The return of the sun

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"Within Each Of Us There Is A Silence, A Silence As Vast As The Universe. And When We Experience That Silence, We Remember Who We Are."
~Gunilla Norris
 

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As we welcome the Winter Solstice, the sun transitions into Capricorn (my sun sign!), and we welcome the return of the sun! This is a potent time for rebirth; and the slow, symbolic awakening from darkness into the light. Our emergence from hibernation is slow, steady...deliberate. As we stretch and grow into the next season, the sun brings with it, hope; and warms the seeds that we plant this season to burst forth and bloom in the seasons ahead.  

And on the heels of the solstice, comes New Years; where we gather together to welcome in a fresh start. A new beginning. Reflecting on the past, we celebrate all the wonderful moments we had...and are also grateful for all we learned from the hard times in the past year.

Looking forward to the future, we express our hopes and intentions for the new year; showing gratitude for life and another chance to better ourselves and the world around us.

So, have you thought about your "word of the year"?
What intentions will you set for the next turn of the sun? Mindfulness? Balance? Transformation? Surrender? These are just a few words you could choose to empower you! There are no rules! But it is important to take this sacred and symbolic time, to realign our vibration and reconnect with our inner wisdom; and choosing a word of intention can help empower us through the year ahead! After some meditation, I chose "TOGETHER". There is so much we can good we can create together. So much light we can bring to darkness. So much healing we can bring to pain; if only we connect and create it together. Connection is what my heart deeply knows to be what many of us need right now in order to heal so many wounds of the earth and of humanity.

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Together we stand strong.
Together we tear down walls.
Together we burn bridges and build new ones.
Together we change the world.
Together we fucking RISE.
They don't know that together we ARE the lotus...
rising slowly through the darkness.

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So my intention is to show up. TOGETHER. To create beauty. To create connection, communication and healing. To create change. To do what *I* can do WITH my fellow humans to create a better world for all of us. This is my commitment to myself and my fellow humans.

And just as we create intentions for new beginnings, we must know what to release from the past. We are not the same as we were last year, and we won't be the same next year. We are continually evolving. We must release what we are in order to become who we are meant to be. This year, let us step into a new story. We must ask ourselves what we need to let go of this season; and what seeds we want to plant for the year ahead?

Let us take this time to set our intentions and watch as the year unfolds.  What word or words will you choose to empower you through the next turn around the sun? I would love to hear yours!  

My hope for us is that somehow, someway, we find some kind of beauty in our transitions; in the metaphorical thresholds of ourselves and humanity. No matter what, let us try to find some way to celebrate...because, LIFE! Let us LIVE while we are alive and LOVE because it is the purpose and what we will return to. I hope everyone has a wonderful year ahead!

Whatever you do...
Live, laugh, love
Eat the cheesecake
Have the glass of wine
Dream from your heart
Create adventures
Choose forgiveness, choose love, choose hope. 
Choose life.

Sending you love, Natasha

Turn on the light

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"As A Child, I Never Imagined That All Of The Real Monsters In The World Would Be Humans."~ Mobeen Hakeem
 

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We tell our children that monsters only exist in the darkness and that to make them disappear and not live in fear, all you need to do is to turn on the light. 

But the only true and living, breathing monsters live within us; in the dark places of our hearts...whether by nature, nurture or trauma. So what shall we do to rid ourselves of our monsters?...

The answer to the problem is the same. To acknowledge the fear, stare them down as we turn the light on our darkness...our monsters. To realize they first exist in our own minds and hearts, and then make their way into the world, destroying everything in their path. Until we shine a light on them, on ourselves, our monsters will always be lurking in the shadows.

It's time to invite them to speak with us; ask them the questions. Get the answers. And begin to heal. 

Love, Natasha

Dancing through the flames

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"What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through The Fire."~ Charles Bukowski
 

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Autumn is the season for going inward and reflecting on the lessons we have learned and acknowledging what we still have to work through during the season ahead.  It is important during this time to be honest with ourselves and open our hearts to healing and growth.  That honesty may not always be pretty; but there is beauty and healing in embracing the light and the darkness.  Healing and growth cannot happen unless we are willing to dig deep, really get in there and face our dark places.  

Some days the process of facing our darkness and uncovering old wounds, will feel painful.  HARD.  It is in those moments we get to choose to heal, to let those things go and to "CHOOSE HAPPINESS".  And you're probably sitting there thinking, "Easier said than done!", am I right?!  Well, sometimes happiness is not just a feeling, but an action.  It doesn't always feel joyous at first.  Choosing happiness is an act of seeing the light in the darkness, the wisdom in the wound, and to SEE the beauty in who we are becoming.  

Look.  Honestly, I lose my shit ALL THE TIME.  I am not some super zen master or anything.  (Although, that is the end goal, right?  hehe)  I have to practice choosing positivity like everyone else.  When you get stuck in that tunnel of negativity, your practice of choosing happiness will help pull you out of the darkness.  NO ONE has ALL their shit together, my loves.  We must lift the veil of the illusion that we have it all together 100% of the time.  I am an extremely emotional being; like my hubby says, "You are calm like a river and furious like an ocean."  And that is the TRUTH!  I am a woman on fire with life; I have moments of being in the flow and moments when I am a passionate, fiery force to be reckoned with and it's not always a good thing!  ha!  It's about balance.  And it is OKAY to acknowledge all your emotional facets and embrace them; but for your well being, you can't stay in those fires that no longer serve you, or you'll burn to the ground.  It is a constant practice of choosing, and it IS your choice.  It is choosing to see the good that can come from the bad.  The silver linings.  And it is NOT always easy.  But slowly over time, it will being to transform your outlook on life, and your practice will become second nature.

Think of all we have been through, and made it through in the past.  Think about how far we have come.  We don't have to face things the way we used to; kicking and screaming like a stubborn child.  We are not weak.  We have the choice, the strength and the ability to look at ourselves, our wounds and our situations with a peaceful and open heart and approach them with love to soften things even if just a bit.  When shit gets tough, I repeat this little mantra I wrote to remind me of my strength and inner fire even in this vulnerable season.  I hope it empowers you as well.  (Warning: Curse words ahead, duh!  ha)

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Mantra for Choosing Happiness...

I am Love.
I find peace within myself.
Because I choose happiness, happiness finds me.
I can make my inner flame burn away anger
and light a new fire within me.
When fields burn, forests grow in their place.
I get to choose how I react.
I get to choose what I am.
I am the fucking FOREST!
I am LOVE.

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Open your heart to all the love and full, empowering abundance and happiness that is your soul birthright.  You deserve all the happiness in the world.  May you find the peace, love and happiness you are searching for; but know that it comes only from within your own heart.  No one can give it to you and no one can take it away from you, except for you.  And there is so much power in that.  

Choosing happiness does not mean everything is always going to be perfect.  It means being able to see the good that can come from the struggles and growing because of it.  It means going within your heart and using the flames to light the darkened corners and burn that shit down and rebirth.  Choose happiness....it doesn't always mean the path will be easier, but it makes it worth it.
 

Love, Natasha

Ebb + Flow

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"Nature has a way of reminding us, that all things great and small, ebb and flow in rhythm with the heartbeat of her call."~ Gabriella Goddard
 

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There is something about the snowfall; the cleanse in the winter. A reminder of the ebb and flow of seasons and of life. To savor all its moments in all their forms. And yet winter still reminds us...that there will be a spring.

Not allowing things to ebb and flow creates resistance. It has taken me all year to finally get into a space where I have been able to cultivate some flow and mmmm it feels so good! It is amazing how when you ALLOW things to flow and just work with where you are in the moment, things really start flowing better! There is a lot less tension, resistance, therefore a lot less anxiety.

How do you honor your own ebb and flow? How will you honor your heartbeat this season? What seeds will you plant this winter, to come alive in the spring? I would love for you to share with me!

Love, Natasha

Light in the darkness

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"Who Has Seen A Shadow Separated From The Light?"~ RUMI
 

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The time of the Sun...for awakening, the bursting forth of life, has passed once again. And Autumn, with its crisp air and bare branches, is signaling the coming of Winter, the time of the shadows...the souls' season for turning inward; a time for reflection and to explore our own shadow.  This is a wonderfully sacred time of peering into our darkness in search of the light; facing those pieces of ourselves we like to forget, that we tuck away into the darkened corners of our hearts like dusty, unloved books. Keeping them hidden from the world, and from ourselves. Autumn is the season for shedding what is not needed...a symbolic death that allows for rebirth.

With the movement from sunlight to shadows, this time can feel heavy and cold, not unlike the snowfall of winter blanketing delicate, withering flower petals. Soul work is not cozy and comfortable. Lifetimes are spent dodging these shadows; and they can shatter us, leave us feeling broken, battered and bruised. Our wounds, our weaknesses...facing those fears can be a lonely and vulnerable space. But within that space is healing, expansion and peace for our hearts. Your heart is your home. Your shadow and light are pieces of you. You are safe to embrace your WHOLENESS; for there is wisdom in the wound and beauty in the unraveling.

There is perhaps nothing more loving, no greater act of self-love, than to embrace that wholeness. When we gather the courage to plunge into the depths of our heart and soul, and hold the mirror to ourselves, we shatter illusions. Freeing ourselves to step into the shadowy and sunlit wilderness of the soul; showing our kindreds that it is safe for them to explore and embrace their own. Let us shine a light that allows us to guide each other, to witness each other...in all the
beauty...
the mess...
the rise and the fall...
and the healing, as we come home to ourselves.
When we share our souls bare naked to the world, we get to live authentically in all our beautiful mess. Our wholeness...we break away from the cage of shame and lonliness and become truly FREE.

In the fall, the earth surrenders. Releasing the leaves that no longer give it depth and life. The old drifts away with the wind, to make space for all that is to come soon. We are nature; a continual evolution of our soul. This is a sacred journey that restores and renews our spirits, awakening us to grow into what we will become. Allow nature to be your mirror; flow with ease through your seasons, balancing your sunlight and darkness. Plant the seeds that you will nourish over the cold, winter months and ready them to burst forth into the light of a new season.

Allow your heart to be a beacon that illuminates what needs to be brought into the light this season. Let it be your guide in the darkness.

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Surrender-Embrace-Rebirth
 

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Love, Natasha

♥ "Light in the Darkness" originally appeared in the Bohemian Collective Magazine- Fall 2015 issue! You can purchase your copy here!

Let's grab some coffee together + chat...

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Imagine for a moment, that we are gathered around a
campfire-
sharing slivers of our hearts; our skin adorned with the soft glow of the moon.
The flames our altar...where we release the stories that no longer serve us.
The fireflies our witnesses...offering us guiding lights back to our hearts' truth.
Here, in this sacred space...I would be humbled and honored to hold your stories
and be a safe place for your heart to rest.

Connecting through sharing our stories is medicine. So drop me a love note-
and let the healing begin...

Love, Natasha

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