How My Throat Chakra Healed

This may surprise some, but for the first time in my life, I feel completely ready to fully speak my truth. I used to be afraid of being judged or rejected for expressing such unconventional, existential views, but something profound in me has shifted over the last few months. I just don't care what people think anymore. Nope. I'm done walking on egg shells around some people to avoid speaking up about certain things. I'm done acting in ways that are seen as "socially acceptable" but compromise my inner-peace and well-being. I have never felt more inspired, grateful, guided and at peace! I know who I am and why I'm here beyond the shadow of a doubt. It feels fantastic and liberating!

I feel like I have finally found my family! My spiritual family, that is. There is such a huge wave of awakening happening now on the planet that I no longer feel like the odd one out. Does anyone else reading this feel the same way? This feeling of belonging has given me the courage to speak up more than ever before. As a result, new modalities of healing are coming to me so that I may be of better service. I am feeling, hearing, seeing energy like never before. It's truly miraculous!

I used to be a full-time singer-songwriter, and I pretty much muted my voice around 2008, because I felt like I lost my inspiration. I just recently discovered cymatics (the study of visible effects of sound and vibration) as well as sound healing. Guess what happened? The inspiration to sing returned! Not to write songs, or to perform, but to use my voice as a healing modality. When I close my eyes and simply allow the sound to freely emerge from my voice, it feels like Spirit is singing through me! What a strange and wonderful sensation! What's interesting is that every different sound frequency heals a different chakra / organ in the body. The more we sing, the more we heal our physical, mental and emotional bodies.

I want to wish you a wonderful New Year and I hope that you will give yourself many little moments of pure bliss -through song, meditation, contemplation or whatever reconnects you to your spiritual essence. I look forward to hanging out with you in the 5th dimension!

Bonne année 2017!

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Receive the Mindfulness Story That Best Suits Your Needs!

Hey guys,

I'm sooooo excited about this!!! Check out the details here, and thanks for sharing! http://shoutout.wix.com/so/3LXgZ0vq

Have an awesome week!

Lise Villeneuve
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Consciously Create The Life You Truly Want...for free!

Hey, could you benefit from having your own personal life coach right now? I'm not even joking when I say that I'll be your coach for free! I'll help you set some goals and reach them, and your self-awareness will increase simultaneously. What's the catch? How can I offer this for free? What are my qualifications? Excellent questions...

Well, I decided to do audio recordings of the 12-session coaching program I've designed called Consciously Creating the Life You Truly Want. I've seen the very positive results of this program with my in-person clients and I wanted to be able to offer it to a greater number of people -via the internet. If you love it, you can make a donation, or not.

As each individual becomes more empowered and aware, this raises our collective level of consciousness. That's good news for you and me, my friends. That means more love, more peace, less hatred and violence. It's really as simple as that. If you'd like to know more about me and this free Conscious Coaching audio program, please visit my website, www.lisevilleneuve.com

All the best,

Lise,
The "Conscious Coach"
www.lisevilleneuve.com
Creator of Conscious Kids & Conscious Health

My Darkest Time Revealed in a Magazine!

I never would have thought in a million years that one day, I'd be sharing what turned out to be the darkest period in my life with the world - in a magazine recently published in India! Life is funny that way, and I don't regret a second of it!

Click on the link below to read the article. Special thanks to Suzy Singh.

https://www.lifepositive.com/the-wounded-healer/

Love,

Lise Villeneuve

Creator of Conscious Kids and Conscious Health

Free printable mindfulness cards

Un P'tit Poème en Français Pour Faire Changement...

For some reason, these words came to me in French tonight. They describe a typical day at our house. If you don't understand French, that's ok, you're not missing that much anyway! :)

Un doux baiser me tire du sommeil

Je crois qu'un ange a frôlé ma joue

Tandis que je flotte entre le rêve et l'éveil

De petites mains me chatouillent le cou

Mon réveille-matin a déjà sept ans!

Il est pressé de commencer sa journée

Je le retiens, je l'embrasse un moment

Quel bonheur que de se retrouver!

On passe doucement à la cuisine

Là où s'affolent deux chattes affamées

Mesdemoiselles se lèchent et relèchent leurs babines

Alors qu'on prépare le petit déjeuner

Le soleil éclaire notre salle de classe;

Le salon, la cour, la ville, la Terre

Je fais apparaître du café dans ma tasse;

Mon carburant de choix pour explorer l'Univers

Les enfants sortent leurs livres, crayons et cahiers

Parfois encore dans leurs pyjamas

Heureux d'apprendre, curieux et enjoués

L'école est un jeu, une tombola

Les leçons terminées, la nature nous appelle

Le ciel est bleu, l'air est enivrant

Dans le jardin dansent mille coccinelles

Sur des champignons hallucinants

Les jours sont simples, les jours sont doux

Ils savent bien vivre, les enfants

Le coeur ouvert et prêts à tout

Ils savourent l'instant présent

Oui, ils savourent l'instant présent.

Lise Villeneuve
www.lisevilleneuve.com

What A Crappy Morning...Literally!

I didn't get much sleep last night. I was woken up by a mysterious crash at about 3am (probably the cats having another wild shooter party on top of the China cabinet.) Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep until about 7am, and when Theo pulled me out of a very strange dream, the first thing he said to me was "Emma says something's wrong with the toilet." I just figured the chain was tangled or something minor like that, until I pulled open my drapes and saw the sewer truck working in our back alley. Oh-oh. When I opened my bedroom door, I was greeted with a real, genuine, overwhelming smell of 'eau-de-toilette' that permeated the entire house.

The bathroom door was closed by the time I got to it, Emma had made it "off limits." I peeked inside, only to find dirty toilet water sprayed everywhere. Yuck! (and the seat was down!) What made it even worse was that my bladder was about to explode. I checked the bathroom in the basement and it was the same scene. Yucky sewer water everywhere. Crappy. Crappy, crappy, crappy. We've had a similar issue in the past, the sewer line workers are required to use low pressure. But they obviously didn't!

I called the city and they told me someone would call me back...eventually. So I shamelessly went out to the truck in the alley (yes, in my pajamas, with my dragon breath and crazy morning hair) and told the workers about the pleasant situation in our house. Yup, I told them "my house smells like s**t, my toilets are overflowing, and I need coffee. Now." Well, maybe I didn't use those exact words, but all they could say was "sorry."

So back to the house I went, knowing that it was going to be one of those days. There was breakfast to prepare, I had to get the kids started on their schoolwork (we homeschool), Emma had her first Musical Theatre class in a few hours, I still had to pee and the house was a smelly disaster. Then the city called back to say "sorry". I told them I would send them the cleaning bill. Of course, that means filling in a damage claim form, yadiyadiyada. I probably looked a little bit like the woman in this picture (with worse hair, pajamas and a fuller bladder).

But then something in my brain happened. That's quite surprising pre-coffee. I remembered a particular mindfulness card that I had written and included in my deck of 56 cards just a few weeks ago. Yup, those cards are back to haunt me. This one basically said "if you can't change a situation, you might as well relax and surrrender." I took a deep breath and just let go of the anger, the frustration and the stress. Then I smiled to myself, thinking that if the damage claim goes through, at least I will have started my day by making $100 for washing the bathrooms. Not bad, right?

The whole ordeal was stressful, but somehow, we got everything done. The kids ate their breakfast on the front step -where at least it didn't smell like a sewer- while I pulled out the sexy latex gloves. Emma and Theo promptly did all their schoolwork, I sent in the damage claim, and we even made it to Musical Theatre class on time. The only thing missing was my coffee, which I got to enjoy even more than usual later in the day. Did I mention how sparkling our bathrooms are now?

All the best,

Lise Villeneuve
Creator of Conscious Kids
Get your free deck of mindfulness cards here.

Nobody Ever Taught Me THAT In School...

School's back in full gear for many of us. Believe it or not, every morning when I wake up, I feel extremely grateful to have the opportunity to home school my kids. I'm not going to lie, we don't like being rushed in the morning! We're now starting our 5th homeschooling year and I feel like we're really starting to get the hang of it. We know what works for our family, and we're more confident about this alternative way of life.

In anticipation of all the people who will be asking the kids 'What school do you go to?' this year, I think we will just call ourselves L'Académie Francophone Villeneuve-Carver. Sounds legitimate, right? That should at least reduce the number of awkward conversations with cashiers who think homeschooling is only for hillbillies. But hey, this post is not really about homeschooling. It's about the Art of living.

I wish that someone had taught me about the Art of living a happy, fulfilling life when I was a kid! I learned plenty of practical, interesting facts in school and University, but like the majority of us, I had to figure out the  most important questions on my own: What makes us truly happy? What's really important in life? What can we do on a daily basis to create a fulfilling and meaningful life? How do our thoughts matter? Where's the nearest Starbucks? Good, you're still paying attention.

The bottom line is, school didn't teach me that happiness is a choice I make every day. Did it teach you that? Maybe I just went to bad schools. Lol. I just felt like I had to go to school and things were largely out of my control. I never knew that I was creating my reality with my thoughts. I didn't know that my emotions were my inner-compass and that I could wilfully move myself up the vibrational scale of emotions. Nobody ever taught me that I would eventually get what I focused on, even if I was focusing on what I didn't want! If I had known these things, I would probably have felt much more empowered and confident. Thankfully, times have changed and these notions are now becoming more widespread, even in some schools.

Back to homeschooling for a minute. One of the things I love about it is that I can sneak in some of these 'Art of living' notions when challenges come up with the kids - because they always do- especially during school time! When the kids get frustrated or discouraged, I can immediately intervene and help them become more aware of the thought patterns that are creating their negative emotions. This helps them keep things in perspective, and it may prevent really bad habits from eventually forming. I can remind them to focus on what they wish to reinforce in their lives.

Education is super important, and it becomes even more powerful when it's combined with a growing self-awareness. As their teacher, I get to practice teaching mindfully each day, and that's a real gift!

Here are some of our rules at L'Académie Francophone Villeneuve-Carver:

Teachers:
1. Thou shall stop teaching immediately if you are unable to give loving, compassionate energy.
2. Thou shall stop teaching your lesson if there is no sense of joy, play and wonder in it.
3. Thou shall remember: your energy sets the tone. Be in the moment. Breathe.

Students:
1. Happiness is a choice you make every day. You are in control.
2. Your thoughts create your emotions. Choose your thoughts wisely.
3. You get what you focus on, so focus on what you want, not what you don't want!
4. You are the creator of your own reality. Your intentions are powerful.
5. Negative emotions tell you you're out of alignment. Raise your vibration!

Wishing you a wonderfully mindful school year!

Lise Villeneuve
Creator of Conscious Kids -downloadable mindfulness stories & activities
Get your free mindfulness card deck here
www.lisevilleneuve.com

You Have Arrived. You Are Home.

Take a deep breath. 

Stop.

You have arrived. You are home.

 Be still. 

Quiet your mind. 

You have arrived. You are home.

 In this moment, there is nothing you need to do. 

Nothing outside of yourself can create the peace that is already arising naturally within you now.

Release all tension. 

You have arrived. You are home.

 Breathe. Relax. 

Open your heart and trust that all is well.

You are loved. You are beautiful.

You have arrived. You are home.

 Smile. Be grateful for all your blessings.

Inhale. Exhale. 

Notice any thoughts that come and just let them go.

You have arrived. You are home.

Surrender to the perfection of this moment.

Breathe deeply.

You are connected to everyone and everything.

You have arrived. You are home.

Whenever your life circumstances pull you out of the present moment

Remember : You have already arrived. You are already home.

The joy of being is already inside you.

Don't search for it somewhere in the past or the future.

You have arrived. You are home.

Lots of love,

Lise Villeneuve

www.lisevilleneuve.com

I Know Where You Can Get Free Mindfulness Cards...

So I have this thing for oracle cards. Emma was given angel cards for her birthday last year, and I have to admit that I sort of, kind of... stole them. Well, she knows where they are, but I seem to use them a lot more than her. Why do I like oracle cards so much?

I have no doubt that the divine, the spiritual realm, or whatever you want to call it, is constantly communicating with us. Sometimes we are open enough to get the message and at other times, a knock on the head with a hammer is still too subtle for us. When I'm in a spiritually receptive mood -and especially if I have a particular question or seek guidance, I'll pick up the angel card deck. Every single time I do this, the cards help me find clarity. These cards are a great tool to get in alignment with our higher Self.Very often, I laugh my head off because the message I get is so obviously clear!

 For example, about three days ago, I got this spontaneous idea. I wasn't anywhere near the angel card deck at that time. My idea was actually to make my own oracle cards for Conscious Kids (the mindfulness course I wrote this year). I thought to myself "hum, I wonder if this is a good idea? Let me check with the angel cards." Then I thought "It would be really funny if the one card in the deck that says 'Brilliant Idea!' popped up. Well you can guess the rest. I was shuffling the cards and one of them jumped right out of my hands. Yup, it was 'Brilliant Idea!' I laughed, then I realised I had no excuses to put off this divinely inspired project.

Some of you may think it was just coincidence, but for me, the sure sign that something is divinely inspired is that it takes form almost effortlessly. Here I am, three days later, and my 56 mindfulness cards are done, printed and fully available for free download on my website! Badaboom!

So there, if you've never tried oracle cards, you can try these mindfulness ones for free. They are good for kids and grown-ups too. Younger kids can play the game "memory" with the cards -matching the pairs of identical mandalas. By the way, Emma (who turned 12 just yesterday!) drew every single mandala on those cards.

Are you ready for a little divine guidance? Let's see what's in your cards...

All the best,

Lise Villeneuve
www.lisevilleneuve.com

My Obsession Finally Revealed!

Before we moved to Edmonton -almost four years ago- we lived in a small apartment in Montreal and I had never gardened in my life. I was a city girl and I knew absolutely nothing about gardening. I didn't know what I was missing.

Now that I've been gardening for almost 4 years, I can't imagine a life without it! I find gardening to be the most grounding (pardon the pun), calming, nurturing and creative activity! I love growing our own food, it tastes SO much better than what you find at the store. And the best part is that you don't even need that much space to grow plants -just a few pots can do the trick. Any other gardening enthusiasts out there? I thought I'd share a little bit about our gardening adventures this summer through some pictures.

Not only did we have our "regular garden" in the yard this year, but the kids each designed and planted their own gardens on the outside of our fence. I was amazed at their enthusiasm right from the start. They didn't mind digging out the grass even though it was a pretty big job.

Here is the vegetable garden inside the yard in May:

Vegetable garden in August:

Here are the kids' gardens outside of the yard (May and August):

I was surprised by how much the people in our neighbourhood loved the kids' gardens (that are in full view). Some mystery donor left us 4 lovely tomato plants. Two ladies came by with their chairs and started sketching the sunflowers. We called the police. Just kidding. Everyone who walks by comments on how well everything is growing. I love how the morning glories made a wall of leaves and gorgeous flowers all around the garden!

Somehow, the corn seeds I saw at the Dollar Store used their mind control powers to convince me to plant a corn maze on the outside of our fence. It's now getting tall enough for us to hide in it. Soon we'll be able to jump out and scare the heck out of unsuspecting neighbours walking by. I can also go there and curl up in a ball whenever I need a break from the kids -or not.

The weather has been absolutely perfect for the plants this summer -very hot, with a lot of rain. 

Here's Emma in her own personal jungle.

Needless to say, we have a LOT of food this year and just recently I've given myself a crash course on canning, freezing and drying the harvest. Yup, we bought a deep freeze and a water-boiling canner so were are SET for the apocalypse!

 Don't ask why Precious the cat is out there is her pj's.

I had a lot of fun painting these cement blocks one day, when it was about 400 degrees. There's Mitsy who jumped into the picture. She's a kitten we found back in April -the absolute sweetest kitten in the world! Precious (pj cat) hates her, she's SO jealous.

And here is the perfect ending to this gardening love story: delicious homemade goodies (hopefully!) that will last all the way through the winter months. I'm crossing my fingers we don't die from botulism.

We had to make some room for the jars so we pulled up this shelf from the basement. We may need a bigger house once the 15 tomato plants and gazillions of ground cherries ripen! I see a lot of salsa and jam in our future.

So there you have it. That's what I've been up to lately. Now for the philosophical part. You ready? It's deep, oh-so deep. I realised that I went from being a city girl to becoming a city farmer. Yup, it may not sound glamorous, but I'm a conscious farmer and I love it! I'm quite obsessed by gardening, actually. I admit it.

Planting seeds, tending to the garden, harvesting and canning are all wonderful opportunities to be fully in the moment and gently aware of all the mental chatter that may be going on inside. I look forward to practising mindful eating. Thanks for reading! What are some of your favourite grounding / calming activities?

Lise Villeneuve

Creator of Conscious Kids -an online mindfulness course for families

www.lisevilleneuve.com

Are You As Spiritual As You Really Think?

Are You As Spiritual As You Really Think?

I’d like to ask you an important question. Let’s see if you’ll pick answer A or B. Ready? Here it is: Who are you?

A)    I’m a physical being having a temporary experience in a physical world. 

Once my body dies, I stop existing.

B)    I’m a spiritual being having a temporary experience in a human body. I am eternal.

If you picked A, you derive your sense of identity from your body, your mind and your emotions. You see everything and everyone as separate from yourself. You are mainly driven by your mind and you feel the need to constantly look out for yourself and your kin to ensure your survival. You see the world as a competitive place where there is no room for miracles, or divine guidance.

If you picked B, you fully trust in a divine plan. You don’t see yourself as a separate, limited body and mind, but as an unlimited, powerful spiritual being that’s connected to all of creation. You are driven by your heart and you see life as an opportunity for your soul to experience joy, peace, healing and unconditional love. You honour the present moment and are able to surrender to what is.

So which one did you pick? A or B?

You may not consciously think “Who am I?” on a daily basis, but the truth is, the way you answered this question orients your entire life. An “A-type” will experience the world in a radically different way than a “B-type”. For example, if I ask you What is your purpose in life? What is real happiness? and What causes suffering? your answers will be completely different depending on who you believe yourself to be. Which type do you think will experience the most fulfilling life?

It doesn’t even really matter who’s right in the end, A or B, because we know that our thoughts and beliefs shape our reality. But before you pat yourself on the back for being a “B-type”, it’s important to recognize that the vast majority of humans today still adopt the behaviours of A’s: me versus you, ego versus heart, fear versus love and trust, separation versus unity, lack versus abundance, control versus surrender, past/future versus present.  Even individuals who see themselves as spiritual beings in a physical world fall back into the traps of the ego daily.

Why? Because our conditioning is so very strong, and we live in an ego-driven, unconscious world. Individuality and competitiveness are rewarded and the idea that who we are is our limited, physical vessel is constantly reinforced. Success is measured by wealth, power, status and influence, often at the cost of true happiness. The overwhelming influence of this physical, material world constantly distracts us from our spiritual essence. It seduces us into believing that we have something to gain from adopting the “A-type” behaviours of the majority. Unless we make a conscious effort to constantly stay awake and present, we will automatically fall back into the default sleepwalking ego-mode.

Spiritual awareness is like a muscle we have to train on a daily basis. There is no other way around it. It may sound like a chore, but once you start experiencing the benefits of a heart-centered, more conscious life, you will wonder why you didn’t start your training earlier!

If you’d like some tools and resources to help you with your spiritual awareness training, I encourage you to check out Conscious Health –for adults and Conscious Kids –for young families. These two programs are currently available at no charge (for a limited time only).

Wishing you all the best,

Lise Villeneuve

www.lisevilleneuve.com

www.conscious-kids.ca

Why You Can’t Afford Not To Teach Your Kids About Mindfulness...

So you want your kids to be happy, successful and balanced individuals who contribute positively to society. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already an excellent parent. You do everything you can to ensure your kids will get a good education, you sign them up for all kinds of activities such as sports and arts, and you make sure they are well socialized. Correct?

Ultimately, we all want our kids to be happy in life. Oddly, most of us assume that helping them develop their talents, intelligence and social skills is enough to ensure a happy, balanced life. It’s not. Are we happy as adults, or does our happiness depend on our circumstances? What is real happiness? What will your kids need to DO in order to feel joyful, content and at peace?

Here’s the problem. The key to true, lasting fulfillment and contentment is not found in doing, but in being. Everything we are doing for our kids is good, but it’s not teaching them about true happiness –in fact, it’s teaching them that happiness can only be found outside of themselves, by trying to meet society’s current definition of success. Is our society happy, or deeply unconscious?

Here’s the good news. You CAN teach your kids about true, lasting happiness directly. You can give them the necessary tools to stay grounded and empowered in this chaotic world. You can help them understand and self-regulate their thoughts and emotions. You can increase their awareness and show them how to tap into the joy of being, even when external circumstances are less than perfect. You can help your kids remember that true happiness comes from within. That’s the purpose of mindfulness. It’s the most direct path to a truly happy, balanced, successful and empowered life.

You can start teaching your kids about mindfulness today! Conscious Kids is an online course written specifically for kids and their families. You really can’t afford NOT to teach your kids about mindfulness because if money is an issue for you, there is even a way to earn your access to Conscious Kids for FREE.

Wishing you the very best,

Lise Villeneuve
Creator of Conscious Kids
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Your Child (or Inner Child) Is Asking This Question Now...

Dear grown up,

Why do I sometimes feel sad, worried or even angry, while other times I feel happy and peaceful? Do I have any control over the way I feel, or do my emotions just happen to me as a result of what's going on in my life? What creates my emotions, and how can I feel good most of the time?

Your child / Inner child

Dear child,

The answer is YES, you CAN have control over how you feel most of the time, once you understand that your THOUGHTS create your emotions. This simple knowledge has the power to change your life! If you'd like to know more about this, check out Conscious Kids, Lesson B. In the short story called Suzy Meets Skittles The Squirrel, you'll read about a girl who feels overwhelmed with negative emotions. You'll see how Skittles helps her to notice her negative thoughts, then you'll have the chance to do a fun activity that will help you to understand this important lesson. Blessings to you and your family!

Lise Villeneuve

Creator of Conscious Kids

I Need Your Help! Vote For Conscious Kids!

So...to make a long story short, Conscious Kids (the mindfulness course for children that I wrote this year) has sort of taken off lately! It's very exciting! Today, I just found out that I got selected in this contest held by a Law Firm in Edmonton to win funding for Conscious Kids (like $10 000 to help me promote it and develop it!) How AWESOME would that be?!

You can increase my odds of winning simply by voting here (until June 17th, 2016): http://fieldlawcommunityfund.com/idea/help-get-conscious-kids-online-mindfulness-course-children/ . Please tell your friends and family too! Thank you in advance for your help, it means a lot to me!

So how did this happen? Sort of "by chance", like everything in my life! First, someone asked me to sell them a license to teach Conscious Kids on Vancouver Island. I thought this was a fabulous idea, but then I needed a lawyer to help me write a licensing agreement. So, one night I was searching the internet for lawyers in Edmonton. Although most of my family members are lawyers, they are waaaay too busy and I didn't want to bother them. Good thing I didn't, because it allowed me to find this contest, the Field Law Community Fund! I spontaneously wrote my entry that night, thinking it was a long-shot. Well, today they told me I qualified! I didn't think my entry would be posted on the internet and I wish I could have edited it a little, but oh well! By now I know that I control very little in this life. Let's see where this ride takes me!

Thanks again for voting!!

Lise