Wisdom Wednesday

How to Use Empathy Effectively

Learning How to Use Empathy Effectively

Read Learning How to Use Empathy Effectively blog post by Genevieve Gerard

Empathy is an ability with many different definitions.

They cover a broad spectrum, ranging from caring for other people and having a desire to help them, to experiencing emotions that match another person’s emotions, to knowing what the other person is thinking or feeling.

According to Simple English Wikipedia, empathy is a word that means that someone is able to share or understand the emotions and feelings of another person.

I believe empathy is a gift.  However, for some who are awakening to their higher power, their Soul, it can be a challenge.

From reading many recent posts on Social Media, it is clear to me that empathy is rarely understood.  Those who are striving to be of help and service to humanity in this powerful time are often unaware of the higher purpose of being an empath and more importantly understand how empathy works.

I wrote this post because,

Learning how to use empathy effectively is an essential part of the process of spiritual awakening.
        – Genevieve Gerard

The openness of your energy field to the emotions and pain of others can be very useful when you are trying to heal another person.  However, when you are only moving through your life and find yourself feeling the pain and feelings that are not your own, it can be confusing.  Part of the process of empathy emerging in your consciousness is for you to learn to identify what comes from your individual consciousness and what is from your expanded consciousness.

There are some truths about empathy that I will explain briefly in this post along with some techniques and practices that can be helpful.

One truth is that spiritual gifts, like empathy, emerge spontaneously.  On the other hand, they may be difficult to integrate into modern life in our modern world.

We do not live in a society where spiritual experiences are explored and talked about or explained in daily life as a natural part of life.  As more and more individuals are facing the challenges of awakening without the support and guidance of a guide or mentor, confusion, and misunderstandings abound.

One of the advantages is this process of awakening is happening too many and not to only one individual.  However, the danger of these phenomena emerging outside of traditional spiritual instruction is the plethora of misunderstanding and misinformation that can be rapidly spread as well-meaning people struggle to teach others beyond what they know.

Recognizing that you know what you know, and recognizing that
you do not know what you do not know — this is knowledge.
       – Confucious

For many centuries, the source materials for volumes of spiritual knowledge have been kept secret and behind a veil.  In earlier times the Ageless Wisdom was revealed under the guidance of a master who worked with an individual or a group of students in a spiritual community that supported the nurturance and unfolding of their spiritual gifts.

In those times and under those conditions empathy was understood as an evolving part of a spiritual journey.

In our modern society, a spiritual journey is often not only misunderstood but since it is an experience outside of “consensus reality”, it may be labeled, diagnosed and medicated away.

If you are undergoing a process of spiritual awakening, it may be helpful to have a guide to the changes of enlightened awareness that can protect you from the danger of the misuse of your gift which can lead to misery and discomfort.

These risks are unique to our times and the trappings of our modern society.  When someone’s empathy gifts are emerging, and they begin to realize they are feeling the pains and emotions of others they most often suffer in silence.  When you share what you are experiencing to those who have never had the same experience you stand a good chance of being judged as crazy.  Worse still, you may judge yourself as crazy.

Fortunately, the emergence of the concept of empathy into consciousness groups gives some framework with which to begin to understand this strange reality.  However, although this loose explanation within social networking groups may be sufficient to provide a label that enables you to realize that you are not crazy, it falls short of teaching you how to use your gift without harming either yourself or those you seek to aid.  Knowing that you are not the only person who feels and experiences other people’s pain and emotions, falls short of teaching you how to use your gift for the service and support of others on their life journey.

Likewise, how empathy can be utilized as a dynamic part of your life journey is still missing.  What you can do to wield your gift from a centered and calm perspective is rarely addressed.  What you can do to protect yourself from the pain and raging emotions of others is a source of much confusion and misinformation.

How you incorporate your empathy into your social relationships is also important.  There are both ethical issues and issues of right relationship that you need to consider.  Your empathetic gift which has the underlying purpose of enabling you to be of help and healing to people can create harm if not used with compassion and understanding.

Certainly helping is the intention of most of those blessed with empathetic vision.  It is doubtful that you would have ever received the spiritual gift of empathy if you wanted it to harm others.

However, in all spiritual endeavors as in all of life, there is always the danger of unintended consequences.  It is to avoid those unintended consequences that it is important that you learn to use your empathy to heal, not hurt.

Most importantly, that also means to learn how to be an empath without hurting and harming yourself.

As I read through the hundreds of problems in posts shared on social media, I have become increasingly aware that adjusting to empathy without an underlying understanding and structure of the why and how to use the gift is a problem for many.

Using the gift of empathy effectively identifies some basic principles that are of great importance to understand.  Learning to recognize what is coming to you empathetically and then being able to discriminate and differentiate it from your personal thought reactions and feelings is an important first step.

Discernment and discrimination are of vital importance to use your gift of empathy in a way that both is of healing help to those around you without creating harm or hurt in your life.

Meditation is a valuable tool in helping you to do this.  It is also important to have a way to transcend, transform and transmute those emotions in yourself, and as a healer in others.  Part of being an effective healer and efficient as an empath is learning mastery of your emotions. Ponder on this.

Understanding your emotions is a significant step in your spiritual evolution, and it is often a challenge that happens concurrently with the emergence or increase in the spiritual gift of empathy.

Mastering your emotions is a significant life challenge.  Taking that mastery to a level where you can work with healing the emotions of others requires a deeper understanding of the nature of the emotional body and how you interact energetically with others.

 

Feel Free of All Negative Emotions

Understanding emotions are so important that in my body of work I created two different products from the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom to explain emotional transmutation.

The shorter (10 minute) version is called, “I Am Feeling Free.”  It allows you to learn to calm strong emotions and transmute fears and doubts. The longer and more technically complex guided training called “Feeling Free” takes about 20 minutes and is a guide to feeling free forever of all negative emotions.

Check out these short guided trainings on Amazon:

I Am Feeling Free Meditation MP3 by Genevieve Gerard

 

I Am Feeling Free:
Learn to Calm Strong Emotions and Transmute Fears and Doubts

 

 

Feeling Free Guided Training by Genevieve Gerard

 

Feeling Free: 
Guide to Feel Free Forever of All Negative Emotions

 

 

Both involve learning to master your emotions and transmute and transform the energy.  Feeling Free is especially valuable for an empath because when you do it with the added intention of clearing and raising the emotional energy of everyone in the room it impacts the experience of everyone as a healing event.

 

Empathy Is A Gift

What is most empowering and significant to understand about being an empath is that not only are you aware of the emotions and hurts of others but that the purpose of that awareness is to empower you to help heal those hurts.  That is why empathy is considered a spiritual gift, and not as you may fear it to be a spiritual curse.

Using the universal law that “energy follows thought” makes intention a most powerful tool for an empath.  Part of the education of an empath is to enable them to use their empathy as a healing tool for the betterment of others.  That is the higher purpose for which the gift is available to Lightworkers and Light-bearers.

It is important to understand that as an Empath when you transmute, transform and transcend your negative emotions you (with intention) have the power to impact the vibration and emotional pain of all who are around you.  That is why Empathy is a gift and power you must learn to use wisely with discrimination and discernment. 

 

How to Use Empathy Effectively

Meditating upon these issues is helpful.  Clearing your emotional field is essential. Understanding how to do that and incorporating emotional mastery into your life as a healer is also one of the keys.

Compassion and respect are essential elements of using your empathetic gift.  Practicing kindness and learning to be non-judgemental are attributes that are important to master.

Recently, as a lifetime student of the Ageless Wisdom, and a lifelong meditator who is also a healer and an empath, I have been feeling directed to offer an opportunity for empaths to learn and grow into how to better understand their gift.

Since I can only explain and write so much in a blog post, I am willing to offer my experience and wisdom as a longtime counselor, life coach, and healer, to teach and train those interested in learning to master their empathic gift through a series of webinars.

I will begin with a general webinar for those who need and desire this information.  If you are interested, you are invited!

Please simply join my community email list (I will only send out things occasionally and promise never to flood you with email) if you would like to be notified about the webinar.  When the time is right, I will then contact you personally by email to invite you to join the online event.

Out of the first empathy webinar event (and experience) and based on the needs and interest of the participants, I will develop a series of educational webinars on How to Use Empathy Effectively.

I trust the wisdom of the universe to attract to this event those who can grow and learn from it.  I encourage you to trust the knowledge of your internal guidance to know if this is something that would benefit you or a close friend.

If you are interested in learning more about how empathy works and how you can master your empathy gift, please opt-in above with your email and I will notify you about the webinar and any further articles I write on empathy.

You, as an empath have been given a powerful ability to having a healing presence and impact on those around you.  But you need to learn how to use your gift without taking on the emotions and pains of those you endeavor to help and heal.

To not learn that mastery and the Ancient Wisdom can make empathy a painful journey in a modern world where what you are experiencing is outside of the understanding of the world around you.

As a longtime empath, helping those who are awakening with the gift of empathy to understand it and use it effectively is something I have been directed to do in my meditations.  If you wish to learn more about How to Use your Spiritual Gift of Empathy, these webinars are for you.

 

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 11-13-2018

 

Copyright © 2016-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

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Universal Prayer for Peace

A Universal Prayer for Peace

Read Universal Prayer For Peace by Genevieve Gerard

Divine Creator,

Today we join as a group to petition and pray for peace.

We know that by coming together and working together, we are attracting and activating Divine help and intervention. 

We may not all use the same words or names but You who are the Lord of All, see into our hearts and minds as we join our Souls in unity with purpose to pray for peace today. 

We ask that You:

Let our prayers become a mighty force to transform the world.

As we invoke Peace around the world, we are bold to imagine that blessing for all of your children everywhere.

We pray for Peace in our time as we recognize the deep need in all the world for the miracle of Divine intervention.

Too long has hate and fear marred the amazing creation we are on earth.

Too long has brother risen against brother in endless often meaningless wars.

Too long has humanity turned away from Love.  Yet, You our Divine Creator, are Love. 

It is through Love that we can know and experience your grace. 

It is through Love that our lives can be transformed.

It is through Love that we can find forgiveness for our most unforgivable errors.

It is through Love that we find the brotherhood and oneness of our unity as humanity.

It is through Love that this world can be a sacred place, a safe place for all of Your creation.

Fill the hearts and minds of all of humanity with Your Divine Love.

We ask that people everywhere see that separateness is an illusion and realize that they cannot harm another without harming themselves.

We pray that revenge and retribution are dissolved by the miracles of Grace and Forgiveness.

We pray that Your Love and Your Light enter the hearts and minds of people everywhere to provide the strength to live a different way.

Let our prayers and petitions for peace empower all those who work for peace across the globe.

Let the vision of peace enter the hearts and minds of world leaders that they are inspired to create new solutions to old problems.

Let our prayers and petitions for peace embolden people to refuse war and hatred with a call for Love and brotherhood to all their governments.

Open hearts and minds to the possibilities that peace can bring.

Open our eyes to see the potential of life to grow and evolve when offered the freedom of peace.

We pray to you Divine Creator, in the name of all that is Holy and aligned with you to bring Your ways and Your Will into manifestation here on planet earth. 

We pray most fervently for peace in our time.

Let peace transform the world today.

Amen.

 

Peace be with you,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

QUICK FACT: This post has been viewed 22,400 times. Check out our other related posts below and in the Hot Topics Sidebar.

 

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P.S. If you are moved by this prayer to join your heart, mind, and Soul to petition and pray for peace, please share it with all who may like to join in service to humanity to create peace in the world.

Let There Be Peace On Earth MP3 Meditation Special

P.P.S. To support your efforts for peace, my gift to you today (at no cost) is my Let There Be Peace On Earth  – New Group of World Servers Guided Meditation MP3.

 

Namaste!

 

Last updated 1-12-2020

 

Genevieve - Soulful

 

About the author:
Genevieve Gerard teaches Transformational Consciousness – from first awakening to enlightened Soul awareness. She helps you experience the joy that results from the spontaneous “touch of your soul.”

Read more details…

Genevieve has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and for over thirty years has worked one-on-one with people who were recovering from devastating disabilities and chronic pain. Teaching the mastery of the mind-body relationship she was one of the early professionals trained in biofeedback, visualization, imagery, and meditation as essential techniques to help people heal their bodies, heal their emotions, heal their minds, and heal their lives.

Genevieve’s work demonstrates what she knows so well, “It is spiritual connectedness that triggers physical healing and emotional and mental well-being.”  Helping people, like you, tap into your higher-self is the power she wields to guide you to heal and transform your life.

Now, with this understanding, she combines the effective techniques she developed over decades teaching mind-body mastery along with her extensive experience in meditation and spiritual development to create a synthesis of mind-body-spirit that delivers complete healing and opens the door to unlimited personal growth and an encounter with your Soul.

In addition to her current life guidance coaching sessions, and workshops performed around the world, Genevieve has produced more than 20+ guided meditations in the last eight years that are available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and her website.

It is her vision that through your experience with the techniques of awareness, visualization, and meditation, the love of your Soul will touch and transform your life through her writings and products. It is her sincere desire that the potential of a life of joy and celebration that seems to elude so many people can become a reality for you, now and forever.

Browse her life story and read the Touch of the Soul that changed her world. To contact Genevieve, visit her keep in touch page.

 

Copyright © 2016-2020 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

Universal Prayer for Peace Read More »

Create Peace in Your Heart and Mind

Create Peace in Your Heart and Mind

Read Create Peace in Your Heart and Mind, Wisdom Wednesday blog post by Genevieve Gerard

To be at peace in your heart and mind is a blessing.

One of the primary ways that meditation can influence and enhance your life is by helping you reach a state of peace.  The fruits of meditation are a calm mind and inner peace.

The human mind is a busy and very active place.  The non-stop chatter of your mind is a powerful factor that impacts your life in a variety of ways.  Learning to master the power of your mind affects your life in dynamic and dramatic ways.

Perhaps one of the most tangible benefits of learning to meditate is to begin to develop mastery of the undisciplined chatter of what ancient teachers of meditation have long called the “monkey mind.”

Buddha described the human mind as being filled with drunken monkeys, jumping around, screeching, chattering, and carrying on endlessly. The unfocused mind rambles and chatters.  This constant “thought noise” is called (Chitta).  It is with the content of your Chitta that many of your life problems are created.

The positive results of learning to quiet and calm the mind of its ceaseless chatter relate to a number of different aspects that impact your life.  The ability to reach a state of peace and calm in your mind and with your emotions has significant health implications. This is inner peace.

Inner Peace Creates Peace
     – Genevieve Gerard

Just to achieve a calm and peaceful state of mind is formidable.  By learning to discipline your mind and your thoughts, you open your life to a mastery that has a far-reaching influence on being successful and achieving your dreams.

Issues as far reaching as how well you cope with and manage your life stress have profound implications for your success in life.  How well you can sleep is also related to your ability to gain mastery over the chatter that seems to run continuously in the backdrop of your mind.  Achieving peace of mind is a significant factor that relates to how much you enjoy your life.  Therefore gaining mastery over your mind and emotions to achieve peace of mind and calmness is important.

One of the most amazing parts of the human mind and one of the most effective results that can be life changing involves an understanding of the creative power and potential of your mind.  A basic principle of thought that can either serve you or destroy your wellbeing is that “energy follows thought.” 

The principle of energy follows thought is what makes the “Law of Attraction” work to create miraculous results.  What it is easy to miss or fail to understand is that thought is a powerful form of energy.  When that thought is in the mind of a human being, thought is a primary creative force.

Part of the miracle of humanities creation is that the creator created you to create.  As a human being, you are endowed with a spark of Divine Light.  That spark of Divinity places you in a cooperative role with God as a co-creator of your life.

Your life has both meaning and a purpose.  You as a human being are a beloved child of God.  That imbues you with a creative or co-creative power with God.  The creative tool that directs the creation of your life is the energy that is generated by your thoughts. You can create peace within you!

That makes what you think important.  It is certainly much too important than to be ignored and allowed to run amok creating what you fear and worry about.  This is a danger as the undisciplined chatter of your thoughts creates problems and disasters in your life especially when you worry, focusing on what you fear.

Controlling your thoughts and, releasing your fear are the primary components that fuel the wisdom “Change your mind, and you can change your life” – GG

Focusing upon what you fear, what might happen and the tireless self-recriminations that I call the “should have, could have and ought’s” works against you.  Because of the powerful emotional charge that is generated by fear, fear can be not only the most limiting thought but also one of the most harmful.

Learning to harness the power of your mind and then to convert your thoughts into a powerful force that works for your benefit and success is one of the most significant advantages of meditation.  Ponder on what you can do to still your mind. What I have always found to be amazing is that the reality explored by great spiritual leaders and great business leaders reveal the same truth about the power of thought.

When the yogi starts to meditate, he must leave behind all sensory thoughts and all longings for possessions by quieting the waves of feeling (Chitta), and the mental restlessness that arises therefrom, through the application of techniques that reinstate the controlling power of the untrammeled super consciousness of the soul.
      – Paramahansa Yogananda

Your thought need not be mindless chatter that instructs the universe to create what you fear and worry about.  You can choose to use the miraculous power of your mind to create the life of your most amazing dreams.

The choice is yours.  You can live a life of unlimited possibilities with the potential to achieve as much as you dare to dream, or you can create the disasters you fear through worrying.  Of course, that choice is influenced by what you choose to think.  It is manipulated by the content of your thoughts and impelled by the energy of those thoughts.

Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.
      – Napoleon Hill

Thought Management is so potent and can be so transforming that it can appear to be magic.  However, it is grounded in universal principles.  This principle that “energy follows thought” and be the most useful instrument you can ever be given to impact your life.  Or conversely, can create terrifying limitations and anxiety as you create with your thoughts the disasters and failures that you fear.

I can think of no more practical reason to learn to gain mastery over your Chitta and your fears than the magnetic influence of thought.  Throughout the history of thought management, thought leaders and spiritual teachers are amazingly congruent on this point.

I find it both relevant and significant that the business world and the spiritual world are in agreement about how your mind impacts your life.

Of course, as a spiritual teacher, I advocate meditation as the tool to help you gain mastery of your thoughts.  However, one of the most effective explanations of this principle was written by a business leader Napoleon Hill in the 1920’s.  His book “Think and Grow Rich” explains the principles I am discussing from a business and success model.

In today’s post, I would like to offer you a gift of his book “Think and Grow Rich.” This is a free Adobe PDF of the full book that you can download and ponder on.  Although this book is a business tome, I have found it to be a very spiritual guidebook to help you fulfill your Soul or Life purpose. 

Making your life as joyous and successful as possible is spiritual work.  You can gain wisdom and mastery of your mind through meditation or the tools of success offered by business leaders.  Where and how you receive these concepts is unimportant.  That you learn and, more importantly, use these principles to empower and enhance your life is a blessing.

I leave you today with this final affirmation quote by the thought leader Louise Hays:

As my mind can conceive of more good, the barriers and blocks dissolve. My life becomes full of little miracles popping up out of the blue.
      – Louise L. Hay

   Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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If you wish to learn more about these concepts, I have created a brief resource list below that contains books by various thought leaders that you might enjoy reading.

 

Additional Suggested Reading Resources:

The Power Of Positive Thinking The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

 

Riches Beyond Your Reach by Robert Collier Riches Within Your Reach! Riches Beyond Your Reach by Robert Collier

 

You Can Heal Your Life You Can Heal Your LifeYou Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay by Louise Hay

 

Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz

 

Disclosure: The book links above, if used to purchase the book may provide me with a small affiliate commission (thank you for supporting my work.)

 

Last Updated 5-15-2019

 

Copyright © 2016-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

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The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule

Read The Golden Rule blog post by Genevieve Gerard

Not so long ago, the Golden Rule was seen as a guiding principle of right human relations.

It is a very simple basic way of determining behavior toward one another. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is simple. And, it provides a litmus test of what is right and fair in a myriad of situations. Because we all share the experience of our humanity, this rule has guided behavior from schoolyards to the halls of Congress for hundreds of years.

This simple yet profound moral compass pervaded decisions of determining right from wrong in a way that affirmed our unity. Embedded within that quiet determination were principles of responsibility for our interactions that presumed an interrelationship of a community. Inherent in posing the question at a decision-making juncture were absolute values that pervaded our thoughts and determined our interactions with one another down to very mundane and uncomplicated actions.

The very posing of this rule in determining our behavior toward another presumes a valuing of the other on a level of importance that is equal to our importance in life. This very act of valuing the life and experience of another on a par with our own already begins to correct the underlying problem we see in so many of the issues in our modern society –issues that seem to be insurmountable.

As the power of thought and intention are recognized, we find ourselves able to shift our paradigm. We return to considering that this ancient basic rule has far-reaching consequences in how we interact with others and with the world. I was taught that this rule, this “Golden Rule,” comes to us from the “Code of Hammurabi,” from time as ancient as that of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Is it possible that what was once kindergarten wisdom has been lost to our society, to both our danger and our detriment? Take five minutes to consider the world in which we currently find ourselves living, and the many little ways life would be vastly different if those in positions of power and authority put their decisions to this test.

Our Kids Understand The Golden Rule

Consider your family members, your neighbors, your coworkers, your employees, your customers; and think about how your life would be different and changed if, in those regular interactions, you made your decisions based on treating others as you want to be treated. Although the Golden Rule seems both straightforward and simplistic, if we as a society and a world would return to living this ancient wisdom it would have far-reaching consequences, righting much of what seems to be wrong in our modern times.

The principles of right action toward one another are often
simple to see but are not simple to do.
        ~ Genevieve Gerard

They require a valuing of others and a code of behavior that transcends much of what has in our modern times been elevated to acceptable behavior. Look at all of the damage that greed in business is doing to our world. The fact that there is even a business principle called planned obsolescence speaks to the ways our society has strayed from the logical results of living by the Golden Rule. The medical crisis, the housing crisis, the foreclosure crisis, the education crisis, and the unemployment crisis are just a few of our social problems that would be approached differently if the time-tested evaluations of the Golden Rule were applied.

The moral justifications that are moving away from this simple principle have created a slippery slope. Embracing this Rule once again will lay the groundwork for much of what must change in our society if we are going to thrive and survive into a future in which any of us wishes to live. History has demonstrated time and time again that selfishness and greed do not stop themselves. People must take a stand. They must choose. There is right action in the world and laws that help to maintain balance. This old rule, this Golden Rule, has within it the truth and wisdom to help us transform the world.

To bring the Golden Rule back into the collective thought-form of society has great power. In a civilized society, a principle of how it is right and more importantly how it is wrong to treat others is critical to maintain.

Since the Golden Rule has fallen away from being a standard of behavior that people demand and expect from one another, we have seen a rise in selfishness and greed that is both shameful and shocking. Somehow “looking out for number one” has developed into “it doesn’t matter what I do as long as I get what I want.”

This shift in our countries and our society’s moral compass has led to public servants serving their personal interests instead of considering the greater good of society as a whole. As I write these words, I remember as a child I was taught the quote below.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing.
        ~ Edmund Burke

As truth has become subverted by “spin doctors” selfishness and greed have been dressed up and disguised as success. Somehow those who were entrusted as the guardians of our society have fallen prey to the lies that what is good for business is unfettered freedom, without consideration of how the practices of the business affect the society as a whole. No longer does Wall Street believe that “what is good for Main Street is good for Wall Street.” Somehow, there is the illusion being propagated that what is good for Wall Street is good for the world.

We can look around us and see the disastrous results of this kind of governance. People have lost faith and confidence that the government serves the greater good. Special interests and the interests of only a small percent (the often discussed top 1%) seem to have bought and paid for those who were elected and designed to be the guardians of the people.

As I consider a whole array of society’s dangers from the stripping of the planet of the rainforests to the science of global warming, I realize that the failure to teach this ancient moral code of the Golden Rule has left our world in a dangerous place.

You can look around you and see the disastrous results of our civilization having forgotten this simple moral test. I know that I could create a long list of dangers and problems that seem to stem from this failure to consider the consequences of destroying the nature that has sustained humanity since time immemorial.

Today, as I consider the many problems that cry out for a solution I ask that this ancient simple moral code is brought back into the collective consciousness and conscience.

I ask you to “do unto others as you would like them to do to and for you” in your daily life and interactions with others. I ask that you use the Golden Rule as a standard you demand and expect from those who lead our society.

I call upon every member of Congress, every member of the Senate, local and national, every judge, and every leader of business and industry, to consider their decisions based upon this simple principle of “The Golden Rule” and become agents of the transformation our world requires.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

 

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Last updated 10-16-2019

 

Genevieve - Soulful

 

About the author:
Genevieve Gerard teaches Transformational Consciousness – from first awakening to enlightened Soul awareness. She helps you experience the joy that results from the spontaneous “touch of your soul.”

Read more details…

Genevieve has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and for over thirty years has worked one-on-one with people who were recovering from devastating disabilities and chronic pain. Teaching the mastery of the mind-body relationship she was one of the early professionals trained in biofeedback, visualization, imagery, and meditation as essential techniques to help people heal their bodies, heal their emotions, heal their minds, and heal their lives.

Genevieve’s work demonstrates what she knows so well, “It is spiritual connectedness that triggers physical healing and emotional and mental well-being.”  Helping people, like you, tap into your higher-self is the power she wields to guide you to heal and transform your life.

Now, with this understanding, she combines the effective techniques she developed over decades teaching mind-body mastery along with her extensive experience in meditation and spiritual development to create a synthesis of mind-body-spirit that delivers complete healing and opens the door to unlimited personal growth and an encounter with your Soul.

In addition to her current life guidance coaching sessions, and workshops performed around the world, Genevieve has produced more than 20+ guided meditations in the last eight years that are available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and her website.

It is her vision that through your experience with the techniques of awareness, visualization, and meditation, the love of your Soul will touch and transform your life through her writings and products. It is her sincere desire that the potential of a life of joy and celebration that seems to elude so many people can become a reality for you, now and forever.

Browse her life story and read the Touch of the Soul that changed her world. To contact Genevieve, visit her keep in touch page.

 

Copyright © 2013-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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What Would It Be Like If People Everywhere Practiced Kindness

What Would It Be Like If People Everywhere Practiced Kindness?

 Be Kind and read What Would It Be Like If People Everywhere Practiced Kindness by Genevieve Gerard

Recently I saw a quote from the Dalai Lama.  He said, “My Religion is very simple, my religion is kindness.” That led me to consider what it would be like if people everywhere practiced kindness.

It takes only a few moments in any situation to see how rare and extraordinary kindness is.  Even among friends and families, even while professing to love one another there is often cruelty.  In many groups teasing is disguised as affection.

When that is the norm, there is an emotional confusion between what you experience and what you know to be true in your inner self.  This confusion leads to misinterpreting what love is.

Is Teasing An Expression of Affection?

Teasing and sarcasm, two partners in cruelty disguised as love or affection are not kind.  They often hide mean-spirited anger that is a way of one-upmanship and denigrating and insulting another.

That the cruelty is delivered cleverly or playfully is designed to cover up the meanness.  And, the most damaging and harmful part of this way of relating with one another is that the person who is teasing and sarcastic claims to be showing affection.  This leaves the target of the teasing and sarcasm disempowered.  After all, says the attacker, “I was only teasing or playing.”

The playfulness or cleverness of the cruelty among those who practice this kind of behavior is supposed to render it harmless, but it never does.

This type of interaction still hurts, but the target is deprived of their expression of anger by the meanness being hidden in playfulness, being disguised as wittiness or affection.

What is so difficult about this kind of human interaction is that no matter how witty and clever the sarcastic quip may be, it still hurts.  That hurt is real and for you to be told that it is loving attention is confusing.  It is easy for a child to create confusion about what love is.

When I was a child teasing was a part of a lot of my interaction with adults.  There was one friend of the family who was relentlessly cruel, rarely stopping showing me his so-called affectionate attention until I was in tears.  Since he was “only teasing” I was not supposed to get upset.  In fact, he often ridiculed me for my tears, teasing me further about crying.

Although I had not thought of this childhood teasing or this adult in many years, I realize now how harmful that “play” was.  The most damaging part was not even the content of the teasing.  The most damaging part was the LIE that his meanness was an expression of love or affection.

Deep in my heart, even as a very young child, I knew that cruelty was not an expression of love.  Still, having the adults around me justified his meanness and created confusion about what it was to love.  That was where the real harm was created.

Truth is not only violated by falsehood;
it may be equally outraged by silence.
       – Henri Frederic Amiel

Each of us has within us an inner sense of truth and understanding of Right Action.  When parents, teachers, or social norms teach something that violates that inner voice, it is very confusing and damaging to a child.  A graphic example of this is when a child is abused and told it is love.

Sadly, childhood experiences of teasing or witty sarcasm, often a part of how teenagers interact, create a misunderstanding and confusion about what is loving behavior and what is not.

This confusion can lead to people not stopping abusive behavior especially when it is disguised as playfulness.  When cruelty is received at the hands of a loved one, partner, friend, or parent something becomes disconnected.  The disguise does not work deep within your heart, yet you may want to believe it is only “in fun.”

What I have observed with most people who use teasing and sarcasm as a way of interacting with others is a wave of underlying anger that peaks through.  Since the anger seeps out wrapped in a package of joking it is not possible to confront the feelings honestly and bring them to the light of understanding.

The confusion that is created when you try to accept what is painful and disguised is sometimes called “crazy-making.”  That is because of no matter what you are being told you have within you that innate sense of truth.  The lie of cruelty instead of kindness will finally be revealed.

This innate sense of truth knows.  Ultimately, you cannot lie to yourself.

Scripts People Live Story

I am reminded of a story told by Claude Steiner in his book “Scripts People Live: Transactional Analysis of Life ScriptsScripts People Live book.“

A Warm Fuzzier Tale by Claude Steiner

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived two happy people called Tim and Maggie with their two children, John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were you have to understand how things were in those days.

You see in those happy days everyone was given a small, soft Fuzzy Bag when born. Anytime a person reached into their bag they were able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy. Warm Fuzzies were very much in demand because whenever someone was given a Warm Fuzzy it made them feel warm and fuzzy all over.

In those days, it was very easy to get Warm Fuzzies. Anytime that somebody felt like it, he might walk up to you and say, “I’d like to have a Warm Fuzzy.” You would then reach into your bag and pull out a Fuzzy the size of a child’s hand. As soon as the Fuzzy saw the light of day it would smile and blossom into a large, shaggy, Warm Fuzzy. When you laid the Warm Fuzzy on the person’s head, shoulder or lap it would snuggle up and melt right against their skin and make them feel good all over.

People were always asking each other for Warm Fuzzies, and since they were always given freely, getting enough of them was never a problem. There was always plenty to go around, and so everyone was happy and felt warm and fuzzy most of the time.

One day an evil witch who made salves and potions for sick people became angry because everyone was so happy and feeling good and no one was buying potions and salves. The witch was ingenious and devised an evil plan. One beautiful morning while Maggie was playing with her daughter the witch crept up to Tim and whispered in his ear,  

“See here, Tim, look at all the Fuzzies that Maggie is giving to Lucy. You know, if she keeps it up she is going to run out, and then there won’t be any left for you!”

Tim was astonished. He turned to the witch and asked, “Do you mean to tell me that there isn’t a Warm Fuzzy in our bag every time we reach for it?”

And the witch answered, “No, absolutely not, and once you run out, that’s it. You don’t have anymore.” With this, the witch flew away on a broom, laughing and cackling all the way.

Tim took this to heart and began to notice every time Maggie gave away a Warm Fuzzy. He got anxious because he liked Maggie’s Warm Fuzzies very much and did not want to give them up. He certainly did not think it was right for Maggie to be spending all her Warm Fuzzies on the children and other people.

Tim began to complain or sulk when he saw Maggie giving Warm Fuzzies to somebody else, and because Maggie loved him very much, she stopped giving Warm Fuzzies to other people as often and reserved most of them for him.

The children watched this and soon began to get the idea that it was wrong to give Warm Fuzzies any time you were asked or felt like it. They too became very careful. They would watch their parents closely, and whenever they felt that one of their parents was giving too many Fuzzies to others, they felt jealous and complained and sometimes even had a tantrum.

Even though the children found a Warm Fuzzy every time they reached into their bag they began to feel guilty whenever they gave them away, so they reached in less and less and became more and more stingy with them.

Before the witch, people used to gather in groups of three, four, or five, never caring too much who was giving Warm Fuzzies to whom. After the coming of the witch, people began to pair off and to reserve all their Warm Fuzzies for each other, exclusively. When people forgot to be careful and gave a Warm Fuzzy to just anybody, they worried because they knew that somebody would probably resent sharing their Warm Fuzzies. 

People began to give less and less Warm Fuzzies and felt less warm and less fuzzy. They started to shrivel up and, occasionally, people would even die from lack of Warm Fuzzies. People felt worse and worse and, more and more, people went to the witch to buy potions and salves even though they didn’t seem to work.

Well, the situation was getting far-reaching indeed. The evil witch who had been watching all of this didn’t want the people to die (since dead people couldn’t buy his salves and potions), so a new plan was devised.

Everyone was given, free of charge, a bag that was very similar to the Fuzzy Bag except that this one was cold while the Fuzzy Bag was warm. Inside of the witch’s bag was Cold Pricklies. These Cold Pricklies did not make people feel warm and fuzzy; in fact, they made them feel cold and prickly instead. But the Cold Pricklies was better than nothing and they did prevent peoples’ backs from shriveling up.

So, from then on, when somebody asked for a Warm Fuzzy, people who were worried about depleting their supply would say, “I can’t give you a Warm Fuzzy, but would you like a Cold Prickly instead?”

Sometimes, two people would walk up to each other, thinking that maybe they could get a Warm Fuzzy this time, but one of them would change his mind, and they would wind up giving each other Cold Pricklies instead. So, the result was that people were not dying anymore, but a lot of people were miserable and felt frigid and prickly indeed.

The situation got very complicated since the coming of the witch because there were fewer and fewer Warm Fuzzies around and Warm Fuzzies which used to be free as the air became treasured.

This caused people to do all sorts of things to get Warm Fuzzies. People who could not find a generous partner had to buy their Warm Fuzzies and had to work long hours to earn the money.

Some people became “famous” and got a lot of Warm Fuzzies without having to give any back.  These individuals would then sell their Warm Fuzzies to people who were “unpopular” and needed them to feel that life was worth living.

Another thing which happened was that some people would take Cold Pricklies–which were everywhere and freely available and coated them white and fluffy so that they almost looked like Warm Fuzzies. These fake Warm Fuzzies were really Plastic Fuzzies, and they caused additional problems.

For instance, two or more people would get together and freely give each other Plastic Fuzzies. They expected to feel good, but they came away feeling bad instead. People got very confused never realizing that their cold, prickly feelings were because they had been given a lot of Plastic Fuzzies.

So the situation was very, very dismal and it all started because of the coming of the witch who made people believe that someday when least expected, they might reach into their Warm Fuzzy Bag and find no more.

Not long ago, a young woman with big hips came to this troubled land. She seemed not to have heard about the bad witch and was not worried about running out of Warm Fuzzies. She gave them out freely, even when not asked. They called her the Hip Woman and disapproved of her because she was giving the children the idea that they should not worry about running out of Warm Fuzzies. The children liked her very much because they felt good around her and they began to follow her example giving out Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it.

This made the grownups anxious. To protect the children from depleting their supplies of Warm Fuzzies they passed a law. The law made it a criminal offense to give out Warm Fuzzies in a reckless manner or without a license. Many children, however, seemed not to care; and in spite of the law, they continued to give each other Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it and always when asked. Because they were many, many children, almost as many as grownups, it began to look as if maybe they would have their way.

As of now it’s hard to say what will happen. Will the grownups’ laws stop the recklessness of the children?

Are the grownups going to join with the Hip Woman and the children in taking a chance that there will always be as many Warm Fuzzies as needed?

Will they remember the days their children are trying to bring back when Warm Fuzzies were abundant because people gave them away freely?

The struggle spread all over the land and is probably going on right where you live. If you want to, and I hope you do, you can join by freely giving and asking for Warm Fuzzies and being as loving and healthy as you can.

Kindness can be described as a warm fuzzy.  Like the warm fuzzy you know when you have received kindness.

As you considered the Dalai Lama’s statement that “his religion is kindness,” take some time to think what that would mean if everyone practiced kindness.  I am sure it would make the world a better place.  Imagine for a minute what the world would be like if everyone made a religion of kindness.

I would like to see kindness become contagious to epidemic proportions around the world.  I encourage you to let kindness and compassion guide your actions and all of your relationships.

Namaste,

   Genevieve Gerard

The Blessing of Love on All That you Do!

 

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Genevieve - Soulful

 

About the author:
Genevieve Gerard teaches Transformational Consciousness – from first awakening to enlightened Soul awareness. She helps you experience the joy that results from the spontaneous “touch of your soul.”

Read more details…

Genevieve has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and for over thirty years has worked one-on-one with people who were recovering from devastating disabilities and chronic pain. Teaching the mastery of the mind-body relationship she was one of the early professionals trained in biofeedback, visualization, imagery, and meditation as essential techniques to help people heal their bodies, heal their emotions, heal their minds, and heal their lives.

Genevieve’s work demonstrates what she knows so well, “It is spiritual connectedness that triggers physical healing and emotional and mental well-being.”  Helping people, like you, tap into your higher-self is the power she wields to guide you to heal and transform your life.

Now, with this understanding, she combines the effective techniques she developed over decades teaching mind-body mastery along with her extensive experience in meditation and spiritual development to create a synthesis of mind-body-spirit that delivers complete healing and opens the door to unlimited personal growth and an encounter with your Soul.

In addition to her current life guidance coaching sessions, and workshops performed around the world, Genevieve has produced more than 20+ guided meditations in the last eight years that are available on Apple Music (iTunes), Amazon, CDBaby, and her website.

It is her vision that through your experience with the techniques of awareness, visualization, and meditation, the love of your Soul will touch and transform your life through her writings and products. It is her sincere desire that the potential of a life of joy and celebration that seems to elude so many people can become a reality for you, now and forever.

Browse her life story and read the Touch of the Soul that changed her world. To contact Genevieve, visit her keep in touch page.

 

Last updated 11-4-2020

 

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Open Your Heart To Love

Open Your Heart To Love

Read Open Your Heart To Love blog post by Genevieve Gerard

This article is part of my ongoing Series on Love.

In this great university that we call life, there is perhaps no more important lesson we receive than learning to love.

Love manifests in our lives in so many different forms and circumstances that it is an ongoing opportunity to explore, experiment and express. If we open our heart and deeply consider what we have been learning in life that has given us the most joy and the most challenges, we can see that love is a predominant theme.

The great philosophers of old, most particularly Plato, defined love in three basic categories, that of Agape, how God loves us or how we are directed to love God; Philos, or love of friends and others; and the all important Eros, erotic or sexual love. And of course, the love of parents and children and family seems to be another important category.

Indeed, within these three or four very diverse categories that define love is enough lessons and life experiences to fuel millions of books, thousands of films and television scripts, and a seemingly endless stream of talk shows on media outlets around the world.

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.
      ~ Khalil Gibran

There is perhaps no greater desire in the human heart than that of both giving and receiving love. Of course, as with so many dynamics of our all too human consciousness, we seem to feel that it is better to receive than to give. But if we explore the experience of love, dispassionately and deeply, we may find that we receive as much if not more love by giving rather than receiving it.

This may explain the teaching of Jesus when he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Love, and lessons about Love are without question exalted in the life and teachings of the Christ.

When we think of the span of our years and focus on the times we have loved and the ways we have loved, we may realize that those times and events where we gave love unconditionally created such joy that we treasure the experience throughout our life. If we hold those experiences in our hearts and consider the power of those times to guide and transform our lives, we will begin to understand more of the dynamics of this great life lesson called love.

An honest review of our life will reveal to us that the times we have succeeded beyond our expectations in giving love have yielded rich dynamics to our experience of living. Likewise, those times when we have failed, on either side of the experience of love, to either give or receive, have resulted in profound heart-wrenching pain and sorrow.

Contained within the lessons of love is a microcosm of the many consciousness shifts we need to make to live a life of joy. We truly do need to be aware of the benefit of mastering this great lesson of life. Love is best learned in the act of letting ourselves give love and equally important, letting ourselves receive love. Ponder on this!

If we open our hearts to give love, we are immediately transported into the joy and blessings of love.
      ~ Genevieve Gerard

Loving is an experience that is immediately reinforced by expanding and enhancing our life experience.

Therefore, to learn about love we need only to give love as fully and completely as we can and to accept all that love offers to our life. It is profoundly simple, but strangely, it is often not easy.

Opening to love opens us to so much of what is the very best of life that making a commitment to love is a powerful portal to the gifts of awareness and joy. I encourage you to open your heart to love and embrace this lesson as a great adventurer and explorer of life.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love On All That you Do!

 

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Last updated 3-28-2018

 

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Be Receptive To the Guidance of Your Soul

Be Receptive To the Guidance of Your Soul

– Connecting with Your Higher Self for Life Advice

Read Be Receptive To the Guidance of Your Soul blog post by Genevieve Gerard

Recently in a discussion with one of my coaching clients, we explored how to access the guidance and wisdom of your Soul for practical advice.

She was seeking revelation about the life challenges she was currently facing. She thought to receive this kind of clear information was the practical application of spirituality. My client insisted this desire is the reason that spirituality has relevance.

This conversation made me consider her point of view. Particularly, I wondered, what can you do to enhance and empower receiving guidance and direction from your Higher Self? Of equal importance, is the question what can interfere with receiving Soul guidance in your life? That led me to consider the process of receiving guidance and direction from your Soul as a practical real-life issue.

I believe your Soul is not only a part of you but it also a partner in your life. It has a vested interest in helping you learn and grow. However, from the perspective of your personality, the way that it provides the situations and circumstances from which you learn and grow are often not what you want. It is not always clear what is right or best to do.

You learn and grow in so many different ways. This issue seems to need some clarification. In my many years of life coaching, I have led individuals through many meditations in which they reached their Soul for guidance. There are some patterns I have observed. What is most revealing is how much of the preparation for the meditation is just a litany of what the seeker wants or more importantly what they don’t want.

I find it significant that often the answer that emerges as received in meditation is just a repetition of their hopes and desires that were expressed while preparing to meditate. That seems to be a clear signal that it is not the direction of the Soul they received, but rather their desires and their attachments speaking. In considering this result, I am reminded of the words of My Fair Lady, “she’ll listen very nicely then go out and do precisely what she wants.” It is all too easy to project your attachment and desire and then, because you meditated, assume that you have contacted and listened to the wisdom of your Soul.

Not only is this true but in the process of having asked for guidance, it is easy to have the expectation that your Soul is now responsible for what happens. The logical conclusion of this “magical thinking” is that the role of the Soul is to be a kind of “Fairy God Mother” who manipulates the world of matter to make your life easier and more compatible with your desires. I believe this is simply not true.

You can see this kind of “magical thinking” all over the internet and especially on Facebook with the number of abundance posts in which you are asked to type “Yes” to a positive meme graphic about prosperity or miracles. The implication is that by simply typing “Yes” you need only to sit back and receptively wait for the miracle you desire to happen.

This kind of “magical thinking” is a misunderstanding of the Law of Abundance and the principle that “energy follows thought.” It is no wonder that people become discouraged and confused.

What is missing in this kind of “magical thinking” is the role and responsibility of the personality. Whereas it is true that “energy follows thought” it is important to understand that this vital principle is not something you just turn on when you type “Yes” or “Amen” in response to a photo with an inspirational statement; then turn off all of the other thoughts in your mind.

What you do makes a difference. Your dreams, your thoughts, your plans and your goals are all an integral part of success.

Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.
           – Napoleon Hill

Indeed, meditation helps you to harness the power of your mind. Likewise, the “Law of Attraction” is activated and enhanced by all of the “Positive Mental Attitude” techniques you may use and employ. However, if you do these things only intermittently; that is exactly how they will work, intermittently.

If you ask, affirm or pray for abundance because you are afraid, you are using these principles to fuel the manifestation of what you fear. This is true even when you pray if what is in your mind while you are praying is fear. Worrying, I have often said, is like praying for what you don’t want. Saying a prayer in desperation without surrendering to Divine Will is an attempt to manipulate God. I don’t think that is how it works.

Likewise, typing “yes” for abundance while thinking about your fears and what is lacking in your life sends a mixed message. That mixed message is most often what you most often see manifesting in your life.

Asking For Guidance

This same principle is involved when you ask for guidance from your Higher Self. You have to stop your negative thoughts, your fear, and your worries. Otherwise, your personality will create from its litany of your concerns what you don’t want. You will not be able to hear anything at all from your Higher Self. Your mind chatter drowns out the still soft prompting of the voice of your Soul. To open yourself to the wisdom and guidance of your Soul or God in prayer requires surrender and a willingness to receive direction and guidance that may be very different from what you want.

To become more aware of how your fears and worries are controlling your unconscious requests is important. The power of your mind automatically responds to all of your thoughts. It responds to your wishes, and it responds to your fears. “The Law of Attraction” and the principle that “energy follows thought” do not have a shut-off valve. It is on 24-7.

That energy follows your thought works with every positive affirmation. It also works with every meditation of intention. However, it also engages with every fear and worry that crosses your mind. Therefore, it is important to understand that what you are thinking is constantly creating what is manifesting in your life.

For this reason, it is crucial for you to be aware of your thoughts and value and respect the co-creative power that they have.

Meditation is a powerful tool to help you use your mind to live the life you desire by gaining mastery over your mind. To help you increase your awareness of what you are asking the universe to provide, I recommend that you do a technique I call the “detached observer.” If you follow my work and my writings you that will note that this is not the first time that I have recommended this technique. This technique is not a meditation but what I call a meditative technique.

Detached Observer Technique

 

One technique that I have found valuable in my own practice and in my years of coaching and counseling people is that you begin just by self-observation.

I recommend starting with committing just 3 minutes a day to consciously observe your thoughts. When you observe a negative or fear-based thought flash through your mind, edit it, correct it and replace it with a conscious thought of what you want and are striving to manifest in your life.

This self-observation, edit, correct (with intention) and replace technique is most important and empowering when what crosses your mind is a fear. To do this consciously and with intention is best achieved in a meditative state while aligning with your Higher Self and focusing on your life’s purpose. In this alignment, you have a greater vision.

This technique is best done free of self-judgment or criticism (each of which works against achieving positive thoughts to replace the negative and fear-based chatter of the “Monkey Mind.”)

I refer to this as a meditative state because it is not really meditation, but as you are seeking to consciously align with your Soul and your Soul purpose in life you are in a higher state of consciousness and keener awareness than just thinking. So this exercise of observation from the perspective of the “detached observer” is a bridge between normal uncontrolled and casual thinking and meditation.

This can be a powerful and transforming technique. As I mentioned I recommend starting with this technique 3 minutes every day. That may seem very short but if you really consider and catch most of your negative thoughts to edit, and revise and replace the thought, you will have made a huge step forward in your ability to harness the power of your mind and learn to quiet the chattering mind. This simple (although sometimes not easy) step is important in learning to meditate and to empower your life.

In teaching this technique to my coaching clients, most have observed that a daily practice of this technique begins major transformation in their lives.

I suggest that you start out using this method for 3 minutes a day for 30 days. Three minutes of your day is not very much. However, three minutes is enough to demonstrate my point. Three minutes is sufficient to describe the energy you are sending out.

 

Harnessing the power of your thoughts and making them serve you, while very simple is not always easy. Your mind functions in a multilevel way with ideas so rapid and diverse it is like catching quicksilver.

Throughout the eons of teaching meditation, helping the student gain control of what is often called “The Monkey Mind” or the “Chattering Mind” has been the goal.

In fact, the extended periods of meditating on the ‘no thing,’ ‘the void,’ ‘the sound of one hand clapping’ and other techniques that I learned in my early days of meditation, all seemed to be focused on learning to quiet your chattering mind.

Likewise, mantras repeated serve the same purpose. Similarly, the repetitive phrases of awareness that are taught in mindfulness meditations serve the same goal; they teach you to focus your thoughts and wrestle control from the chatter. Using guided meditations serve the same purpose. They are certainly easier than focusing on the “no-thing” or “the void.”

ATS Affirmations For Abundance CD-MP3 by Genevieve Gerard

 

Check out my Awaken to Success CD or MP3’s, which give you 21 positive affirmations for abundance. Use these to empower yourself to create the life of your dreams.

 

All are techniques to focus your thoughts in the desired direction you choose for your consciousness. Guided meditations are an effective and efficient way to harness the power of your mind to help you create the life and experiences you desire. Focusing on a problem with a focused intention on a daily basis can be transforming. The issue of regularity and repetition are key elements in using meditation to change your life.

Daily meditation need not be an arduous process. Moreover, although in my early days of meditating I was instructed to meditate for 30 minutes to an hour daily, I have found over the last 48 years that daily meditation consistently applied with intention is more important than the time spent.

When I create a guided meditation experience, I strive to capture the essence of the subject that I focus on in a 10 to 20-minute session. In meditation, it is quality rather than quality that counts.

The process of quieting your mind chatter enables you to receive the still prompting guidance of your Higher Self. Likewise, to be receptive to the wisdom of your Soul, it is important to cease your attachment to what you desire or expect in order to open your heart and your mind. Ponder on this.

This dual process of quieting your mind as much as possible and surrendering your personal will and desires to be receptive to the guidance you are receiving are crucial steps in receiving advice from your Higher Self.

We must let go of the life we have planned,
so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.
           – Joseph Campbell

I also recommend that if you are seeking the wisdom and direction of your Soul in your life that you set aside at least 10 minutes a day, regularly to meditate on that very subject. Then apply the technique of the detached observer by revising and reframing every negative thought, aligning it with what you feel your Higher Self is directing you to. Do these meditations with as much of an attitude of surrender to Divine Will as you are able.

I further recommend that you follow your “asking” time with a reflective and receptive time that you write in a spiritual journal. This combination of meditation and journal entry will increase the effectiveness of your request.

You Higher Self, your Soul, is available to you. When you can quiet your desires, your fears and listen to your Souls wisdom and guidance, it becomes a partner on your life journey, and your life journey becomes your spiritual journey.

 

Namaste,
Genevieve

The blessing of love on all that you do!

 

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Last updated 2-04-2018

 

Copyright © 2016-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

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Act As If

Read Acting As If blog by Genevieve Gerard

Act As If . . .

Within the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom is a very powerful tool you can use to transform your life into the life you desire.

It is Acting As If what you want already is.

Acting As If uses and combines many of the laws and universal principles of which I have previously written. Energy Follows Thought and the Law Of Attraction are two of the most important that become activated when you Act As If.

Acting As If is a great way to bring into your life the events and circumstances that you want and need.

The creative power of the mind is impressive when activated. To use that creative force to fashion the life of your dreams is what the power of positive thinking and positive action is all about.

A great many subtle factors go into being successful with any of these techniques. Perhaps one of the most significant things to realize is that the creative potential of the mind works when you are sending the thought signals of what you want. However, it also can work when you have fears and worries.

The creative power of the mind does not stop to evaluate the content of the directions it is receiving. That is up to you. You can choose to bring into your life what you desire (both good or bad) at any moment in time.

The best way to achieve your outcome is to act as if you have already reached it – live your dreams now and let reality catch up.”
      – Roger Ellerton

At times it may require releasing your fears and acting on faith so that you do not bring those fears into reality. What is wonderful is that you can choose not to be limited by your fears.

Acting As If is a dynamic technique to keep the creative aspect of your mind focused on manifesting what you desire. When you Act As If what you want and need is already happening you help focus your creative mind. The attention to what it takes to Act As If clarifies your intention and colors in your thoughts with valuable details.

Clarifying what you are invoking when activating the Law of Attraction is often an effective mechanism. Many have found creating a vision board or a mind map to be helpful. The more details you can envision and more in tune with the feelings you want to experience once you have manifested what you need, the easier it is to keep your mind focused on the outcome you desire. Ultimately, you still have to take action on those thoughts to create your new reality.

I was speaking to a coaching client of mine recently whose life experiences just demonstrated this. My client had recently transcended her fear sufficiently to let herself be open to the abundance of purchasing a new car. This was a big step for her. Within days of making the purchase and living in gratitude, her employer, who had originally only had contract work available, came to her and offered her a permanent position that had just unexpectedly become available. Her act of faith was rewarded by what she needed coming to her almost instantly.

To efficiently Act As If, it is important to envision what you want to manifest and become, using all of your senses. So, to help you manifest the life of your dreams, today I am suggesting a smorgasbord of techniques you can use to empower Acting As If.

  1. Create a Mind Map or Vision Board to use when you are Acting As If. I suggest that you fill in as much detail of how your life will be when the goal or dream you desire has manifested. This detail will serve as a guide to your behavior when you are Acting As If.

  2. Declare your intention by identifying an “I Am” statement. Think about the identity you are creating. As an example, “I am a successful _________,” “I am competent in _________,” “I Am an effective __________.” In this use of an “I Am” statement you are focusing on your role in demonstrating your goal.

  3. Whenever you “catch yourself” worrying, being fearful, or having any doubts about manifesting your needs and desires, stop and focus your thoughts on what you are striving to create and release the fears. This clearing of the negative self-talk is the key to making this technique work. In the link below, I offer a powerful 10-minute “I Am Feeling Free” meditation that can help you learn how to calm strong emotions and transmute fears and doubts.
    I Am Feeling Free Meditation Download by Genevieve

Now, in each moment of the day, in what you do and how you respond to every situation and circumstance that presents itself to you, Act As If what you desire and need is already a reality.

William James altering their attitudes of mind quote

Remember that consistency and repetition add power to this technique. This is a state of mind, you must act and live your life As If you already have accomplished your goal and feel what it would feel like when you did.

What you believe and present to the world as a fact that you know and believe in your being, becomes a reality. Then, the more you can manifest what you desire and need, the more real it becomes.

Act as if you are poised and confident. Act as if you already have it!

Many layers go into the creation of your identity and your reality. This technique of Acting As If will empower you to be and become all that you are meant to be.

Using meditation and affirmations are also helpful. Confirming that what you are focusing upon is in alignment with your life purpose or your Soul purpose eases the way. This is your life and your thoughts, and your actions are what determine what your life will be. Today, you are exactly where you believe you should be. Ponder on this!

You have unlimited choices and before you are unlimited possibilities.
      – Genevieve Gerard

It is never too late to live your dreams. Whatever mistakes you may have made in the past are now over. When you relegate them to the past, you free yourself from having to repeat them. What is important is to live in the present moment.

Letting go of what has been and is now past is important in opening your life to the potential that is available in the future that has not yet been created.

It is to create that positive future and to fulfill the life of your dreams where the As If technique is most valuable. It immediately opens new doors and new opportunities.

It is wise to clear away the residuals of your past as soon as possible, so the slate is as clean as you can make it. One of the most dynamic and freeing ways you can transform your life is by forgiveness. Forgiving someone of their transgression against you frees you from being trapped in the past. It also releases the anger, the hurt and the sense of betrayal that can keep you in a victim role.

Self-forgiveness is also an important piece of becoming free to accept and manifest your new life. Often forgiving yourself is significant in freeing your life to move forward because it is common to be angry at yourself for letting the person you need to forgive do you wrong.

Most of the time, you failed to protect yourself or assert yourself. It is that you need to forgive. When the forgiveness has been accomplished, your life is more open to creating the reality you have chosen. The obstacles that you were holding onto are now swept away.

I encourage you to use this tool today to create the life that you want.

Your life is before you waiting to be manifested and enjoyed. Consider what you desire and begin living it today. Today is, after all, the first day of the rest of your life; celebrate it.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

Related Posts You May Enjoy Reading:

  • How to Forgive Yourself: A 40 minute meditation to help you free yourself from the blame and self-criticism of the past.

Last updated 1/4/2017

Copyright © 2015-2016 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul. All rights reserved.

 

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Top 12 Lessons My Dog Bentley Is Teaching Me

Top 12 Lessons My Dog Bentley Is Teaching Me

Read my Top 12 Lessons My Dog Bentley Is Teaching Me

In the course of life, teachers come from everywhere.

One of the most amazing things is what lessons we can learn from life about consciousness from our furry friends.

They are often an example of ways of “being,” that provide an important example in life.

Interestingly, with the amazing synchronicity that a teacher appears when a pupil is ready, it seems that each animal that comes into your life has their own unique things to teach you.

The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.
       – Johnny Depp

In December of 2013, I wrote a post, “10 Things I Have Learned About Consciousness From My Dog Silky.”

When Silky passed away in July of 2014, I sorely missed the companionship and source of unconditional love and devotion that is the wonderful nature of dogs. 

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.
     – Milan Kundera

A little while ago I adopted a little white rescue dog, Bentley.  He is a pure breed Maltese, known as the “ancient dog of Malta,” and he has his own personality and with it, his own life lessons to teach. 

As I did in 2013, I thought I would share with you some of the wisdom I have learned from my new dog, Bentley. Just added an extra 2 bonus learnings!

Top 12 Lessons My Dog Bentley Is Teaching Me:

  1. I deserve to be loved
  2. I can ask for what I need with complete trust that it will be provided.
  3. My love is shared spontaneously and joyfully confident that it will be appreciated and returned.
  4. I do not waste my time on guilt or shame if I make a mistake I just move on to whatever is happening next.
  5. I am confident that I am loved and that I deserve to be loved.
  6. Life is too short to not have fun with the occasions provided for play.
  7. I will trust people until they show me that they cannot be trusted.
  8. I am open to new friendships and welcoming to new possibilities and new opportunities.
  9. Love is both my nature and my joy.
  10. I can be quiet and peaceful, calm and serene relaxing both my mind and body at will. (I never worry about anything)
  11. I appreciate absolutely everything that I receive and trust in the abundance of life to bring what I need when I need it.
  12. I come to each new day joyfully with no fears or limiting beliefs.

 

As I wrote this I realized that each fur baby who comes into your life is a unique expression of themselves.  If a domestic animal blesses your life, I encourage you to observe them from the perspective of what you can learn from them and what they have come into your life to teach and give you.

I invite you to post your comments and observations below this post.

The love we share with our pets is special.  They bring so much joy and comfort into our life and ask so little in return.  They are a special blessing in life and teach us how to love completely and unconditionally.

I once read a description of Heaven that said that Heaven is where every dog you have ever loved comes to greet you.  That would certainly make your entry to the pearly gates a celebration of Love.

 

Namaste,

Genevieve Gerard

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 5-21-2019

 

Copyright © 2015-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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A Serenade to the Dawn

Read A Serenade to the Dawn by Genevieve Gerard

A Serenade to the Dawn

 

A touch of morning pink enters the sky.

Joy blooms in my heart.

There is so much promise in that gentle blush.

 

Quietly the new day dawns.

The clouds of yesterday storms transform with hope.

The Light is victorious.

 

New possibilities come into my mind.

I pause to dream.

 

What can I do with this new opportunity to make manifest what I desire?

Softly my Soul whispers, seize the day with joy.

 

Spread your Light, give your Love.

All is well in the peace of this potent time.

 

        – Genevieve Gerard

 

 

Last updated 3-14-2019

 

Copyright © 2015-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All rights reserved.

 

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Having Emotions

Having Emotions,
Without Letting Them Have You

Having Emotions by Genevieve Gerard

Along the course of spiritual growth and evolution is a myriad of challenges that center on the issue of managing your emotions. 

Managing your emotions is an issue that is often misunderstood, or becomes misdirected, often by well-meaning people.  This seems to stem from some basic glamor’s and illusions about what it means to be spiritual.

Teachings of the Buddha, particularly those about desire and attachment can be converted and perverted into an artificial state of manufactured calm.

However, as I have journeyed along the path to enlightened awareness and as I have worked for many years counseling people, I have found this misinterpretation of the Buddha’s teaching to be potentially harmful. 

As I ponder the nature of the misunderstanding and what is important about learning to understand the role of emotions in a spiritual life and spiritual evolution, I realize that it is important to have your emotions, without letting them have control or mastery over you.  This leads me to explore more about the nature of emotions.

Repressing your emotions in an attempt to reach a state of manufactured calm, just does not work.

The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it.

        – Nicholas Sparks, At First Sight

Emotions blocked end up doing all sorts of harm in ways that are in direct opposition to reaching the state of peace and detachment the Buddha recommended.  Repression is not detachment.  In fact, emotions, especially strong emotions and those judged as negative emotions, will work their way to release, in spite of every effort to contain them.

Moreover, blocking and denying emotions, especially powerful and strong emotions, seem to be the genesis of both stresses and dis-ease.

In my many years of counseling and especially when I worked in the field of chronic pain management, I concluded that when someone is experiencing pain, that pain is always real.  Often medical practitioners would be frustrated when they could not find on their scientific tests a reason or cause for someone’s pain and that would lead them to make the judgement that the pain was not “real.”

However, as I worked with the individuals to heal and resolve the pain, I came to a very different conclusion.  The pain was real.  It may come from their physical body, or it may come from their emotional body, but it was always real.

As I worked to unlock and release the pain, old emotions, judged negative emotions were often a causative factor.

Many in the field of chronic pain management have observed certain patterns about those who suffer chronic pain, and that is that many were victims of sexual or other forms of abuse.  The damage of abuse seemed to lie in wait for a life incident to express the pain of the abuse.  This is especially true when the anger and pain of betrayal that accompanied the abuse was denied and blocked.

The physical damage of the abuse had healed long ago, but the emotional damage lingered, still needing healing.  This led me to consider ways that emotions heal and how they are different from the way the body heals.  What was amazing to me was that no matter how much time had passed from the incident that created the emotional pain, healing was possible.  And the primary component of that healing was what I would call, for want of better words, emotional honesty.

Lessons Learned About Emotions

How emotions heal is a lesson I learned in my personal journey because, like so many young women, I was sexually abused in my youth.  Also, like most that have been through that experience, I suffered a great deal of shame and doubt related to that experience.  I must admit I never understood how or why that could happen at the time.

For me, it was compounded by being a man who was a ”father figure,” a man who was dating my mother after my father had died and eventually became my step-father.  The emotions of anger and ultimately betrayal when my mother became aware of the situation and failed to protect me and stop it was very strong.

Great harm was done to me by many well-meaning people who were spiritual guides and teachers at the time.  They counseled forgiveness and learned to forgive I did.  They counseled return love, and I did that too.  My anger and my hurts became firmly contained.

However, in my own psychological and spiritual journey it was only when my spiritual mentor and psychologist concluded that in my attempts to be a good person and follow great spiritual teachings, I had developed what he called “premature transcendence.”  He taught me that transcending an emotion without transmuting and releasing it was not the way to healing.

The honesty of the emotions that these events and circumstances created had to be expressed and honored.  It was not enough to practice forgiveness.  It was only by letting myself acknowledge the anger and rage I felt and the hurt and betrayal I felt, was I able to heal and move on, and no longer linger in the thrall of those emotions.

When I finally let go of the past, the release and the healing were powerful.  The transformation that releasing these old hurts allowed, was truly life changing.  I become open to the many blessings and joys that life could bring my way.

Emotions Are an Intricate Part of Our Being

This led me to a revelation and realization about the nature of emotions.  Emotions are an intricate part of our being.  They are both wonderful and terrible parts of the human experience.

Learning to experience emotions, and understand and express them, are a major part of both life’s journey and the quest for spiritual understanding.

It helps to understand the nature of the wholeness of your being, your spiritual anatomy.  We all know and understand that we have a physical body.  We can touch it and feel it.  We also have an emotional body.

Our physical and emotional bodies produce a wide and diverse range of emotions, from those we judge as good, to those we avoid as bad.  However, what I have come to understand is that emotions are only emotions.

Emotions are not who you are, and they are not what you are.  They are experiences you simply have.  They are feelings, not truth.  Although they are very powerful, their very nature is temporary and transitory.  They are a natural and spontaneous expression of a particular situation and event.  Ultimately, emotions are healthy in their natural expression. 

Emotions emerge naturally in the moment, and unless you deny them, dismiss them or judge them, they release just as naturally and spontaneously as they came.  Clinging to them, harboring them and letting them fester can cause significant harm.  The toxicity created by the unexpressed, and unreleased emotions is the fuel for countless dis-eases.

Experienced, expressed and then released, especially when transmuted transcended and transformed, emotions are a harmless part of life.  There is, however, a danger to your whole being when you let an emotion have you.

I gave myself permission to feel and experience all of my emotions. To do that, I had to stop being afraid to feel. In order to do that, I taught myself to believe that no matter what I felt or what happened when I felt it, I would be okay.

        – Iyanla Vanzant

Emotional Transformation Technique

In my “Feeling Free” guided meditation, I give an in-depth explanation of a very powerful technique to move your energy from feeling to resolution.

It is a technique that once learned can be practiced anytime and anywhere to gain mastery over your most troublesome and limiting emotions.

It is a technique that earlier in my journey I used many times in a day.  It is a technique that I frequently use in my life now.  To use awareness to move, transcend, transmute and transform the strong emotions of fear and anger, gives you freedom in your life.

I Am Feeling Free Meditation by Genevieve Gerard

 

This technique is one I have found to be so important in empowering people that I created a simpler and shorter version “I Am Feeing Free.” 

 

To be able to experience your emotions without letting them take over your life is a key to mastering whatever challenges come your way. It is a strength that frees you to become all that you are meant to be.

 

These tips and techniques help you be in the NOW and embrace the new possibilities and opportunities that life brings before you without the burden of your fears, or limiting beliefs that have entrenched themselves from old feelings that can be released and resolved

To be able to experience your emotions without letting them take over your life is one of the keys to mastering whatever challenges come your way. It is a strength that frees you to become all that you are meant to be.

You can have your emotions, freely, without them creating problems and limitations that linger beyond their moment of time.

By letting yourself experience the natural flow of emotion without judgement and then trust yourself to handle your life as it happens, by not fearing that experience in the future, you begin to have emotions without letting them impact your life.

Namaste,

    Genevieve Gerard

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 8-31-2018

 

Copyright © 2015-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

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The Will to Good

The Will to Good

Read The Will To Good, blog post by Genevieve Gerard

Are you someone who longs to make the world a better place?

Someone who feels a deep yearning in the depth of your being to help heal the suffering and problems of life?

If so, you are most likely a part of an energetic group that is known by the name “The New Group of World Servers.”

You may be consciously or unconsciously in this group of light workers.

There is no requirement, to be a part of this group, other than to have the Will to Good. It requires no recognition or affiliation. It is not aligned with any specific religion, yet is congruent with the deepest principles of all of the world’s religions. The only identifying factor is that you join across the planet with other Men and Woman of Goodwill.

I believe that every human mind feels pleasure
in doing good to another.
      – Thomas Jefferson

Then let your Soul guide you in your service to others. Since the New Group of World Servers is at its core a Soul group, it focuses, through the guidance of your Soul, on serving the greater good of all humanity.

One of the ways we do this is to come together in unity at 5 p.m. across the globe, each in our own place and time zone, to send out a blessing to support this group and their work (see below.) You can make a difference in the world by joining with this effort. You are not alone!

Your blessing is magnified by other like-minded individuals who join their thoughts and intentions to make the world a better place.

The words are simple. With clear intention, you can help bring great blessings to mankind.

The Blessing of the New Group of World Servers

May the power of the One Life,
pour through the group of all true servers.

May the Love of the One Soul,
characterize the lives of all who seek to aid the Great Ones.

May we fulfill our part in the One work,
through self-forgetfulness, harmlessness, and right speech.

     – A Treatise on White Magic, p. 261 by Alice A. Bailey

 

It only takes a moment and connects you with a network of Light, Love, and Power that is committed to making this world a better place for all sentient beings.

But, How Do I Know If I Am A Light Worker?

Recently, I have observed among spiritual people a question, “How do I know if I am a Light Worker?” By their fruits, you shall know them, is the age old answer to that. Decision and intention are also important.

Making the decision to join in this worldwide effort, as this blessing makes its way across the planet at 5 p.m. each day, is a powerful and empowering decision to be an active participant in something greater than yourself. Something where you are in service to humanity. Something a true light worker would do.

To be doing good deeds is man’s most glorious task.
      – Sophocles

I ask you to take a few brief minutes at 5 p.m. each day to bless and thereby energetically support the work and the service of those who work for good in the world and weave in the light.

Your intention will connect you with and align you with the power of the Light.

By its very nature Light dispels the dark. This statement is a profound truth and worth pondering.

You can choose to be a part of the solution that this world needs by this simple act.

I invite you into this group with this work and this service. Simply join in this planetary effort and support one another.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 9-5-2018

 

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Conquer Discouraging Thoughts and Feelings

6 Tips to Conquer Discouraging Thoughts
and Feelings

Read 6 Tips to Conquer Discouraging Thoughts and Feelings by Genevieve Gerard

No matter how positive we try to keep our thoughts, at times, we become discouraged.

The very word discouraged gives us a clue, both in where the problem exists and in what we need to do to resolve it.

To become discouraged is to face a situation without the courage and fortitude that you usually maintain.

Here are some simple tips to conquer your discouraging thoughts and feelings during these times of concern:

Tip 1:

To transcend this feeling, it is first important that we recognize that it is a feeling.  Whereas thoughts have the power to create and transform our world, feelings are only fleeting expressions.

Tip 2:

It is important to let your feelings wash over you and then be released, without confusing them with thoughts or empowering them by believing they are a reality.

A feeling has validity only in the brief moment of time in which it is experienced and is not truth.  It is only a feeling.  To become discouraged implies that you have allowed your feelings to rob you of the courage and the enthusiasm that fuels your life adventure.

He who is not everyday conquering some fear
has not learned the secret of life.
        – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The simple understanding of the nature of our feelings and the ability to differentiate them from our more powerful force, thought, is an important step in helping us use the creative power of our thoughts positively.

Our human nature is to jumble our thoughts and feelings together, mixing them up and then all too often, granting a feeling more gravitas than it deserves.

Tip 3:

To define the difference between feeling and thought is an important step in limiting the influence and scope of a negative experience, without denying or ignoring it.

By accepting and acknowledging a feeling, even and especially a negative feeling, and then limiting it to its true scope, we are empowering our life. This allows the positive aspects of the principle of “energy follows thought” to be harnessed for the power and control of our intention.

If we experience the emotion (in this example dis-couraged) and then acknowledge that it is a feeling, we can let it flow over us without harm.  Experiencing the feeling and then releasing the feeling, prevents you from being trapped in your feelings.

Tip 4:

Emotion, by its very nature, comes and dissipates very quickly, much like diving into a deep pool of water.  Like a dive, you enter deeply into the emotional waters for a brief minute and like a dive, it is important to rise out of the waters so you can take a new breath and bathe in the sunlight.

It is when you take this fleeting experience of emotion and empower it with your thoughts, and all too often your fears, that you feed your fears.  Living in fear of the future or past brings you out of the present moment and creates the problems of negativity in your life.

When a feeling is kept within the confines of the present, you can experience it without it causing harm.
        – Genevieve Gerard

If immediately upon recognizing a negative feeling you identify it as a feeling, not repressing it, but releasing it immediately as feelings are by their nature designed to do, you begin your mastery of life.  If you then put the feeling into a reality or truth test, you are well on your way to conquering your fears.

Tip 5:

If you ask yourself the questions, “Is this the truth?”, “Is this real?”, “Is this what I think or only what I feel?”, you are well on your way to releasing any negativity or damage that having the emotion can do.

Do not give in too much to feelings. A overly sensitive heart is an unhappy possession on this shaky earth.
        – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This little exercise to determine the difference between what is real and what is unreal can be done in just a few seconds.  This reality check  then frees you from the tyranny of believing that what you are feeling is reality, while still honoring and respecting the validity of a feeling, as only a feeling.

To distinguish between thoughts and feelings and to then master the thought so the negativity is not empowered to sabotage your life is a powerful tool.  Learning to harness your command of your feelings puts you in the co-creator role in the universe, under the principle that “energy follows thought.”

Practicing these tips and techniques and understanding these principles, are an important step in life mastery.  Use them well.  Practice them often.

Tip 6:

You can transform, transmute and transcend any and all negative emotions.  To do this, it is important that you acknowledge the feeling while you also acknowledge your mastery over it by letting it have its moment, but not giving it the additional power of thought and especially fear.

In my “Feeling Free” guided meditation, I give an in-depth explanation of a very powerful technique to move your energy from feeling to resolution.

It is a technique that once learned can be practiced anytime and anywhere to gain mastery over your most troublesome and limiting emotions.

It is a technique that earlier in my journey I used many times in a day.  It is a technique that I use frequently in my life now.  To use awareness to move, transcend, transmute and transform the strong emotions of fear and anger, gives you freedom in your life.

I Am Feeling Free Meditation MP3 by Genevieve Gerard
This technique is one I have found to be so important in empowering people that I created a simpler and shorter version “I Am Feeing Free.” 

To be able to experience your emotions without letting them take over your life is a key to mastering whatever challenges come your way. It is a strength that frees you to become all that you are meant to be.

These tips and techniques help you be in the NOW and embrace the new possibilities and opportunities that life brings before you without the burden of your fears, or limiting beliefs that have entrenched themselves from old feelings that can be released and resolved

You can have your emotions, freely without them creating problems and limitations that linger beyond their moment of time.

I encourage and invite you to conquer any discouraging thoughts while you experience and express your emotions, but remain the director and designer in charge of your life.

Namaste,

Genevieve Gerard

 

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Genevieve - Soulful

 

About the author:
Genevieve Gerard teaches Transformational Consciousness – from first awakening to enlightened Soul awareness. She helps you experience the joy that results from the spontaneous “touch of your soul.”

Read more details…

Genevieve has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and for over thirty years has worked one-on-one with people who were recovering from devastating disabilities and chronic pain. Teaching the mastery of the mind-body relationship she was one of the early professionals trained in biofeedback, visualization, imagery, and meditation as essential techniques to help people heal their bodies, heal their emotions, heal their minds, and heal their lives.

Genevieve’s work demonstrates what she knows so well, “It is spiritual connectedness that triggers physical healing and emotional and mental well-being.”  Helping people, like you, tap into your higher-self is the power she wields to guide you to heal and transform your life.

Now, with this understanding, she combines the effective techniques she developed over decades teaching mind-body mastery along with her extensive experience in meditation and spiritual development to create a synthesis of mind-body-spirit that delivers complete healing and opens the door to unlimited personal growth and an encounter with your Soul.

In addition to her current life guidance coaching sessions, and workshops performed around the world, Genevieve has produced more than 20+ guided meditations in the last eight years that are available on Apple Music (iTunes), Amazon, CDBaby, and her website.

It is her vision that through your experience with the techniques of awareness, visualization, and meditation, the love of your Soul will touch and transform your life through her writings and products. It is her sincere desire that the potential of a life of joy and celebration that seems to elude so many people can become a reality for you, now and forever.

Browse her life story and read the Touch of the Soul that changed her world. To contact Genevieve, visit her keep in touch page.

 

Disclaimer: Ideas and techniques discussed on this website are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. If you or any other person has a medical concern, you should consult with your health care provider or seek other professional medical treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something that you have read on this blog or in any of its linked materials. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately.

 

Last updated 3-11-2020

 

Copyright © 2015-2020 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

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What You Need To Know To Invoke Your Higher Self

What You Need To Know To
Invoke Your Higher Self

Read "What You Need To Know To Invoke Your Higher Self" by Genevieve Gerard

This post is part of my ongoing series on Soul Awakening.

There comes a time in the human experience that you need more than logic to solve a problem.

Your mind may replay possible solutions to your problems, only to cast them aside. You may have a sense that the wisdom you are seeking lies just outside of your reach.

You may feel a prompting that you cannot quite grasp. Your intuition may be warning you that you are about to make a mistake, but you lack the clarity to stand with the strength and assurance to find a different way.

This is the time to invoke the wisdom and the guidance of your Higher Self.

To invoke your Higher Self will aid and empower you. When you realize that the directions and insights are coming from the part of yourself that is most attuned, and aligned with your divine spark and the higher purpose in your life, it shifts your perspective and strengthens you.

Consciously connecting with your Higher Self empowers your life and your decisions. You can invoke Your Higher Self whenever you need its wisdom and guidance. Your Higher Self is internally tuned in with the purpose of your life. It opens you to a sense of your inner wisdom and your inner knowing.

Steps To Invoke Your Higher Self

INTENTION

Perhaps the most significant step in connecting with your Higher Self is your intention.

Intention fuels a manifestation of an energetic connection that is always there, although you may not always feel or experience it. Intention activates the pathway from your physical and etheric body to the subtle energetic substance that forms the Soul or Higher Self.

It is your intention that activates an energetic bridge from your lower mind and personality to the part of you that is your Higher Self. It is important to remember that your Higher Self is a part of your anatomy every bit as real and significant as what you can see, touch, smell, taste, and feel. It cannot, not help but be a part of you.

We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect.
The judgement of the intellect is only part of the truth.
        – Carl Jung

That you rarely consider your Higher Self consciously does not make it any less real and present. You rarely consciously consider the blood that circulates through your body or the oxygen it delivers throughout your physical body, but we all know they are real.

Your Higher Self is as much a part of the wholeness of your being, even though it’s substance is not composed of matter.

IMAGINATION

Because your Higher Self is composed of a substance that is uniquely different from the substance of matter, imagination in visualizing and experiencing your Higher Self can be very valuable.

Your Imagination is a function of your higher mind and is, therefore, more aligned with and attuned with the substance of your Higher Self. It is a valuable tool in helping you experience this part of your being that is beyond matter.

EXPERIENCE

In consciously connecting with your Higher Self, it is important that you open your senses beyond what you may focus on in your so-called, “normal consciousness.”

You may need to expand your awareness of a part of your energy field that you may most often ignore. To come into a conscious experience of your Higher Self I recommend that you calm your mind, open your heart and invite the Light. This is a prequel to the meditation experience.

The Soul speaks to you in the silence. The more you can quiet and calm your mind the more the soft, gentle whisper of the Soul can be heard.
        – Genevieve Gerard

When reaching for the conscious awareness of your Higher Self, meditation is a powerful tool. It is not essential, but the more often you forge the pathway from your lower nature and your personality to your Higher Self the easier the path is to follow (like any well-worn path in nature.) When you empower the pathway from your mind and your emotions, you build a way that etheric energy connects you with your Higher Self.

Relax and enjoy the construction of that pathway using your intention and your imagination as you open yourself to the experience of meeting your Higher Self in the meditation below.

Breathing Meditation To Invoke Your Higher Self

 

Begin, by inhaling a very deep breath, bringing the air in through your nose, letting it begin at your diaphragm energetically.

Bring the air into your chest and as you do this consciously open the energy of your heart to expand. Hold the intention of Love.

Then bring the breath all the way to the top of your lungs, just below the shoulders.

When you have filled your lungs as fully as you are able, release the breath through your mouth fully until you have released all of your air.

This is a relaxing breath. You might already notice how much more relaxed and at peace you feel having fully experienced a full breath.

Before you take another profound and relaxing breath, take a moment to come into this present moment. Let yourself consciously put the past behind you, and relax and appreciate the magnificent power and unlimited potential that is available, right here and right now.

Recognize that the past is now behind you. It has no further power over you or influence over you except what you choose to give it.

What will be, the future, is just beginning to be created as you let yourself relax and reside in the eternal NOW.

It is in the eternal NOW that your Higher Self resides. This moment, this peace, this Presence is available to you.

When you are ready, begin to draw in another deep relaxing and healing breath, in through your nose starting at your diaphragm, through your solar plexus and up into your heart allowing your heart energy to open and expand.

Again, bring the breath to the top of your lungs drawing in as much air as you can hold.

Then as you release this breath through your mouth it may form a sound like a sigh as you let go of any stress or concerns and let yourself relax and come to center.

Observe what you are feeling and experiencing.

Then, breathe naturally not attempting to control your breath, allowing your breath to direct how much you bring in and how much you let go of that you no longer need.

You might notice a calm and peace filling you at this time. You might be aware that you are more present.

Enter into the profound peace and potential of the eternal now, and release the past and open to the possibility of creating a new future that incorporates more of your purpose in life and your heart’s desire.

Taking one more really deep relaxing and filling breath with intention, invoke and invite the Presence of your Higher Self.

With the inhale draw into your heart and your mind the perfect amount of the very essence of your Being.

Let its Light circulate through your whole being with your breath.

As it moves from your lungs to your heart and throughout your entire physical and energy body, accept the healing power and profound love into your conscious awareness, into your heart and into your mind.

As you exhale breath out any negative thoughts or fears.

Release any limiting beliefs that keep you from expressing the magnificent and full being that you truly are.

Now sit in silence and receptivity as you listen for the still prompting of your Higher Self.

In this pause you can offer up any issue and concern on which you would like greater insight or understanding.

Be receptive and record your thoughts and insights in your journal.

Pause for reflection.

Observe the background sounds that surround you. Return to this present moment and give gratitude to your Higher Self for any insights and clarity you may have received in this guided meditation.

 

Now, move forward with your life confident and assured that the insight and wisdom you have applied to the situation is the right choice for your life and is aligned with your Higher Purpose.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

 

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Last updated 10-03-2018

 

Copyright © 2015-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

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7 Mind-Body Techniques to Increase Your Feelings of Confidence and Success

7 Mind-Body Techniques to Increase Your Feelings of Confidence and Success

Read "The 7 Mind-Body Techniques to Increase Your Feelings of Confidence and Success" by Genevieve Gerard

This article is about using the mind-body-spirit relationship to enhance happiness and increase your feelings of confidence and success.

In the past I have discussed how smiling enhances happiness.

Today I would like to expand on my smiling concept to offer you some additional powerful techniques to help you increase your feelings of confidence and success and live the life of your dreams.


   Click to listen to me reading this post to you (15 minutes).

Mind-Body-Spirit Relationship

These are tools that are a dynamic part of your mind-body relationship and work on a physiological level using the inherent power of your autonomic nervous system to give you greater success in your life.

There is within you simple but miraculous ways in which your mind, body, and your emotions work together. It is important to understand the ways that they can work together to your advantage and empowerment.

More and more as science can reveal the subtle interrelationship of body, emotions, mind, and spirit, we are beginning to understand how much of what we experience in life is within our command.

Science has been constantly unfolding with new studies and research into the amazing ways that your state of being responds to synthesis and integration of the mind with the body and the emotions, by signaling the production of endorphin’s, serotonin, and other mood-enhancing and mind-expanding chemicals.

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
        – Franklin D. Roosevelt

I first became fascinated with the ways that the mind could influence the body, and the body could influence the mind and emotions when a new technology called biofeedback came into my awareness.

The biofeedback technology was so amazing to me that I became one of the first to learn and become certified in this emerging field in the 70’s. I am not by nature scientific, so to learn to understand the physiological and psychological implications of this inter-relationship was challenging. I was then, and continue to be, deeply committed to understanding how life can be empowered to bring greater success and joy.

Fortunately, in the subsequent 40 years since I struggled to learn how the body, the mind, the emotions, and the spiritual aspect of man worked together many scientists have used this technology to study and reveal to humanity the power of this integration of the self. My many years of counseling people through catastrophic injuries and debilitating pain demonstrated time and time again the ways that this integration and synthesis could be used to resolve and empower an individual life.

New studies are emerging all the time from the scientific community that prove how these parts of human nature can work together to enhance and empower the individual.

Recent studies on the physiological advantages of meditation on physical health and a sense of well-being have confirmed what has often been taught in the Ageless Wisdom. Your body works in synergy with what you think and what you feel. It uses the signals of body language to integrate feelings of happiness and success.

Gain Mastery Over Your Life

Today, I would like to reveal how you can use some of these new discoveries to gain mastery over your life. What is known as the autonomic nervous system is perhaps the most amazing part of your anatomy, yet it is something you most likely rarely even consider. It enables you to breathe in and breathe out without requiring conscious thought. And when engaged consciously can have a profound impact on your state of being.

This is true in helping you enter a meditative state of consciousness and in helping you to relax and manage your life’s stress. As simple an act as moving your breath from the autonomic to conscious awareness can have subtle influences in how your whole being responds. The relationship between the glandular production, hormones, and all of the very subtle signals that are sent based upon a specific action and stimulus are amazing.

There are a wealth of studies available if you are interested. It is fascinating to explore how these autonomic responses can be used to help you achieve your goals. Beyond the power of breath, which spiritual teachers have used for thousands of year is the intricate response of certain physical actions, such as a smile, to the impact and influence of your body language and how that signals emotional responses. Your thoughts, especially your affirmations and expressions of intention combine to help bring into manifestation what you desire.

The starting point of all achievement is desire.
        – Napoleon Hill

I recently saw a T.E.D. talk that had been viewed more than 55 million times, called “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” by a professor and researcher at Harvard Business School. It discussed the increase in performance and confidence in people who went into a job interview after having performed body power poses associated with victory and success. Watch your body language shapes who you are and try the power pose technique.

As I listened to the T.E.D. talk, I related it to a subject on which I often write, “Energy Follows Thought” and on the quote, I often refer to “As a man thinketh so shall he be.”

That these success postures can influence you to be more successful reaffirms the mind-body relationship.

As I suggested in my blog “How Smiling Enhances Happiness,” I encourage you to experiment with and read more about the mind-body relationship.

Below are seven free no-tech life hack techniques
to get you started:

The 7 Mind-Body Techniques To Increase Your Feelings of Confidence and Success

  1. Pick a positive affirmation that asserts the truth of what you are striving to achieve and repeat it throughout the day.

  2. Create a positive “I Am…” statement that confirms and affirms what you desire and say it to yourself each time you look at yourself in a mirror.

  3. Imagine the feelings of having accomplished what you want. What would people be saying to you? What would they now think about you and your accomplishment?

  4. Consider what the posture that someone of this level of confidence and success would have. How would they enter into a room?

  5. With your body language signal (by your actions) the emotional state you want to achieve. YES!

  6. Open your attention to this exact moment in time by putting your past behind you and opening yourself to the unlimited possibility and potential of what is now about to manifest.

  7. Get up and move your body to celebrate achieving a goal to solidify the sense of joy and well-being that comes from fulfilling an accomplishment. My dear friend calls this the “Happy Dance.”

 

You may wish to say your positive affirmation while you look at yourself in a mirror. This is especially effective with the “I Am” statements. You may wish to listen often throughout the day to a specific affirmation by streaming it and replaying it to reactivate your sense of the truth of what you are affirming. This is powerful way of bringing your affirmations into manifestation.

ATS Affirmations For Abundance CD-MP3 by Genevieve Gerard

 

You can empower yourself to create the life of your dreams by using my five-star rated “Awaken To Success” Affirmations For Abundance CD-MP3 available on Amazon and iTunes.

 

Observe how affirming and identifying yourself with the accomplishment you desire affects your feelings. Notice how your posture and your facial expressions shift and change in subtle ways.

Experiment with celebrating your successes with a “Happy Dance.” How does that make you feel?

You may wish to adjust your physical posture throughout the day to reflect the sense of purpose and success you are striving to achieve.

Do these little activities throughout the day and then incorporate them into your everyday routine.

By incorporating the integrative functions of your body, by activating activity and production of the autonomic nervous system with positive thoughts and expression of joyful emotions, you can influence your life in positive ways.

Experiment with what works for you, what makes you feel empowered and happy.

Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.
        – Amy Cuddy, Professor Harvard Business School

This is your life. You have been given a vast array of tools and techniques to help you achieve your purpose. Use what works for you and incorporate it into your life and keep your mind open to the new opportunities and new possibilities that are being created in the ever emerging and evolving future.

Celebrate! Create! Enjoy!

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 9-10-2020

 

Genevieve - Soulful

 

About the author:
Genevieve Gerard teaches Transformational Consciousness – from first awakening to enlightened Soul awareness. She helps you experience the joy that results from the spontaneous “touch of your soul.”

Read more details…

Genevieve has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and for over thirty years has worked one-on-one with people who were recovering from devastating disabilities and chronic pain. Teaching the mastery of the mind-body relationship she was one of the early professionals trained in biofeedback, visualization, imagery, and meditation as essential techniques to help people heal their bodies, heal their emotions, heal their minds, and heal their lives.

Genevieve’s work demonstrates what she knows so well, “It is spiritual connectedness that triggers physical healing and emotional and mental well-being.”  Helping people, like you, tap into your higher-self is the power she wields to guide you to heal and transform your life.

Now, with this understanding, she combines the effective techniques she developed over decades teaching mind-body mastery along with her extensive experience in meditation and spiritual development to create a synthesis of mind-body-spirit that delivers complete healing and opens the door to unlimited personal growth and an encounter with your Soul.

In addition to her current life guidance coaching sessions, and workshops performed around the world, Genevieve has produced more than 20+ guided meditations in the last eight years that are available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and her website.

It is her vision that through your experience with the techniques of awareness, visualization, and meditation, the love of your Soul will touch and transform your life through her writings and products. It is her sincere desire that the potential of a life of joy and celebration that seems to elude so many people can become a reality for you, now and forever.

Browse her life story and read the Touch of the Soul that changed her world. To contact Genevieve, visit her keep in touch page.

 

Copyright © 2015-2020 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

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