upon an individual, we find that every individual has a unique birth chart, due to many different factors. No one is exactly the same. Even twins born only minutes apart will have different birth charts. This is another indication of the uniqueness of the individual and our own unique vibratory rate.

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

There is at present on our planet, a great schism in belief regarding resonant frequency. There are those who believe that yes, we all vibrate to the same frequency, whether it is the vibrational rate of the heart chakra or the vibrational rate of the liver. And many of these are people who believe they have indeed figured out the vibrational rate of the various organs, other bodily parts and etheric fields have invented instruments, made tapes or created machines which will somehow project the correct resonant frequency back in to the body to heal what ails you. Some of these people also work with using the voice, either to determine what frequency needs to be added or as a means of creating the correct resonant frequency.

Then, there are others who believe that we are all unique vibratory beings; that the frequencies of our organs, bodily systems and chakras, may be different and are not the same. And some of these people have also invented instruments and will make tapes or create machines which will somehow determine what the correct resonant frequency for you is, and then have that sound device project this frequency. And many of these other people work specifically with the voice because they believe it is easiest and more effective at determining the correct resonant frequency and to project it into an imbalanced area.

These are two main areas of contention in your sound healing arena today. I like to say that I am in the business of “Shifting Frequencies” and that if you believe you will resonant to only one frequency, you are not giving yourself the opportunity for vibratory change. I am among those who focus on the use of the voice as an instrument of transformation and I do this for several reasons. One reason in particular is that I have found the voice to be an extremely easy vehicle for effecting change in one’s vibratory rate or in the body and field of someone else. I (and my students work reinforces this) has found that the resonant sounds for different parts of the body and the chakras change and shift depending upon many parameters.

Do you believe you resonate to more than one frequency?

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

In a recent blog Frequency + Intent = Healing, I discussed the concepts of “frequency” and “intent”. “Frequency” is the rate at which an object vibrated and is also a way of measuring sound. “Intent” is the energy behind any created sound. Together, these two elements create how a sound may be used–it’s effect for healing, transformation or whatever.

When the human body is in a state of health, all bodily parts and associated fields, chakras, etc. are in “tune” and vibrating in a state of harmony with self. A concept of disease is one in which a counter frequency sets in and some body part begins to vibrate out of ease or harmony. A concept of using sound to heal is simply that it is possible to project the correct resonant frequency back into the part of the body (or associated field or chakra), causing it to vibrate back into its normal rate, restoring it to health. This is the basic principle of using sound to heal.

Now, the whole concept of healing is one which deserves its own discourse and I do not wish to create confusion regarding this. However, I will suggest that while the above principle of healing with sound is true, there are other principles which also apply and will be discussed in the future. For the moment, let us concentrate on the above very simple aspect of using sound to heal–that of the resonant frequency–and let us ask you another very simple question: Do you think that everyone vibrates at the same frequency. Or put another way, do you think that everyone’s liver has the same resonant frequency? Do you think everyone’s heart chakra resonates to the same vibration?

I ask these questions, because they are important ones, particularly in regard to sound. At this point in development on the planet, there are many different professionals, who deal with sound, and who all have different answers to these questions. And the truth of it is that on our Earth plane, no one knows what the correct answers to the above questions are. Many may think they know, but we are still in your infancy regarding sound and our knowledge is limited.

One of the great mysteries of humankind, particularly one which has manifested in the last century (though it has been in existence since the beginning) was the need for humans to qualify and quantify everything. We need to know everything and explain everything. And put everything very nicely in a box. Then we are satisfied that we have figured out the answers to the Universe. We now know the Great Mystery and we can rest easily.

We insist on putting everything into boxes and then we are happy. But the truth of the matter may be that things change. Concepts change. Ideas change. Reality changes. And because of this, by putting things into boxes we are doing ourselves a great disservice. Because sooner or later we may find that that which we have qualified and quantified has changed. And what we believe is no longer valid. We need to be fluid in your consciousness and thought. This is something that sound can teach us all.

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

As we approach the crossroads of our evolutionary development, which many of the various sacred traditions tell us will be occurring in the near future, we find that different models or archetypes must emerge. The current archetypes that we have dealt with in our psyche, and have manifested in the physical for many thousands of years has resulted in war and suffering. We suggest it is possible to choose a different model based upon harmony, balance, cooperation and compassion. This model exists in the various myths, legends and spiritual texts of the planet representing both strength and goodness. It is not necessary to be weak in order to be kind, although currently, we often confuse and equate these two adjectives.

The model of Tantra of Sound is one that is balanced and aligned with the harmonious integration of the masculine and feminine energies within each person. When these energies are embodied they create an egalitarian relationship with our selves and with others. This relationship is not controlling nor is it in competition with the participants involved—it is cooperative and it is compassionate. It is balanced and it is harmonious.

Despite seeming to be new to many, this archetype has existed since the beginning. Balanced relationships have manifested through many of the divine beings in different cultures who generate loving kindness, from Shiva and Shakti in the Hindu tradition to Avalokitesvara and Tara in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and to Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the Christian tradition. These energies may be understood as being divine entities and their consorts, or priest and high priestess who work together in the sacred loving unity of the Divine. These male and female energies are found within us individually, and also created through partnership. We are not talking about gender separation here, but rather about the balanced energies of the internalized masculine and feminine.

The uniting of masculine and feminine energies is found in tantra, which utilizes the symbolic male/female union within as a meditative form to assist in achieving enlightenment. A tantric practitioner concentrates on expanding all levels of consciousness in order to unveil and experience the supreme reality of God. This is done through symbolically uniting the two opposite energies of the male and female (in Sanskrit, the “Siva-Sakti” energy). Through tantra, one can overcome the “maya” or illusion of separateness, which manifest in lower levels of consciousness creating the polarity of male and female. True reality—the Absolute—is non dualistic. It encompasses unifying the masculine and feminine aspects within our selves so that we may transcend into the oneness of the Divine.

We believe that this paradigm of harmonious and balanced male/female energy is necessary for our continued journey down the evolutionary road. We have reached the place in our development where the use of our technology must be tempered with the wisdom of loving kindness.

Tantra of Sound assists in the integration of this important paradigm of relationship for the benefit of both personal and planetary acceleration.

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

One of the highest levels of tantric practice involves resonating and harmonizing oneself with sound! This is done in order to enhance and energize our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual essence. Both the Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist Tantra stress the power of sound. Sound, in fact, is the basis of much tantra—through working with advanced sound techniques, tantric practitioners are able to harmonize themselves in body, mind and spirit.

It was through our work at Healing Sounds, exploring various sonic practices from the Eastern traditions that we came upon the concept of TANTRA OF SOUND. We have discovered, through years of working together using sound, easy methods of achieving this harmonizing effect that the Eastern mystics described. This desired harmony and balance of body, mind and spirit can be both safely and efficiently practiced by utilizing specific techniques and exercises.

Our primary goal in sharing this work is to assist you in reaching deeper states of consciousness and self awareness; first with yourselves, and then, if appropriate, with a partner. We are currently at a crossroads in our evolutionary development. One road leads to an extraordinary new world of hopes and possibilities filled with love and compassion, caring and kindness. The other road does not. This first road offers the potential of us becoming the true, extraordinary humans that so many of the mystics and spiritual teachers throughout time have suggested that we can be. In order to do so, we must indeed be able to achieve harmony and balance within ourselves and then with each other. In order to do so, we must be willing to gaze into the window of our soul, acknowledge who and what we are, and then agree to love and honor that being.

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

“Tantra” is Sanskrit, the ancient language of the Hindu tradition. Like many other sacred languages such as Hebrew or Tibetan, there is frequently not simply one singular meaning that can be applied to the words which we translate. Thus “tantra” is often translated as “continuum” or “unbroken stream” and indicates a flow of consciousness from ignorance to enlightenment. The word also translates as “web” or “warp” and encompasses all that is. Tantra represents the interconnecting energies between all things in this and other planes of existence. Other words used to describe tantra are: leading principle, essential part, model, system, framework, doctrine, rule, theory, scientific work, order, chief part, rule, authority, science, mystic works, magical formulas, means, expedient, stratagem, medicine.

The etymology of “tantra” comes from the combination of two words “tattva” and “mantra”. “Tattva” is the science of cosmic principles, while “mantra” refers to the science of mystic sound and vibrations. In the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, tantra is sometimes referred to as “Secret Mantra”. This may be to distinguish it from being confused with Western concepts of neo-tantra. A definition of the meaning of Secret Mantra from the Tibetan Buddhist standpoint is as follows: `Secret’ indicates that these methods should be practiced privately. `Mantra’ means `protection for the mind’ and often utilizes sacred sound to do this. Thus, the function of Secret Mantra is to enable us to progress swiftly through the stages of the spiritual path by protecting our mind against ordinary conceptions through the use of sound.

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

TANTRA. The very word conjures up exciting images of incense filled rooms, full of throbbing bodies pulsating and vibrating in various degrees of orgasmic ecstasy. Indeed, if you were to do an Internet search with the word “tantra”, you would find over a million and a half websites devoted to that word. Almost all of these sites focus upon sex. Sex is huge. Sex sells. We are a sex obsessed planet. And to many people, sex and tantra mean the same thing. This, however, is simply not true.

There is great confusion today about the word tantra, and understandably so. Depending upon the culture, tradition, viewpoint, teacher and level of awareness, “tantra” can mean different things to different people. At healing sounds we’ve investigated numerous sources and were astounded by the variety of meanings that were applied to the word tantra and the teachings behind it.

Not surprisingly, here in the West, the meaning of tantra is almost always synonymous with sex and sexual yoga, taken from specific paths and teachers in the Hindu tradition. Yet, in the Buddhist tradition—particularly Tibetan Buddhism, tantra has nothing to do with sex—at least not from the physical aspect of sexual relationships.

An internet search for the word tantra, which found over a million and a half websites advertising aspects of tantra, revealed that the vast majority of these sites centered upon sex. We speculated that at least 90% – 95% of the sites we visited involved some aspect involving sexual relations—with everything from sexual aids to sexual surrogates beings advertised. Many times these sites offered techniques for improving sexual capability in sexual relationships. Many times, however, these sites were not nearly that subtle.

Yet, in our research we also discovered sources that were of seemingly pure tantric traditions, and they were almost all adamant that tantra had little or nothing to do with sex as it is currently perceived of in the West. In Fact, the word “neo-tantra” frequently emerged when talking about these newer perceptions of tantra which many authorities considered a corruption of the word. What then, is tantra?

I will share more on the meaning of tantra in my next post.

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Guest post from Jonathan Goldman, author and sound healing musician: The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing & Holy Harmony

“FREQUENCY + INTENT = HEALING”.   Frequency of course, is the actual sound used.  Healing was a term used to describe the process of putting something into its healthy resonance.  Today I use the term “Frequency Shifting”.   Intent, in this formula, is the important ingredient.  Intent is the energy  behind the sound.  It is the consciousness that is encoded into the sound.  Intent is very important.

I began to realize that it might be possible for two people to make the same sound and have a very different response, depending upon the energy that was put into the sound.   Have you ever had someone you were not particularly fond of see you at a party and say in a snake-like tone “Good to see you” and felt as though you immediately wanted to leave the party.  While the words (or the frequency) may have been one thing, the intention (or energy behind the words) said quite another.  And the effect was not one of welcoming, but rather something very different.  This is an illustration of how intentionality affects the outcome of the sound.

I found that even specific mantras would resonate different chakras, depending upon the intentionality of the person giving them.  The “Om” might resonate the heart chakra, or the belly chakra or the third eye–it all depended upon what  a spiritual master might be teaching to a person.  As I began to realize the importance of intention, I began to spend considerable time in my teachings stressing the important of this.  And at the time, it was necessary to do this.  However, I admit that I went a little overboard.  Initially I began by talking with scientists and medical doctors who were so interested in examining only the frequency of the sound that the idea of intention was a new (and somewhat ridiculous idea to them).  Nevertheless, I continued sharing the importance of intention in my workshops, lectures and writing.  And as usual, things got a little out of alignment.  People began to think “Well, it doesn’t matter what sound I make as long as my intention is there”.

On one level, this is true.  On another level, it is not.  The formula which I was given was “FREQUENCY + INTENT = HEALING”.   This formula was created for the 3rd Dimensional Earth plane as it is currently evolved in your time and space.  While it is true that in higher dimensionalities, Intent (and consciousness) does create all, very few beings on this planet have reached the level of development,  where the actual sound they create is unimportant and the intention is everything.

Now undoubtedly, there are spiritual masters on this planet who can belch or create any such sound and produce miraculous results.  However, a majority of you (while you may perceive you are spiritual masters, and you may be) have not reached the state of development where you can do this.    I illustrate this point by saying that if you wish to calm someone down with a sound and then you shout in their ear, the result will be that your shouting will undoubtedly produce severe reactions of agitation in the individuals.  Their heart beat, respiration and brain waves will all escalate and they will probably not enjoy your shouting in their ear, regardless of your intent.  So I say that until you can levitate or dematerialize or do any of a number of frequency shifting exercises that you will ultimately be able to do, we urge you to pay attention to the frequencies that you are using.  As well as the intentionality that you are putting into these frequencies.

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