Anyone Else Feeling Like Crap Lately?

Feeling Like Crap...

For the past couple of days, I've been feeling a little down, sad and fearful of our future. At the core of these negative emotions was a feeling of powerlessness towards the state of our planet. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, as I sense that this feeling of powerlessness is embedded in our collective consciousness right now. The negativity is simply overwhelming. 

"Us" Versus "Them"...

Everyday, we see examples of people reinforcing the illusion of our separation from each other. Whether we like to admit it or not, most of us have bought into the "us" versus "them" mentality. The "me" versus "you" mentality is exactly the same, by the way. Science now confirms we are all connected in a unified field of consciousness. We are all One. 

This means that when our brothers and sisters thrive, this positively affects us. It also means that when they suffer -whether on a physical, mental or emotional level - this negatively affects us as well. We may not be consciously aware of this entanglement, thanks to the ego's mechanisms, but we are indeed electromagnetically connected to each other (look up the quantum entanglement experiment). It's no wonder that we can all feel the heaviness in the field right now.

Apples and Oranges...

So how can we deal with this negativity? Personally, I've been feeling confused by three overlapping issues that I think should be addressed separately:

1) What is the best, most effective way to actually take a stand for what we believe to be right in the world? Can we make a difference?

2) How do we deal with our own negative emotions? How can we remain aware of what's going on in the world without constantly feeling depressed, powerless or numb? 

3) How can we decipher truth from falsehood? Are we being told the truth? Are we being manipulated on a large scale? How can we explain the apathy of so many people?


Hocus Focus...

Let's start with #2 -How to deal with our own negative emotions. It all starts here. First of all, we control what we focus on. Emily Maroutian's quote beautifully explains this: 

"Energy is the currency of the universe. When you “pay” attention to something, you buy that experience. So when you allow your consciousness to focus on someone or something that annoys you, you feed it your energy, and it reciprocates with the experience of being annoyed. Be selective in your focus because your attention feeds the energy of it and keeps it alive, not just within you, but in the collective consciousness as well."

Our Digital Addiction...

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we get exposed to stuff that brings us down. Since we're all interconnected, particularly through the internet nowadays, our focus is largely influenced by the collective focus. These days, it ain't the most uplifting! 

When we're not feeling resilient, when we are emotionally vulnerable, we should probably be extremely careful about what we expose ourselves to. I'm not saying to live in a vacuum, or to be in denial about the world, but to CHOOSE the best moments to educate ourselves about current events that have the potential to suck the energy right out of us. When we feel powerless, depressed, numb or apathetic, we can't make any positive changes, and in fact, we bring down the collective energy of our planet, making it harder for others to find solutions.

Oops! Too Late...

But many of us get contaminated with fear and negativity on a daily basis! Now what? The only way to release negative emotions is by embracing them and expressing them appropriately. The 4-minute video below beautifully illustrates how emotions get stuck in our body, and how to release them: 

Recharge Your Battery...

Once we are back in alignment with our higher-self, we feel better, and we become much more resilient, empowered and inspired. It's only in this state that we can truly make positive changes in the world. This answers question #1 -What's the most effective way to make a difference in the world? 

Spiritual-Emotional Armour...

If we want to be activists, peaceful warriors or freedom-fighters, we have to be dressed properly for the job! We have to plug into the Source that creates our shield of power and emotional resilience. We can't go out on the battlefield in a vulnerable, wounded state of anger, fear, sadness or resistance and expect to make a positive difference. 

Here is a 30-second video that teaches a heart-coherence technique to instantly neutralize the effects of stress and negativity. It works!:

Did You Forget?

When we get overwhelmed with negative emotions, including apathy, it's especially easy to forget or to underestimate that our greatest power is within. By creating a loving, compassionate, empowered energy field that emanates from our heart, we affect everyone around us. We are literally changing the world by saying "no" to the negativity and fear that we are being fed daily. 

This brief video with Gregg Braden lifted my spirits instantly:

Illuminati? New World Order?

Now what about question # 3 -How can we decipher truth from falsehood? Are we being told the truth? Are we being manipulated on a large scale? How can we explain the apathy of so many people? I recently discovered the very well produced documentary called "Thrive" (see preview below). Although it was released in 2011, it's still very relevant today. 

Could we be controlled by a powerful elite, a cabal? Should we take the Illuminati's plans of a New World Order seriously? I thought this was just conspiracy-theory fiction, until I started hearing it over and over again from an increasing number of respectable sources. I'm not sure what to think at this point. I would love to hear what you think, but please do NOT watch this if you are feeling emotionally vulnerable right now! Although this documentary proposes solutions to the problems they are exposing, it can still be very unsettling to watch.

That being said, you can watch the entire movie for free -available in 27 languages- by streaming it right here: http://www.thrivemovement.com/the_movie 

Join the Force, not the Dark Side...

Regardless if we are being told the truth or not, it's important to remember what we discussed in questions # 1 and # 2. How we respond to our circumstances positively or negatively influences the field that connects and affects us all. 

Feeling negative emotions is not bad in itself. Feeling crappy is an important signal that tells us we are off track. We are simply not aligned with what serves our best interests -from a spiritual perspective. To release these negative emotions, we have to become very aware of them and we have to stop feeding them with more negative thoughts and focus. Once we free ourselves from the negativity and get realigned with our Source of power, we are then in the best position to change the world. 

Here's What You Can Do Now...

Please join me today in creating a beautiful field of love, compassion and joy around ourselves. This field will extend out to our communities, our countries and our planet. Breathe deeply in and out of your heart area, focus on something that makes you feel joyful. Let that energy radiate around you. Thank you for making a difference! Thank you for sharing this with others.

Much Love,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Wisdom From a Local Enlightened Squirrel...

A few days ago, I looked out our dining room window and was ecstatic to see little Skittles hanging out around a tree right in front of our house! For those of you who missed the story about our little orphaned squirrel, you can catch up here:
http://lisevilleneuve.blogspot.ca/2015/05/my-love-story-with-rodent.html

The kids and I happily followed Skittles to the park across the street and spent about 30 delightful minutes with him. How did we know it really was Skittles? Well, for one thing, he let Emma pet him! Also, a mom (or foster mom) easily recognizes her baby! :) I can't express enough how happy I am to know that he is thriving back in his natural environment. The fact that he comes over to visit is like icing on the cake!

This squirrel story has allowed the children and I to experience a pure, simple joy of Being that emanates from deep within us. We feel overwhelming Love and a strong connection towards this little creature who needed a helping hand. Even writing about it now, I am intoxicated by this feeling of warmth and oneness. I wish I could upload the feeling right here on this blog and you could spontaneously experience it with the click of a button! But maybe you can think back of a time when you felt something similar? Holding your baby for the first time? Spending some time with your pet? Watching a beautiful sunset? Being with someone who loves you unconditionally? Are you able to tap into that feeling? Doesn't it feel incredible?

I gotta say, Skittles' visit was perfect timing this week, because I've been going through some pretty heavy stuff lately. I've been "purging" old emotions, letting go of past beliefs and conditionings, and it's been a little exhausting! Skittles (who looks a bit like Yoda at times!) reminded me that I always have access to this beautiful inner-peace, if I can simply allow myself to dive into it. When times get stressful and challenging (as they inevitably will, thanks to the ego), we can always find something beautiful and uplifting to focus on, even if it's a memory in our past. The simple act of going back to that feeling changes our mood, raises our vibration and improves our outlook on life. Skittles says " Breathe in the light, exhale the old, stale energy and imagine it going back down to the core of the Earth. Use the force." Lol.

Perhaps Skittles is an old soul who came back in this life as a squirrel to help us poor humans evolve! Or not. But here's something else he made me remember. Whenever we feel bad, overwhelmed with negative emotions and powerless, it means there's a gap between where we currently are, and where we want to be. In this "gap" that sometimes feels like hell, we hold on to many unmet desires (they may be conscious or unconscious) and the frustration we feel comes from our inability to meet these needs and to get ourselves to that "place" our souls know we want to be. Makes sense?

It's empowering to realize this because instead of staying stuck and blinded by our frustration and despair, we can start to ask ourselves "what would I rather experience instead?", "where would I rather be?", "what would I prefer?" By taking our focus off what's dragging us down, we stop hemorrhaging all our energy into negative thoughts and we can start to move towards our desires. Feeling bad allows us to understand what we really want, but we have to be able to get up, figure out what that is, and go get it. A good place to start is to gravitate towards whatever brings us a feeling of relief. What can you do today that will give you that sense of relief? For me, it's going outside, getting some fresh air and sunshine. Thanks for reading, have a good week!

Warmly,

Lise
Health Coach / Reiki Master
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Shit Happens. Are We Going To Let it Control Us?

I was in Cuba a couple weeks ago, splashing around in the warm, turquoise waters of the Caribbean. Our little group was discussing what makes a good vacation. Was it the hotel amenities? The food? The company? The beach? We concluded that a combination of all these things made somewhat of a difference on our overall level of enjoyment, but the most determinant variable was our state of mind. Were we committed to having a good time from the start, or were we ready to complain at the first inconvenience?

Before booking this trip, we all read the Trip Advisor reviews to have a better idea of the environment we were about to immerse ourselves in, but the truth is, we never have full control over our circumstances, no matter how much we prepare ourselves. Shit happens. This rule doesn't just apply to our vacations, obviously, it applies to our daily life. The good news is that even though we have limited control over our external circumstances, we have full control over what happens in our inner-landscape. By inner-landscape, I mean our thoughts, our emotions, our perceptions and our reactions.

Let me illustrate this with an example. First, we think a thought (such as "this hotel room sucks, I got ripped off"). Thoughts automatically translate into emotions in our body, so we may suddenly start to feel frustrated, even angry. Now all our perceptions become tainted with this anger, so we're more likely to notice more things that justify and increase our frustration. "I can't believe they gave me this crappy room, I don't want to be stuck in this dump, it will ruin my vacation." Next thing we know, we are yelling at the reception, having a full-blown tantrum that doesn't get us anywhere because no other rooms are available!

Thankfully, the story didn't end up like this for me, but I did have a below-average room in Cuba. The air-conditioner, safe and fridge were out of order, the room was full of mosquitoes and was on the first level, which was very loud with no view at all. I didn't feel good in this room, so I decided to use this negative situation to my advantage. I learned fairly recently that any time we are feeling bad and don't like what's going on around us, it's a golden opportunity to clearly affirm what we would like to experience instead. It takes a little effort to remember this at times, but our thoughts really do create our reality, so staying stuck in negativity and complaining about what we don't like only brings us more of what we are focusing on -bad things!

I began to imagine myself in a nicer, quieter room, higher up, with a beautiful view of the ocean. That felt good, and I truly believed it was possible to make this happen. I calmly went to the reception, explained my case, but was told there were no other rooms available. They told me to try my luck again tomorrow. I did, and was very pleased to be upgraded to the top floor, corner room with no neighbours, ocean view, with a complimentary bottle of Rhum! The maid even made beautiful swans, boats and animals with the towels every day! I was very grateful for this turn of events, it made my vacation even better than I decided it was going to be!

So I got upgraded, no big deal right? The point I'm trying to make here is that I could have arrived at this same result more aggressively, by complaining, by resisting, by raising my voice, by thinking and feeling thoughts/emotions that are unpleasant and create unnecessary stress for myself and others. That was a choice I had. Acting up and being demanding doesn't mean we'll get what we want faster, on the contrary. We're not naturally conditioned to act this way, but if we're able to be crystal clear about what we want instead of resisting the hand that's been given to us, we actually have more power to alter our circumstances.

So when the food is repetitive and cold, the mosquitoes are eating us alive and the pool smells like sewage, we still have control over how we are going to interpret our reality! Can we actively do something to change our situation? If the answer is yes, we can focus on taking action without falling into the trap of negativity, complaining and resistance. If the answer is no, we might as well focus on something that will make us feel better, unless we want to attract more negative circumstances our way! It's a matter of perception.

What determines if we are going to be happy or unhappy is not actually the events and circumstances that are occurring in our lives, it's always our personal interpretation of these events! We can have complete control over our inner-landscape if we learn to observe and tame our monkey-mind. Once we master this, nobody / nothing has the power to make us react any more. I'll let you know when I get there! It may take a couple more lifetimes! ;)

Warmly,

Lise
Health Coach and Reiki Master
www.lisevilleneuve.com

"Mom, You Are Waking Up My Pain-Body!"

Something pretty cool happened this morning, but first, let me back up a little. Yesterday, as the kids and I were enjoying lunch, I was telling them about the realization I had this week. I wrote about it in my previous blog (Help! What Is Happening To Me?). In short, I told the kids that I was in a horrible mood for a few days but couldn't really put a finger on the exact cause. Well, this mood of mine turned out to be quite a lesson for all of us!

I explained to them that our thoughts create our emotions, so generally, when we start to feel bad, we can ask ourselves what thoughts may have created these negative emotions. Of course, the majority of our thoughts are involuntary and unconscious, which makes this exercise challenging at times. In my case, my dark mood just seemed to come out of nowhere, and being in that negative state of mind almost felt addictive and pleasurable. Emma said "Yes, I feel that way too sometimes when I'm in a bad mood. I kind of like it and I don't want to stop it." I then added "You're right, and I think I figured out why negativity, complaining and resistance have this addictive, pleasurable quality to them, which make them feel almost normal and beneficial to us." Why, mom?

Because they strengthen our ego. It's a tricky thing to explain the ego to children, but I basically told them that the ego is not the "real you". The real you is your spirit, and the ego includes your thoughts, your emotions, your physical body, your reactions and your opinions. I said "you see this cup? You can look at it, touch it, smell it, right? You are observing the cup, but you are not the cup." It's kind of the same thing with your thoughts, emotions and reactions. You can observe them, feel them, acknowledge them, but they are not the real you. The ego wants to make you believe that the real you IS those things, but that's an illusion! The real you is the awareness behind these things that are "happening" in your life, in your body, in your mind.

Why does the ego trick us like this? Because it's basically a big scaredy-cat! It's afraid of not being important enough, it's afraid of being alone. The ego believes it's separate from everything, but your true self knows that it's connected to everyone and everything. So, when we are negative, when we complain, it feels good to our ego because we tell it how "right" it is and how separate we are from everyone / everything else. In reality, we've just been punked by our ego!

Where am I going with this? Well, keeping our negative thoughts in check and focusing on positive ones instead is certainly a step in the right direction, but this still feeds our ego! Why? Because we are still identified with our thoughts! We are still deriving our sense of identity from our mind, instead of being the witness of our thoughts. And? We'll, that's fine, but it will inevitably create suffering for us. For as long as we identify with our ego (i.e, we take things very personally as opposed to witnessing them from a higher, more neutral perspective), we will keep feeding that inner-field of energy that holds all our suppressed pain and negative emotions. Yup, I'm talking about the "pain-body."

No matter how positive you are, if your sense of self is ego-based, your pain-body will eventually wake up from its dormant stage and feed on the negativity your ego craves! The pain-body is like a hungry monster hiding inside each one of us. Once he comes out, he can be very hard to control. He makes us feel angry, he makes us say and do things we regret sometimes, he makes us believe we "are" it. But we know better now, don't we? We are not our thoughts, our emotions and our reactions, we are the witness behind these. All we can do when the monster comes is to be as present as possible and let the emotions pass without fuelling them with more negative thoughts. Emma said this sounded "really freaky". She's right!

And now for the more entertaining part of this story. This morning, Theo (5) came into my room and started to get angry about something he wanted immediately. I told him he was going to have to be a little more patient, then he started threatening to hit me, he started taking some of my things and even shouted. Before I even said a word, he paused, looking reflexive. I said "what?". He replied "you remember what we talked about yesterday at lunch?" Yes, I said. He continued with "you are waking up my pain-body!" I was amazed! I congratulated him for noticing that. "You felt it in your body, didn't you, and you noticed it! Good for you!" And just like that, the mood stopped! I have to say, my ego felt validated!

However, about 20 minutes later, the monster came back...with a vengeance! Theo was now yelling, kicking, he was furious because his sister accepted to do the job he had refused. I know that it's during these times that we especially need to be present with our kids. Putting them in a time-out is like saying "shut up, what you are feeling is not important, your tantrum is inconvenient for me right now." Instead, it's our job to help them navigate their feelings and to show them appropriate ways to express their overwhelming emotions. The truth is, all emotions are acceptable, they are a part of being human, and when they are not allowed to be expressed, they remain in the body and eventually create neurosis and illness.

Theo is very aware that hitting is not acceptable. He knows the immediate consequence for hitting (he loses money from his earnings jar), and when he does, I simply say "you know hitting is not acceptable" and I take the money away without getting emotional, angry or reactive. I try to remain as present as possible. As long as he is not doing something inappropriate or harmful, I let him express his anger, and I try to validate his point of view. "When Emma decided to do the job you refused to do, that made you very angry, didn't it?" This usually helps to calm him down. I also remind him that it's ok to feel the way he does, and that soon, he will feel better. I tell him that I love him and that I want to help him feel good again. The rest is all about being fully present, non-reactive and patient. I remind myself not to take this tantrum personally. Theo calmed down, came and sat on me, I gave him some cuddles, and the storm was over. The pain-body expressed itself and then went back into its dormant stage once again. Thank you, Life, for giving us these intense "Pain-Body 101" lessons! Until the next time!

Warmly,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Help! What Is Happening To Me? (Part 2)

If you missed part 1 of this story, you can catch up here: http://lisevilleneuve.blogspot.ca/2015/03/help-what-is-happening-to-me.html

Once upon a time, not so long ago, this horrible, sudden, unexplainable mood fell over me. All I knew for sure was that this negativity was coming from a deep, dark, unconscious place. I desperately wanted to understand it, rise above it and feel "normal" again. So, I combined the knowledge and information that I had about resistance, negative thoughts, negative emotions, the ego and the pain-body (Eckhart Tolle) to make sense of it all. This is what I came up with...

Essentially, I was unsuspectingly abducted by my hungry pain-body. Lol. What that means is that all the negative, painful emotions that I suppressed or denied since childhood decided to pay me a little visit. The purpose of the visit was to "feed itself" off my negativity, by hijacking my brain and making it produce more compulsive, negative thoughts. You don't believe me? Just ask Eckhart Tolle! The pain-body is essentially created by a false sense of self (the ego). It has to "feed" every so often to sustain itself. This energy field of residual pain has triggers from the past that wake it from its dormant stage. It then becomes a highly charged and reactive seeker of unhappiness. It's almost like a psychic parasite that makes its host believe they are the ones needing the negativity and the drama. Sounds like sci-fi, doesn't it?

The reason why hanging on to my dark mood felt somehow pleasurable now makes sense. The negativity was misperceived by my ego as pleasure, because it was actually strengthening itself in the process. When we complain, resist, blame and resent, we reinforce the illusion of separation, of "the other", and we defend and justify our "rightness". For some reason, we believe that our negativity will somehow help us get what we want faster. Actually, it will do the exact opposite, it will give us more of what we don't want! Why? Because we get what we focus on, period.

So no wonder I had trouble identifying the exact source of this malaise that seemed to come out of the blue. I had long forgotten about the pain-body! I was relieved to read the following:

"When you feel the pain-body, don't fall into the error of thinking there is something wrong with you. Making yourself into a problem -the ego loves that. The knowing needs to be followed by accepting. Anything else will obscure it again. Accepting means you allow yourself to fell whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. It is part of the is-ness of the Now. You can't argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you suffer." -Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

I guess this time I was not present enough to notice the pain-body's coup d'état. Darn it. I've gotten pretty good at tuning in to my body to detect the presence of negative thoughts and emotions, and I'm fully aware of the ego's tactics (holding everyone and everything else responsible for my own pain). The next step I hope to master is the disidentification from my thoughts, emotions and reactions. In other words, can I learn to be the awareness, the conscious presence that simply witnesses the thoughts, emotions and reactions without deriving my sense of self from them? Until then, I will continue to practice positive thinking!

Can you think of a time when your pain-body suddenly became active and fed on the negativity and drama in your life?

Warmly,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Help! What Is Happening To Me? (Part 1)

As usual, my blog posts are inspired by real events that I recently experience. I like to write about topics that are personally challenging and allow expansion, evolution and  growing awareness. This time, the subject is on negativity, and it took me a couple of days to get my thoughts together, because I was confused as hell. Here's what happened...

I was feeling good and everything was fine in my life until BAM! It felt like this dark, heavy cloud of negativity hung over me for almost a week. I'm not talking about PMS here! It was so intense and overwhelming, and I had no clue what the cause was. For example, I was shovelling the snow outside (an activity I generally enjoy because of the fresh air and exercise), and my thoughts were angry, obsessive-compulsive and irrational. I can't even tell you exactly what I was thinking about, it was so random, but the overall theme was intense resistance. As I was trying to find some awareness amid the storm, it occurred to me that my thoughts were trying to put the blame on "this or that" as a source of the dark mood, but none of it made sense. Ironically, I coach people and help them turn negative states into positive affirmations, so I was trying hard to will my way out of this one, but I failed miserably. What I noticed was that part of me didn't want to let go of the negativity! Hanging on to that mood was somehow giving me a sense of pleasure! How weird is that?

As my thoughts continued to downward spiral, I felt my body convert all these negative messages into negative emotions. Now I was feeling irritation, impatience, resentment, anger...and guilt, for feeling this way! The worst part was that I had no idea WHY all this was going on! Perhaps because I know that nothing outside of us is ever really responsible for our pain, and I'm aware that the little "stories" we like to make up about why we feel the way we do are often superficial. What I did know was that this angst was coming from a deep, unconscious place.

What was I to do? As much as I was trying to hide it, my mood was still affecting my sensitive kids. Rob was away (lucky him). I thought of blaming it all on him, but that wasn't satisfying enough ;) I was able to witness just how contagious this toxic energy was.

Well, I finally figured it out, (thank god), and I feel like myself again.What I discovered really opened my eyes...

Stay tuned for part II of this story coming soon!

Warmly,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com