Genevieve Gerard Serenity Sunday article

An Invitation to Your Soul

An Invitation to Your Soul:

The First Step to Greater Soul Awareness

Read An Invitation to Your Soul by Genevieve Gerard

This article is part of my ongoing series on Soul Awareness and Soul Awakening.

Do you believe that you have a Soul?

Does having a living and empowering relationship with your Soul interest you?

My purpose in this article is to talk with you about your Soul. I want to expose you to ideas of how you can come into greater communication and a sense of connection and integration with your Soul so that your Soul’s power and magnificence can be a conscious part of your life.

Invite Your Soul

The journey to Soul consciousness is a great journey, but like all great journeys, it begins with a single step. You can choose to take that step today. You can choose to open your heart and your mind to the awareness of the presence of your Soul. This single step begins by choosing to be aware of what you experience or sense when you consciously invite your Soul to make itself known to you.

This step of invitation to your Soul may sound strange to you. After all, your Soul is an integral part of you. Why would it be important for you to issue consciously an invitation to your Soul to reveal itself to your consciousness? Consider if you will those moments, those times when you feel you may have experienced the presence of your Soul.

It may have been in a time of deep prayer or meditation. It could have been in a time of profound sorrow when the Soul revealed itself to you in the role of comforter. These fleeting times may well have been held reverently in your heart as a precious blessing that you don’t have the words to express.

That there are not adequate words in our language (or any language I know of in the world) to discuss the Soul is part of why the Soul is a mystery. It is amazing that the Soul, the seat of your Divine Spark and portal to your relationship with God should have so little written about it.

Soulful References

When I began teaching about consciously connecting with your Soul and developed guided meditation experiences to help people come into awareness of the presence of their Soul I thought I could find a vast resource in the Bible. However, I was astonished to find very little to reveal the nature of the Soul and nothing about how to increase your individual relationship and understanding of the nature of your Soul and its role in your life, which I know personally to be of profound importance.

The best resource I found in the Bible for understanding the role of the relationship with the Soul is found in the Book of Psalms, mostly in the Psalms of King David who clearly had the kind of personal relationship with the Soul that my spiritual practice and journey revealed to be so important. The Book of Psalms reveals the joy of a deep relationship with your Soul and how it supports your relationship with God.

As I expanded my search to find sources for the words to describe the Soul and its role and significant relationship in life, I discovered that although the Soul is an accepted dynamic or presence in life, it is most often referred to in poetry, or song. The Book of Psalms is a perfect example of this poetic language. I found this very vagueness to be intriguing. Unfortunately, expanding my search to even the very ancient spiritual literature of the Bhagavad Gita was not revealing.

Poets such as Hafiz, Rumi, and Omar Kham all write beautifully of the Soul. Certainly, the existence of the Soul is embedded in the human heart in some archetypal level of awareness. In much of the Western world, children went to bed saying the prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my Soul, to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my Soul to take.” This simple child’s prayer speaks to your deep understanding of the Soul as the everlasting part of your being. It acknowledges the integral relationship between God and your Soul.

The one thing in the world, of value, is the active soul.”
      – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ageless Wisdom

My quest for greater understanding of the Soul and its role in relation to an individual life led me, as so much of my study does, to the Ageless Wisdom. There I found much discussion of the optimum relationship of the Soul with the personality, the mind, and the body. It is from that body of work that I learned that I could call upon the wisdom of my Soul as an integral part of the wholeness of my being.

Also throughout the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom are mantras to use in meditation to enhance the conscious relationship and integration of the Soul, many of which I have sprinkled through my articles. According to the Ageless Wisdom, identifying with your Soul, through the power of an “I Am” statement is extremely powerful. Ponder on this.

Likewise, in my years of guiding and teaching people to enter into greater experience and awareness of their Soul, I have found that stating clearly your intention when you meditate to receive the guidance or the wisdom of your Soul in addition to consciously issuing an invitation to your Soul is a significant step.

Developing a Relationship with Your Soul

Your Soul is an integral part of you, but do you pay attention to it? Developing a relationship with your Soul is like all relationships in life, it takes attention. The more you strengthen and enhance that relationship the more it is accessible to you at your need.

There are subtle yet significant factors related to the principles of free will that have an impact upon how your relationship with your Soul is nurtured. Thankfully, your Soul knows these and can guide you through the development of a greater and more profound relationship, once an invitation is issued.

As with all relationships, attention and constancy are beneficial. Although your Soul loves you completely, and unconditionally it requires nothing from you (as your “personality” self.) To move into the full potential of a Soul relationship and Soul integration of what is possible and available for you only takes providing the time and space for communication and awareness as a part of your daily meditation practice.

Making a connection with your chakra energy centers to your Soul is called, “building the Antahkarana.” This bridge of Light and energy makes your Soul connection more accessible.

A Simple Soul Connection Meditation

 

To begin I recommend sitting quietly and receptively. Take a deep breath through your nose and let it out completely through your mouth. Do this three times while you relax and release any stress and get centered.

Imagine your Soul as a radiating point of golden Light 3 to 6 feet above your head.

The Light of the Soul Descends
Soul Light Descending

As you enter into a meditative state, it is important to “Calm your mind, open your heart, and invite the Light.” Then identify with your Soul as an integral part of your being by saying this Soul Mantram with intention and affirmation.

I am the Soul
I am Light Divine
I am Love
I am Will
I am Fixed Design
I am the Soul infusing the personality
I am the personality Soul-infused
As the Unified Self, I invoke the One
The One in Whom we live and move and have our Being

Then sit quietly and receptively in meditation and ponder on these phrases.

 

I have found it very helpful to then record your thoughts and impressions in a journal. I have over the years received amazing revelations and understanding from this process.

I encourage you to use the practice of meditation to invite a connection with your Soul and develop a relationship and get to know the wonder of your Soul.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 10-15-2017

 

Copyright © 2014-2017 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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Into The Silence

Into the Silence: Ways To Calm Your Mind

Read Into The Silence article by Genevieve Gerard

It is in the silence that we can hear the still quiet promptings of our Soul.

It is in the silence that the Peace that Passes Understanding is Revealed.

It is when we enter into the silence that we can hear the voice of God.

The silence is a full and fertile experience opening us to an inner world that the noise of the world drowns out, and the chattering of our mind obscures.

We are instructed in the Bible to “Be still and know that I am God.” For many, perhaps for you, that stillness is hard to achieve.

To experience that silence and that deep stillness is the purpose of meditation. The portal to meditation opens when you calm your mind, open your heart and invite the Light. Each guided meditation that I have created over the years begins with the instruction to calm your mind, open your heart, invite the Light.

However, as I move through my life I hear people say, repeatedly, that they find it difficult to meditate. It seems that for many it is the first part of that injunction “Calm the Mind” that is so challenging. It makes sense then that how to teach a meditator to experience a calm mind has been the work of sages, yogis, and gurus since there have been teachers on the path to enlightened awareness.

For many people, the chatter generated in their minds drowns out the silence. This “chattering” is anything but calming for all too often it is jammed with fears, negative self-judgment, and criticism. It is liberally laced too with the unfulfilled expectation of both themselves and others.

The silence of a calm mind may seem out of reach to you. The mind’s chatter, although you are sitting quietly, may be anything but silent. This is why the regular practice of meditation is so important. It begins to school the mind that your meditation time is a sacred space and a safe space to give the chatter of your mind a rest.

It is in the silence of the calm mind and the open heart that the guidance of the Soul and Presence of God can be experienced. There are many ways that we can move toward that calmness of mind. What way you choose at any given moment of time can be varied and responsive to the events and circumstances in your life when you choose.

 

HOW LONG SHOULD I MEDITATE?

What seems significant is that you set aside the time and have the desire and intention to calm your mind, open your heart and invite the Light. It does not have to be a long period of time that is set aside. Ten to fifteen minutes a day would make a great difference in your life. You do not have to go away from the world as the holy men of ages past did to achieve enlightenment. You can learn to meditate and receive the many benefits and blessings of meditation right where you live and in the midst of your busy life today.

Now some may say, “I don’t have time to meditate every day.” The old wisdom response to that is to say,

If you don’t have time to meditate every day,
then meditate 2 times a day.”
        – Anonymous

If you don’t think you can take the time, take that as a sign that you can benefit even more than others from meditation.

I suggest and encourage at least a daily practice of meditation because the health benefits and the consciousness and prospective benefits are best incorporated into your life with consistency and continuity. Whereas any technique of meditation when practiced regularly can positively and dramatically transform your life, some you will find easier than others to help you experience the calmness of mind and dampening of mind chatter that is desired.

In my teaching, I found that guiding people in a meditation and focusing their minds on a particular awareness is most effective. That is why I have created so very many guided meditations.

 


Check out Grounding Arrow MP3 by Genevieve Gerard

 

A great beginning guided awareness meditation to reconnect and rebalance you to your life force and create peace and calm is my Grounding Arrow Meditation. It can be done in the quiet of your home or while walking.

 

Click here to >>>Get More Info About This Meditation.

 


 

To choose to meditate, to set aside the time with the intention and the desire to calm your mind, open your heart and experience the Light of your Soul or to hear the still quiet voice of God is what is important. How you do it is not as important. That you take the time is of paramount importance.

 

WHAT WORKS?

I found over the many years that I have practiced daily meditation that one technique or another best suits an individual day, situation or circumstance. Personally, I have changed meditation methods frequently. Although it is human nature for someone to think that their way is the only way, I suggest that within you is wisdom that can direct your choices, that of your Higher Self. In the world are a myriad of instructions and a wide variety of products to choose from. Some are free and some charge a fee. Some techniques are very simple and easy. Others require deep understanding. What works for you is best revealed with experimentation.

Any time you have, at the conclusion of the meditation time experienced, a greater calmness of your body, your emotions or your mind you have gained a great deal. The more often you open yourself to that experience, even if it is in the brief period it takes to think an affirmation or a seed thought, you are opening your life to a richer and deeper awareness.

In addition to guided meditation, using a mantra as either an invocation and evocation, or a repetition of a specific thought focus, or saying an affirmation are all effective tools. Pondering Koans (stories used by Zen masters to instruct on important consciousness points), saying Psalms, repeating a rosary or repeating a favorite prayer in your mind are also meditative experiences. Although there are subtle differences between the experience of prayer and meditation a prayer can often be used to quiet the mind sufficiently to bring you into the receptive part of a meditation experience, the silence.

The use of prayer beads that help followers use repetitive prayers or statements as a mantra are also a way to help you to meditate. Repetitive movements with repetitive thoughts are all ancient ways to meditate. The repetition of a Psalm or prayer is a form of coming into alignment with your Soul, as is chanting. Whatever the language used or technique employed it is the intention to open your mind and your heart to the presence of the Divine and open up to your Soul’s Light that makes the transformation happen.

Within you is a wisdom that will direct your path if you only open your heart and your mind to its Presence. You may have noticed that I often direct you in my writings to tune into that Presence and refer to it as the Soul or your Higher Self. I do this because not only are the health benefits of meditation well documented by science but there are very few things you can do in life that has as powerful and profound a positive influence as meditation, on your health or on your ability to be successful.

 

SOME SIMPLE MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

A very simple technique would be to declare your intention by affirming and saying:

I am of calm mind,
as I open my heart,
I invite the Light “
        – Genevieve Gerard

Then just sit in the silence, quietly and reflectively.

Of course, there is much more you can do and add to the experience but your intention to have a meditative experience once you have set aside the time is a first step. Then you can add other techniques, guided meditations, repetitive mantras, affirmations, prayers or whatever of the vast array of what is offered in the world that you feel guided to.

In a recent article, I discussed the power of an “I Am” statement. You can create a mantra to repeat in your mind out of “I Am” that defines the Presence you wish to experience that day.

Examples would be:

  • I Am Love
  • I Am Peace
  • I Am Joy

It is in the silence, the time to limit the input of your mind’s chatter as much as possible and in the quiet removal from the world’s input, that the magic of meditation happens. There are some who have created audio meditations where the sound is scientifically modulated (alpha, theta, and the deepest delta waves) to bring you into a specific meditative experience. These are helpful for some people as a way of conquering the mind chatter and putting you in a meditative state.

 

TAKE THE TIME TO MEDITATE

Because for me meditation has been the portal to joy and love, insight, and understanding and a sense of harmony and union with God and all of life, I encourage you to set aside the time to have a meditative experience. You can start the practice now.

I do encourage regularity. The repetition helps your mind calm as it recognizes that this is the time to be calm, too quiet the chattering mind, to tune in and receive insight.

This then becomes a sacred time as you acknowledge and recognize:

This is the time to be still.

This is the time to let yourself just be.

This is the time to open your heart to the expansion of love.

This is the time to be open to the guidance of the Light of your Soul
and the promptings of the Divine.

Taking this time is a gift you can give yourself that will repay you with blessings beyond measure. To be touched by the Presence of your Soul or to hear in the silence the voice of God guiding you, loving you or comforting you is the gift that meditation can give.

This time, set aside by you is for you and will be a blessing that can transform your life empowering you to be and become all that you are meant to be.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on all that you do!

 

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Last updated 11-26-2018

 

Copyright © 2014-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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The Magic of Saying I AM

The Magic of Saying “I Am”

Read The Magic of Saying I Am by Genevieve Gerard

“I Am” are two of the most powerful words that can be said. Those words direct not only your thoughts but also your very being and becoming.

The magic of the “I Am” words are that they are a way by which you can direct your life and direct yourself to be and become the person you want to be; what you intend to be, the person who deep in your heart and mind and Soul you know yourself to be.

Those simple words have dominion over the very fabric of your life in a way that begins a chain reaction to bring into your life the circumstances and events that make the “I Am” statement true.

The famous philosopher Descartes had a profound influence upon humanity’s understanding of being and consciousness with his famous declaration “I think therefore I am.” It could also be said that in truth “I am therefore I think.”

Now many people, perhaps you, might ask what the difference is. And others might say who cares? These are some of the word plays and considerations that may only interest the philosophers in the world. Long ago in my college days, I learned that my fascination with these thoughts and subtle distinctions were not shared with most of my fellow students.

Plato with his dialogues and Descartes with his famous statement were all too often greeted with an attitude of “so what?” Yet, over a lifetime of exploring the nature of truth I have found that it is in the pondering and exploration of these admittedly subtle differentiations that an incredible power can be unlocked. It is the power to help you manifest your life purpose and destiny. It is the power to help you transform your life.

To unlock the magic of saying “I Am” it is helpful to understand some of the subtle ways that this statement works. Perhaps the most revealing consideration would be to ask, who is the “I” that is saying “I Am”?

This may seem like a silly question to some, but to me, it is an essential distinction of empowering you to gain mastery in your Life. The I who makes that potent declaration is an amazing creation, a human being, and as a human function on many levels of energy concurrently, often unconscious of all of the tools, power, and gifts with which the Creator has granted a human being. The “I” is the Soul, your Soul, that which has created and directs your life force.

It is in understanding these different tools and in learning to use them consciously, with the intention that you can come into your full power and expression of all that means. First of all, it is helpful to clarify and understand that you are a Soul, having the adventure of your life, a human experience. It is to you as a Soul that you have been granted the role and responsibility of being a co-creator with God. It is when you are identified with your Soul that you have the power to manifest the full glory, the full power and the full potential of a beloved child of God.

It is in that powerful statement of “I Am” that you are brought into alignment with the very highest part of yourself. When you state “I Am,” particularly with the intention and desire of connecting with and aligning with your Soul, you are releasing powerful magic that is shrouded in a deep affirmation of spiritual truth. Therefore, I invite you to use the following ancient mantra to help you come to conscious awareness and identification with your Soul.

It is best to use this mantra with openness and heartfelt intention and desire to connect with and experience your Soul. As you sit quietly and receptively have your spine aligned, and your feet placed firmly on the floor. Then say in your mind the words of the mantra as you read them.

The Soul Mantra

I am the Soul
I am Light Divine
I am Love
I am Will
I am Fixed Design
I am the Soul infusing the personality
I am the personality Soul infused

Following using this mantra I suggest being quiet and receptive as you listen in the quiet to what may become apparent to you through the prompting and revelation from your Soul. Ponder on this.

The Soul speaks and guides with promptings and insights and intuition.

Often, in my writings I encourage you to connect with your Soul, to invoke the wisdom or direction of your Soul. I recommend that you use this portal of awareness, affirming your identification with your Soul, to make available to your conscious mind, personality and emotions the clarity, guidance, and wisdom of your Soul.

Using the mantra with your mind calm and your heart open will help you to experience your Soul.

The more you use this Mantram, the more you call upon the wisdom of your Soul to guide your life, the more you are choosing to live as the amazing creation that you are.

Your Soul is a vital part of your wholeness as a human being. You are not a person who is having a spiritual experience but truly a Soul having a life experience. This shift in your identification of yourself with the powerful “I Am” statement creates a ripple effect in your life, bringing you into greater alignment and integration with your whole self. In so doing it puts you into greater alignment and integration with God, whether you experience God as Creator, Source, Father or Higher Power. It is through the identification of yourself as Soul that you can begin to manifest your role and ultimate destiny as a child of God and your amazing gift as a co-creator with God.

Understanding this mystery of the nature of life, the nature of what it means to be a human being and what it means to be a beloved child of God, reveals so much that can be used to unlock your full power.

The potential of using this mantra in meditation becomes its reward. Using the powerful tool of affirmation by incorporating the “I Am” affirmation is something to use with conscious intention. Keeping an “I Am” statement short and clear limits the possible contamination of your mind chatter, which may resist the truth you are affirming.

When you identify yourself from your Soul’s point of view with an “I Am” affirmation you are invoking a subtle magical power and influence in your life. Therefore, choosing or creating an affirmation for yourself requires careful and conscious thought.

There is within the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom an important law in the universe called “The Law of Unintended Consequences.” The existence of this law is among many subtle and powerful universal laws that might be familiar to you, such as the law that “Energy Follows Thought” of which I have frequently written and the better-known “Law of Attraction.” Many of these laws are activated by using an “I Am” declaration. Ponder on this.

I Have Created An Affirmation To Share With You Today

I am created in the substance and image of God to know love and joy.”
      – Genevieve Gerard

I encourage you to unlock your power and your potential by the use of the “I Am” statements of the Soul Mantram and to use other affirmations that are out in the world and available.

Some other simple yet powerful affirmations that you can weave throughout your day to reveal the truth to you as you go about your daily life are:

  • I am Love

  • I am Light

  • I am a beloved child of God

Also you can download for FREE a track called “How to Use Affirmations Effectively,” when you join my consciousness community.

Affirmations are a tool to help you achieve your life’s purpose that can help you manifest your full potential in your life’s journey. I encourage you when choosing an affirmation to align your whole self, Soul, mind, and emotions. These are gifts that are available to you to help you live a happier and more fulfilled life as you learn to manifest the life you are meant to live and the life that you want to live.

When you choose to align consciously with and identify with your Soul you are affirming what is true. Bringing that truth into conscious awareness enables you to receive the many blessings of the Soul. The nature of the Soul is Love. The gifts of the Soul are joy. It is your Soul. It is there for you. The more you consciously align with and integrate with your Soul in your life, the more you can express and manifest the purpose of your life.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All that you do!

 

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Last updated 3-17-2019

 

Copyright © 2014-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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Peace Be With You

Peace Be With You

Getting and Giving the
Transforming Blessing of Peace

Read Peace Be With You article by Genevieve Gerard

The experience of peace has been an integral part of the spiritual journey throughout time.

Being at peace, experiencing peace, and feeling at peace is one of the best parts of the spiritual journey.

The heartwarming and fulfilling moments of peace nourish you at the deepest levels of your essential being. When at peace the pressures and problems of the world fade away leaving you refreshed, strengthened, and restored.

To be at peace is a benefit of meditation, prayer, and opening your heart and your mind to the Presence of your Soul and the Presence of the Divine. The peace that is so often sought is considered a blessing, and indeed, the experience of peace in your heart, mind, and Soul is a great benefit.

Ancient liturgies still performed in Christian churches of a variety of denominations include in a service of worship a ritual called the passing of the peace. This is where fellow worshipers greet one another with the Blessing “The Peace of the Lord be with you.” To which the response is “and also with you.” This ritual of passing the peace is a beautiful part of the group benefit of worshiping together.

The blessing of one another with an invocation of peace is a powerful act that has a far-reaching energetic and healing impact to those who both give and receive the blessing of peace. This is one of the times that by giving we receive. When you wish for another’s peace, you find that the universal law “energy follows thought” becomes engaged and automatically peace flows through you and you become more peaceful. You become an instrument of peace.

A Peacemaker Technique To Experience

Sharing a blessing of peace to others, not just in a few moments of a Sunday morning worship service but as an instrument of peace in the world, empowers you to be a co-creator of a positive reality and makes you an agent of the change you wish to bring to this world.

As a peacemaker exercise you could try an experiment whereas often as you think of it throughout the day, send forth a blessing of peace to anyone you see or notice.

As you try this, observe the impact your blessing and wishing peace influences the energy of the one you are blessing with peace. At the same time observe the effects and results that giving the blessing of peace has on you. You might notice that you feel calmer, less stressed, more attuned, and aligned with those around you.

You could choose, vary or modify what words you use. It is your intention of blessing or wishing them a peace that moves the energy and creates the essence of peace. Depending upon your own personal philosophy, beliefs, or theology, you can invoke the Divine Presence by adding such words to the thought as “The Peace of the Christ is with you” or “the Peace of the Lord is with you” or the “Peace of the Lord be with you.” You can use any of the names by which God is known anywhere in the world.

You can invoke any spiritual presence with whom you intuitively feel connected. This could include the Buddha, saints, or angels. What you send out automatically responds to your thought and intention. The act of blessing another is an act where you are aligned with your Soul. It is a service and a gift that you are giving to others.

This very brief expansion of your thought form about the blessing you are sending forth in this experiment enhances the gift of peace you are giving to the world. I know that when I have used this technique myself I have found that I experienced less stress, more joy and more successful interactions with others throughout the day. By you blessing those you encounter throughout the day, wishing them peace, the energy becomes charged with the good you intend.

To consciously invoke, share and invite peace into your consciousness intermittently, throughout the day, whenever the thought crosses your mind, impacts you because you cannot help but receive what you are giving. It is a simple little experiment. Approach it by being gentle with yourself. Anytime you do it, and anyone you choose is right. It does not require effort. Keep the experiment light, playful, and positive.

You might find it helpful to say what is known as the St. Francis prayer for it embodies the principles of sharing peace exceptionally well. When you say this prayer you are also joining with the energy of those who throughout time have strived to be an instrument of peace in the world.

Saint Francis Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

 

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

 

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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When I think of you experimenting with this Peacemaker technique,
I am reminded that Jesus in his famous Sermon on the Mount said
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God.”

When you greet those who cross your path today with the wish and blessing for peace for them, you are a peacemaker, and you are also blessed. As you perform this energetic work and service you are aligned with others in the world who work for good in the world, known as the New Group of World Servers. Across the world, at five p.m. every day in every time zone in the world, this blessing is said to support and empower this group.

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.
    – From the writings of Alice Baily

Thank you for giving this technique a try. You are encouraged to join with me at 5 p.m. every day by saying the Blessing of the New Group of World Servers. You can learn more about this group on my website where you can also download meditations to connect with this group.

As I conclude I send out to you, across the network of energy and light that is the worldwide web, a blessing that Peace Be With You Today.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The blessing of love on all that you do.

P.S. If in trying this you have an experience that you would like to share please comment below. I would love to hear how using this technique impacted your life experience and relationships.

 

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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 11-22-2020

 

Copyright © 2014-2020 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul. All rights reserved.

 

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Soul Connections

Soul Connections – The Eternal Bond of Love

Read Soul Connections article by Genevieve Gerard

 

Have you ever had the experience of meeting someone new, be it a friend or lover with whom you feel an immediate bond and connection that defies logic or understanding?

Immediately with these people you may be able to build a deep bond that is somehow more profound and much deeper than most of your other relationships.

These relationships go quickly into a level of trust and intimacy that can be at times confusing.

How, you may question and ponder, can I feel closer to someone I just met than possibly even my own family or friends I have known my whole life?”

These relationships are so different from other relationships that they are noteworthy and recognized as the special events that they are, even if they are not understood.

To understand these relationships, and even more important to not misunderstand the nature of these relationships it is important to understand both the nature of love and the eternal bond of love that evolves when a Soul connection exists. To explore these Soul connection relationships we need to expand our consciousness and our awareness of possibilities beyond the ways we may believe or perceive life to be.

The commonly held beliefs in Soulmates are often examples of these Soul connection relationships. And, when these relationships are begun at a time in life when one is looking for a mate, these profound bonds can be ignited into a lifelong powerful supportive and sustaining relationship. But when these intense experiences occur outside of the time of mating and physical desires our lack of understanding of these special relationships can be the cause of pain and sorrow. We might feel that we missed the chance to bond with our Soul Mate and therefore deny ourselves the love, the support, and the joy that a Soul connection relationship can bring into our lives.

Limiting a Soul connection relationship to the confines of the modern mythos of a Soul Mate is sad because it often denies us some of the most powerful relationships we can experience.”
          ― Genevieve Gerard

By expanding our awareness of the nature of Love to a deeper understanding of life and the nature of the Soul, we open our life, our consciousness, and our experience potentiality to a full spectrum of joyful liaisons to enhance our life adventure.

On a deep almost pre-conscious level we know, not with our minds but deep in our hearts the truth of the words, love never ends. We know this, not as hollow words to comfort us when someone we have truly loved dies. It is through love that we become aware of and our eternal nature, our Soul. When we have forged the bond of Love with another, we have made a connection that is beyond time and space. We have expressed our Divine nature and created something that connects us that transcends the material world and is manifested energetically.

We know these things with the wisdom of our hearts no matter how much our logical mind and scientific explorations fail to make sense of them. We might even say that these truths are self-evident, Love is eternal, and the Soul is eternal. Therefore, we might then consider what is not eternal. We know the body is not eternal.

Each of us who walk the earth knows that we begin our walk to death at the moment of our birth. It may be a very long walk or a devastatingly short walk, but we know that life has a beginning and an end. We also know that along that adventure we are dual beings. We have the life of the body which focuses upon all of the obvious aspects of the matter, but we also have emotions that while at times are impacted and influenced by the body exist outside of the material world. We also have thoughts, which like the emotions are not limited by matter but exist in a way every bit as real as our physical nature. And to complete the full expression of our nature we also have a Soul.

In a sense we are not only dual beings of matter and spirit but amazing beings who have a body, but are more than our bodies; who have emotions but are more than our emotions; and who have a Soul. It is with our Soul that we truly can love. And when we Love we form a bond with that which is eternal in us and that which is eternal in the beloved. It is through that eternal bond, of Soul connection, that we are drawn together in a myriad of roles and relationships through the bond of Love.

When we make in our life these connections that are Soul connections we are given a great gift to explore our deepest nature and develop and grow to a greater fullness of our being. The friendships formed and the relationships that are forged through the bond of Soul connection and Soul Love come into our lives to support us, empower us and expand our consciousness, reminding us on a very deep level of who we are as eternal beings.

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”
          ― Aristotle

These connections which are often recognized by an amazing ease of intimacy and understanding are usually accompanied by a feeling of having known someone your entire life, even if you just met. The depth of feeling that these relationships engender and the overwhelming joy that accompanies such connections is a part of the magic and mystery of life. In these relationships, you are invited to strengthen and temper love to new levels that have nothing to do with Eros or romantic Love but at times Philos, the Love of deep friendships and Agape, Soul Love which extends into the deepest core of your heart.

To expand your consciousness to incorporate these relationships into your life are a blessing that enables you to experience a joy and enables you to transcend the existential sense of loneliness and alienation that may have plagued other relationships in your life. Therefore you can populate your life with Soul Mates, Soul Friends, Soul companions on the path for the mutual achievement of your life work, your heart’s desire and your growth and evolutions in consciousness.

Celebrate and explore these unique relationships whenever and wherever they are offered to you in life. Neither age nor circumstances limit the potential of these Soul connection relationships to enhance your life in ways that can be both satisfying and empowering. These Soul connections offer new opportunities to embrace and express the fullness of your life.

Namaste,

Genevieve Gerard

The Blessing of Love on All that you Do!

 

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Last updated 7-8-2018

 

© 2014-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

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Calm Your Mind

Calm Your Mind

Read Calm Your Mind - Serenity Sunday Article by Genevieve Gerard

Calm your mind,
Open Your Heart,
Invite the Light

 

These are the instructions that I use at the start of every guided meditation that I create.

When I reflect upon what characteristics best exemplify a spiritual life, I realize that the qualities of patience, kindness and calmness are key virtues for us to strive to develop in our life.

I believe you can best manifest these qualities as a reflection of your experiences received in meditation. The practice of meditation and ultimately the discipline of meditation, focus you on calming your mind.

Quieting your mind is an ongoing challenge for those of us who practice meditation, no matter what form of meditation we practice.

It is only in the quiet mind that the full peace of the serenity of our Soul can be experienced.”
     – Genevieve Gerard

It is in the quiet mind that we can open ourselves to the wonder and the Oneness of the Universal Presence. It is in a quiet mind that the promptings of your spirit guides and guardian angels can be heard. It is in the quiet mind that intuition can be truly revealed.

The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.
     – James Allen

Releasing Anger

Calming your mind requires an active manifestation of the important principle of detachment, because to achieve that blessed state of calm you must disconnect from and release any anger you may be carrying, which will automatically bring you in touch with forgiveness. This forgiveness often needs to focus on those who have annoyed you, whether with petty acts or grand, but in order to extend the grace of forgiveness to another; you will find you must also extend that forgiveness to yourself first.

This contradiction of that by giving we receive has been revealing itself more and more clearly in my recent meditations. It seems to be an important principle. Ponder on this. It is very empowering.

This release and this resolution of whatever anger you have been experiencing combines with a spontaneous ripple effect of shifting your awareness away from the events that made you angry. This does much to bring calmness to your mind and quiet the chatter, by letting go of expectation, demands or desire.

This movement in your consciousness from expectation, desire, and demand, to letting go of your anger enables you to forgive both the other person and yourself. By this act of forgiveness, you will accomplish a great step forward in calming your mind.

All of this can occur in a nanosecond once you consciously turn your attention toward the content of your mind chatter and the emotions that are locked within it. You might find that this process is enhanced by taking a really deep breath and exhaling fully. The deep breath not only enhances the experience of the release but it also works with the physiology of the autonomic nervous system as the deep breath signals the body-mind-spirit connection that you are now safe to be calm.

Concurrently, your being is interwoven with the influences of your mind, your emotions, and your Soul. The release of the anger and the dual decision to forgive both yourself and the other person spontaneously opens your heart to experience more love.

Open Your Heart

This opening of the heart is the second instruction that I give each time I introduce a guided meditation.

When you open your heart with a quiet mind love rushes in.”
     – Genevieve Gerard

The initial focus to calm your mind has a cascading benefit that is like domino’s falling bringing greater benefit and blessing.

When you open your heart with a quiet mind you are able to both give and receive more love. The heart becomes an open receptacle for the love your Soul brings to you and the love that is available to you from God or Source that is your birthright as a child of God.

Your heart opened makes it possible for you to love without demands or conditions. In this state of openness the qualities of compassion and kindness are stimulated in your consciousness.

Compassion, like forgiveness, cannot really be given, without also being received. This interrelationship and interplay of energies do much to bring about the desired effect of calming your mind. The combined factors of letting go of desires and expectation, and the resulting release of anger, by stimulating forgiveness of both the other and yourself, all shift your awareness and render your heart open to receiving and expressing love.

The initially stated intention to enter into meditation by calming your mind has opened you to all of these blessings.

The second injunction that I give at the start of every guided meditation to open your heart began automatically as you let go of your anger in the process of quieting your mind; forgiving yourself and the other.

To consciously choose to open your heart in the approach and intention of meditating does much to expand and enhance your experience of meditating. By adding the power of intention to what you are experiencing and adding the wisdom of understanding, the power and influence that meditation can have in your life will be significant.

Invite The Light With Meditation

The last instruction I give with each guided meditation is to invite the Light.

Inviting the Light is a step to enlightened awareness. Enlightenment is expressed in the peace, the calm and the love and the joy which becomes a state of being offered to all who tread upon the path of meditation.

There are a myriad of benefits and blessings along the way. Among these are the now undisputed health benefits of meditation. Meditation has been proven to reduce physical stress. It can also give you a different perspective and a sense of Universal Oneness. In addition, the transformation available to your life as you learn to forgive both yourself and others can be very powerful, very profound and very freeing.

The integration of all of the talents and tools that you have as one who has a body (an amazing and complex source of delight and sensation), emotions (a rich and diverse portal to enjoyment and happiness) and a Soul (the gateway to joy and bliss) is a miracle. It is the miracle we call human life. It is a miracle with which you are blessed. And because we live each life of this miracle blessed by free will, it is a miracle that we are empowered to make of it what we will.

In my life meditation has provided the way to harness and to calm my mind as I receive the blessing and benefits of a calm mind. Meditation is the tool that has enabled me to forgive both others and myself. It is how I have conquered the stresses, the strains and the pains in life. It is how I have utilized universal laws such as the Law of Attraction and the dynamic opportunity to be a co-creator in my life through the principle that Energy Follows Thought.

There is no work I can do that I believe to be more important than teaching about and creating meditations. There is no gift or service that I can give that offers more opportunity to help you live your life in joy fulfilling your potential and promise, manifesting your Soul purpose.

In my adventure through the lessons of my life, meditation is the foundational pillar upon which I build. I am far from perfect. I often fall way short of whom and how I would like to be. I am a work in progress and will remain a work in progress all of the days of my life.

For me, meditation is the way I progress along the path. Mediation has become over the years a practice that has given me so much, taught me so much and exposed me to so much that my joy and my love overflow into so many aspects of my life that my gratitude for this great gift to all of my teachers and guides along the way is unlimited and ongoing.

I wish this great joy and this blessing for you:

Calm Your Mind, Open Your Heart, Invite The Light!

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All that you Do!

 

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Last updated 11-19-2017

 

Copyright © 2014-2017 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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The Gift of Forgiveness

The Gift of Forgiveness for Father’s Day

The Gift of Forgiveness on Father's Day, a Serenity Sunday article by Genevieve Gerard

As Father’s Day arrives our thoughts turn to what gifts we can give. I suggest forgiveness.

Many of you may have had wonderful Fathers, who you love deeply, and who have loved you deeply. But no matter how wonderful they are, or were if they are no longer with you, odds are that there is in the life experiences you shared some slight, real or imagined, event, accidental or careless act that will benefit from being forgiven.

Such is the nature of life. We miscommunicate, misunderstand, and fall short of meeting one another needs. It is usually not intentional. It may stem from busyness or a clash of needs at a particular moment of time. It may be forgotten or harbored with justification and resentments.

Without forgiveness life is governed by…
an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.
        – Roberto Assagioli

Whatever the situation or circumstance, I suggest Father’s Day as an opportunity to forgive it. Forgiveness is a gift you can give that requires no money. It is a gift that by giving to another, you also give to yourself.

You might upon reading these words say there is nothing to forgive. Or if as you read this you may begin to make justifications or excuses like “he did the best that he could” or “he didn’t mean to hurt me.” Or when remembering and realizing the hurt you still think that is too small or too petty to forgive.

All of that may be true, but the power of forgiveness is so broad and vast that I would recommend strongly to just forgive the hurt anyway. Forgiveness is a tool you can wield to bring you into the present moment, into the NOW. Forgiveness frees you from the past, and especially in relationships, opens you up to both give and receive love at a whole new level.

Forgiveness heals relationships of pain and hurt of which you may only be vaguely aware. The wonderful thing is it isn’t really hard to forgive once you have chosen to do so. Choosing to forgive can be the hard step and resisting forgiving harder still. Yet there is nothing I could suggest to you as families gather together and celebrate Father’s Day that could empower you more, bless you more or transform your life more than to use this opportunity to forgive.

To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.
        – Robert Muller

Forgiveness ends all the illusions of any conflict you may have had with your Father throughout your life. It does not matter if the slights are real or imagined. It does not matter if he even knows you were hurt or injured. He need never know you harbor anger or resentment. Forgiveness wipes all slates clean, opening your relationship to a new depth and a new understanding.

Heart of the Family Meditation by GG

 

 

 

To experience a transforming guided awareness meditation that unites families, download my 12-minute meditation: Heart of the Family.

 

 

One great advantage of taking this opportunity to forgive is that by forgiving you are bringing your relationship with your Father into present time which then enables you to relate to one another from the mutual understanding of two adults.

This will be incredibly freeing and empowering. This shift in perspective may well enable the two of you to express things that have never been said before. After choosing to forgive their Father, I have had clients frequently report that the entire relationship with their Father changed, although they may have never said a single word to their Father about forgiving them or even feeling that they had a need to forgive them.

The task of forgiveness can be spiritual work. It is so very powerful and expresses in so many deep and subtle levels that it provides a fast track to transformation. As it transports you from the past into the present it also corrects errors of perception bringing you from the unreal to the real.

Ultimately an act of forgiveness is an act of love. By giving forth the love that created you to the one who sparked your formation with an act and expression of their love you are activating deep magic in your life.

Forgiveness is also an act that can release profound healing. It is a way of demonstrating love and by so doing it automatically triggers grace and compassion. It can be one of the most powerful things you can do to transform your life and enhance your success and ultimately your happiness and joy.

Forgiving one’s Father can also be interwoven with issues of success because archetypically a Father’s love is less unconditional. Most children grow up feeling that they must earn a Father’s love and most feel the best way to do that is to be successful.

Likewise, for many the primary issues for which they need to forgive their Fathers are tied into a perception of unavailability or lack of attention because of the Father’s involvement with work and career. Therefore, the act of forgiving your Father can have far-reaching implications in your life.

One very effective forgiveness technique is Hoʻoponopono [ho-o-pono-pono] (an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness.)

    The Key Phrases That You Can Repeat Are:

  1. Please forgive me
  2. Thank you
  3. I love you
  4. I forgive you
  5. I forgive myself

I wrote in more detail about this in my Holiday Forgiveness and Gratitude post.

Ultimately, forgiveness is the foundation to bring greater peace and serenity into your life. It is a cornerstone of all of the great spiritual teachings for thousands of years. But the most amazing part of forgiveness is the way that forgiving improves your life. What you intend as a gift and a blessing for the person you are forgiving ends up being a blessing and a gift in your life that impacts your life in ways that can be unimagined and empowering as you are freed and unburdened from wounds you may have forgotten and not even have realized you were still carrying.

The link between Love and Forgiveness is woven into the fabric of your life and whatever effort thought or energy it takes is returned to you with more benefits than you can measure as it ripples through your life releasing and freeing you from often unseen or unrecognized disruptions on your path as you journey through life.

So this Father’s Day just say I Forgive You and enjoy the gift of forgiveness in your life.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All that you Do!

 

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Last updated 6-21-2020

 

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 © 2014-2020 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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Writing to Gain the Wisdom of Your Soul

Writing to Gain the Wisdom of Your Soul

Read "Writing to Gain the Wisdom of Your Soul" Serenity Sunday by Genevieve Gerard

In the process of writing while tuned into and receptive to your Higher Consciousness, your deepest truth can be revealed through the wisdom of your Soul. Your comprehension can be clarified and integrated on a level of truly knowing.

This is a focus you can use to bring into your life more awareness of the presence of your Soul in your life. It is a way to experience the influence, the wisdom and the love that a relationship with your Soul brings into your life.

This experience is slightly different from journal writing, although it is similar. Writing in one’s journal tends to be personal or personality based. Tuning into and invoking the wisdom of your Soul when you write is a tool for expanding the awareness and influence of your Soul as you journey along the path of integrating the Soul and Personality.

Soul-Personality integration and fusion is an important step in the ever-unfolding evolution of our human consciousness and our expression of our Divine Nature. It is a way to develop your consciousness and expand your awareness of the fullness of your being.

To write as an exercise of meditation with consciousness is a way of clarifying both your awareness and your understanding of whom and what you truly are. It is a way to align yourself with your life purpose and perceive the deeper influences of your Soul. It is a way to begin to utilize the gifts that are available to you, that are there for you at any time, but only when you open yourself to gain the wisdom and invite these offerings into your life.

Free will is a very important universal law of consciousness requires of us that we choose to invoke and request the wisdom and guidance of our Souls. Until that request, until from our “personality” perspective, we summon forth this relationship, the Soul, while present and attentive all of your life for ways to guide you, remains outside of the notice of the mind and personality.

To unlock the profound wisdom of your Soul by writing, begin by sitting quietly and calmly, bringing your emotions to a place of deep and profound peace. As you do this, take the time to open your heart energy and be receptive to the Love that your Soul brings to you.

Quiet your mind and let the chatter fade away as you drop self-judgment and self-criticism. Assert your intention to have the wisdom of your Soul revealed to you in a way that is clear and provides insight and direction in your life.

The Light of the Soul Descends
Soul Light Descending

As you do this, invite the Light of your Soul to provide clarity and insight. As you invite your Soul into your life as a source of love, wisdom and guidance, it is also important to understand that your Soul is an integral part of the wholeness of your being. To do this you can visualize your Soul as a radiating point of golden Light about three feet above your head at the tips of your fingers if you raise your hands above your head.

From that point of radiating Light visualize the gentle descent of Soul energy into the top of your head (crown chakra), illuminating your mind, infusing and enlightening you.

To affirm and identify with this part of yourself, you may find the use of a mantra to be helpful. Affirm in your mind and say with intention the words of the Mantram of the Soul.

Mantram of the Soul

    I am the Soul
    I am Light Divine
    I am Love
    I am Will
    I am Fixed Design
    I am the Soul infusing the personality
    I am the personality Soul-infused
    As the unified Self, I invoke the One
    The One in Whom we live and move and have our Being”

You might now wish to send forth in your mind the silent sound of the OM.

Now, with your mind calm and your heart open continue to invite this Soul Light in as you begin to write, with the wisdom and perspective of your unified Soul-integrated personality revealed in your writing.

You can now write as a meditative experience, conscious of your body as it writes, while deeply aware of the thoughts and impressions you are having. I have written about this concept previously in a blog entitled How to Center You Energies Before you Begin to Write.

By capturing these ideas on paper, you often see solutions that you never imagined before. You may have flashes of insights that have eluded you about yourself or the motivations of others.

In my experience with this kind of writing I have received great understanding and wisdom and a perspective that has helped me transcend many of my fears and limitations, as well as granted a compassionate perspective upon the actions and behaviors of others. For this reason, I have found it very beneficial to record these thoughts and impressions so they can be re-read and re-considered as a way to gain greater understanding in your life.

As you write from this point of dual consciousness, with the awareness of your personality (your personal needs and your personal desires), and at the same time with a connection to your Higher Self, you are in a state of mind that is not meditation, but is certainly meditative.

I have also found keeping a journal to be very beneficial with this experience. I believe it is important to record the dates of your insights and guidance because they are often surrounded by significant life experiences and life lessons. This gives you the ability to look back on what you wrote in this connected state of mind, and state of being so that it can have real relevance in your life.

When you have finished writing, however long that takes, be sure to express your gratitude for the blessings you have received as you go forward in your day.

I know this technique will be a blessing to you to increase and enhance your joy and to bring clarity and wisdom to the challenges of your life. I share this with you to help you tune into and hear the wisdom of your own Soul.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on all that you do!

 

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Copyright © 2014-2015 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved

 

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The Greatest Love

The Greatest Love Is To Love Yourself

To Love Yourself Is The Greatest Love - Genevieve Gerard

It is one of the great mysteries of life that in order to love others, it is essential to love yourself.

I have often thought it was interesting that Jesus, in his role of Rabbi and teacher, considered self-love as a basic element in life when he taught that the most important law was to Love God with all of your heart, your mind, and your Soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This famous teaching assumes as self-evident that you love yourself.

Unfortunately, in my many years of counseling people and coaching them to live happier and more fulfilling lives, I observed that self-love is far from self-evident.

For many, the idea of loving yourself is challenging. It is not a basic part of self-evident consciousness as it may have been when Jesus walked the earth. It falls into the same category as forgiving yourself. For some reason many of us find it easier to give than to receive, loving yourself, forgiving yourself, being gentle and compassionate with yourself is something we need to learn.

Although this is logically counter-intuitive it is a result of societal training and pressures that get confused as we strive to be and become what we are told that we should be. Unfortunately, this is most often seen in woman who have been reinforced and rewarded by how self-effacing and self-sacrificing they can be. Many lessons that are passed through the traditions from Mother to daughter do not consider or understand how harmful and damaging they can be. These are often subtle and specific but when accumulated, result in a message that is toxic and damaging. It is not that there is the intention to harm or limit the full expression of success and joy in the life being molded, but rather, parents are teaching what they were taught without the conscious awareness or consideration of the consequences and the impact of the cumulative effect of these life instructions.

The result is often a belief on the part of the child as they emerge into adult life that to love oneself, to nurture oneself and to let oneself receive is in some way wrong. The wounding that this wrong teaching and wrong interpretation can result in is so pervasive and so deeply embedded in the myths and culture of our society that to break through to truth is often the most powerful transformation one can do to heal your life and embrace success. To understand, release and reframe all of the subtle destructive messages that it is wrong to love ourselves and wrong to receive not only love but the vast array of blessings that are available for us is a profound journey that leads to joy, success, and empowerment.

One of the cornerstones of this transformation is learning to love yourself. Inherent in that concept is learning to receive and allowing yourself to receive. Loving yourself and opening yourself to receiving will change your life on so many levels and in so many ways that it may be beyond imagining. The success you can achieve, the joy and happiness you can experience will cascade through your life. As you dissolve the lies and illusions that keep you removed from the freedom of expressing you will enjoy being who you truly are.

There are inherent in this journey certain key elements and key experiences that have great significance and have the power to heal you on very deep and profound level. The first of these elements is to shed the illusion and reject the lies that you have been taught in favor of a realization of the truth. That truth is that you are an amazing being, a creature of love and joy and this is the natural expression of your being. In coming to the full realization of this truth, it is also an important step to forgive yourself for all the ways you have limited and denied your full power and potential to be all that you were meant to be and all that deep in your heart you knew you could be.

Along with the important act of self-forgiveness comes the act of forgiving those who perpetuated and propagated these untruths and wrong thinking. We can assume that they only taught what they believed or thought was right, handed down through generations. Illusion and lies become embedded in our society. It takes courage to see the truth and let the truth free you. Forgiveness and even compassion for those who cling to wrong thinking is a part of affirming and enhancing yourself in this new expression of life as someone who has learned to love themselves and open themselves to the opportunity to be a being of love. Forgiveness, both of yourself and those who taught and fostered mistakes and illusion unlocks grace and joy in your life. It is in these acts and affirmations of forgiveness that you begin to demonstrate what it means to not only love yourself but how that self-love results in love and compassion for others.

You are an amazing being. You deserve to be loved, not only by yourself but also by others. You are a spark of Divine Light. It is by loving yourself, honoring yourself that you manifest your true power and potential as a child of God.


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Here are some simple affirmations you can incorporate into your daily practice to allow this important principle of Self Love to manifest in your life. It is best if you can do these quick simple affirmations three times a day, perhaps in the morning as you do your morning rituals, once more during the day, then again as you cleanse and prepare yourself for sleep.

Look in the mirror and affirm the following:

  1. I Love myself
  2. I deserve to be loved exactly as I am
  3. I am worthy of being loved
  4. I give my love generously
  5. I accept the love of others appreciatively
  6. I delight in who I am becoming.
  7. I am a beautiful, successful joy filled being
  8. I open myself to the love that surrounds me and gather it into my heart to support and strengthen me.

[NOTE: Some people prefer typing these affirmations on a small piece of paper that they stick on the upper corner of their bathroom mirror.]

Affirmations are a powerful tool to healing and transforming your life. When I have had my coaching clients add these affirmations to their life practice, their life begins to change, especially their relationships with others.

To come into the present, freed and unfettered by the past is opening your life to unlimited possibility. This is available to you through the healing power of your Soul and the enlightened embrace of your will as you affirm and accept that you have the power, the promise and the intention to love yourself and open yourself to the many joys and blessings that are available to you for the taking.

The timeless dance of giving and receiving, loving and being loved is before you. Celebrate and enjoy all that comes to you. Your Soul knows the real truth; your heart knows the truth.

Ponder on this. You deserve it.

To Love Yourself is the Greatest Gift, begin right now to give that gift to yourself.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All that you Do!

 

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Copyright © 2014 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

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A Perfect Moment In Time

A Perfect Moment

Experience A Perfect Moment In Time by GG

This post is part of my on-going series on Awareness & Being In The Now.

Have you ever experienced a perfect moment in time?

In a perfect moment you are released from fear with the full faith and confidence that you are OK exactly as you are.

You are freed from worrying, striving and stress, relaxing into what is and not trying to control life but letting life just unfold before you.

In a perfect moment, time seems to stand still. It is a moment when your heart is filled with feelings of love and your consciousness seems to expand to include a sense of Oneness with all of creation, with all of life. It is a moment of utter peace and complete joy.

Within a perfect moment are so many life lessons we can embrace and use to empower us when perfection seems out of our reach. In our experience of a perfect moment is a mind that is calm, not trying to do anything, not trying to change anything, but accepting with gratitude and appreciation what is available right here and right now.

In a perfect moment you are just being, and being is just perfect. If we ponder what is special and unique about that perfect moment we realize that it is free from the recriminations and judgments with which we so often burden our life. The flow of judgments in the form of “I should have, I could have, I ought to” as a part of our self-talk and mind chatter are ways we can deprive ourselves of joy. They are habits of thought that are a toxic poison. These self-judging thoughts take us out of the present into a consciousness of what never has been and never will be and is NOT real.

This illusionary standard of “could have”, “should have”, “ought to” holds us up to an imaginary standard of life and by so doing deprives us of the spontaneous joy and appreciation that is available to us when we let ourselves receive it instead of “shoulding” on ourselves.

We can free ourselves from this habit of killing our joy by becoming conscious of our thoughts and by making a conscious decision to focus our thoughts on editing and eliminating the often negative habitual thoughts that start with those illusionary phrases.

This technique of thought monitoring and thought editing is very powerful and can be life changing and life empowering. It is a way of harnessing the amazing power of our mind to bring into manifestation what we desire and claiming our role as a co-creator in our life. It is a way to become the director of your life rather than only an actor.

Whereas, statements such as “I should have” or “I could have” are dis-empowering and illusionary, statements in our self-talk of “I can” or “I will” are very empowering and start an automatic chain reaction to bring the plan into being.

Training your mind to empower your life requires your conscious intention to use the power of your mind for good in your life instead of letting your thoughts harm you by self-defeating, judgmental self-talk. Just this simple shift in your thought patterns and thought habits will create a very profound difference in your life. A difference you can feel and see quickly.

Love the moment and the energy of that moment
will spread beyond all boundaries.
          – Corita Kent

Observing your thought, just monitoring and accessing the content of your thoughts is a good place to begin. When you do this you might be surprised at how much of your “mind chatter” is filled with these toxic patterns. When you have observed the frequency of these damaging illusionary phrases, take a moment to consider how these thoughts make you feel. For most of us, it is tense, anxious and disheartened.

Then, as an experiment take just 1 minute and observe your thoughts and each time you catch yourself thinking the “coulda, shoulda” thoughts, consciously with intention, replace those thoughts with “I can and I will” thoughts.

Now how do you feel; excited, hopeful, powerful?

Thoughts have power. That truth can be used either for you or against you.

You can, by harnessing the power of your thoughts, unlock a powerful tool that both enhances your success and increases your joy. Since most of us do very little to consciously control our thoughts that power is left underutilized. By bringing your thoughts into consciousness and by choosing what you think, you are making a shift that will change your life in so many ways.

To take the reins of your mind and use its vast power in your life to create the life that you desire is the first step on a journey to success and joy. This you can realize, this you can do when you consider what you can learn when you have “a perfect moment in time”.

I invite you and encourage you to harness the amazing power of your mind and your thoughts to bring to you the life transformation that you desire.

There is a positive side and a negative side and
at each moment you decide.
          – Bernie Gunther (High Cards)

Now is the perfect moment to empower your life with joy.

Now is the time to experience and live in that perfect moment!

 

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on all that you do!

 

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Last updated 9-23-2018

 

Copyright © 2014-2018 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC, All Rights Reserved.

 

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Holiday Forgiveness and Gratitude

Thank You, I Love You, Please Forgive Me

What is it that makes the difference and more importantly what can we do to make our experiences of family gatherings fun, joyful and a supportive experience?

Read Thank You, I Love You, Please Forgive Me article by Genevieve Gerard

For some people being together as a family is the joyous, celebratory part of a holiday. For others the events of holiday gatherings are stressful and challenging.

I am reminded of a story my sister-in-law told me several years ago. She was working in retail when a customer asked her what her plans for the holiday were, and she responded by saying the whole family was gathering at her sister-in-law’s home. Her customer began to offer her sympathy, and when she said how much she was looking forward to it, her customer was shocked. My sister-in-law commented that in her family were people she considered her dearest friends. Her customer was surprised and then went on to express the dread of being with her own family.

At the time I remember us being grateful that we had the family we did and the relationship of being both friends and family, not only in loving one another but also in the support and encouragement we shared not only with one another but within the family structure. Today I considered what makes the difference in these two very different experiences of families gathering for the holidays. It seems that these diverse experiences of family life and family gatherings are common. What is it that makes the difference and, more importantly, what can we do to make our experiences of family gatherings fun, joyful and a supportive experience?

When we look at the structure of the family two vital factors come to my mind. They are love and forgiveness. How the love is expressed or all too often not expressed is a significant part of family gatherings and whether or not we leave those events happy and fulfilled or disappointed and frustrated. By the time a family gathers together, there has been a lifetime of experiences. Expectations and what we desire and need from one another have colored our history of family gatherings and unless we consciously do something different the best predictor of what will happen is what has happened in the past.

However, we do not have to be tied to the past. We have the ability to change and transform the dynamic of these events by what we bring to the event in our thoughts and with our actions. We have the power to act rather than merely react. When we take that power, we change our experience and provide the opportunity to heal relationships in ways beyond our imaginings.

Forgiveness is the final form of love.
      ~ Reinhold Niebuhr

One essential key to facilitating transformation of family gatherings is forgiveness, and the other is love. Although there is a great deal that can be said (read my other forgiveness posts) in these two areas instead of thinking and theorizing on these. I suggest a dynamic experiment that you can do. It requires no agreement or participation from anyone else. It is very simple and yet both powerful and empowering. No one needs to know you are doing this.

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.
      ~ Lewis B. Smedes

This exercise incorporates the very powerful forces of Love, Forgiveness and Gratitude. They involve saying in your mind specific repetitive phrases when observing the behaviors of those around you. You can shift freely and fluidly between these phrases. You can choose them at will. For as much of the time you are with your family as you find possible, repeat these phrases in your mind. You may find your own variations and expressions of the phrases. Keep repeating the phrases no matter what is happening or what anyone is doing. Beyond using the power of your mind, there is nothing you need to do or say. There is no reason to explain or belabor this, just repeat these phrases in your mind and heart.

The Phrases are:

    Please forgive me
    Thank you
    I love you
    I forgive you
    I forgive myself

You may find other similar thoughts flow through your mind. You may find yourself lured by specifics. Let yourself be freed from your entire past “story” and return to repeating these simple phrases in your mind. The past is over. The future is unwritten. At this moment, right now, just repeat these simple phrases.

The past is over. The future is unwritten.
      ~ Genevieve Gerard

You may observe dramatic changes in others from doing this experiment. You may only experience a change in yourself. You may not see any response or effect. That does not matter.

It is not important to explain or express anything to anyone. The transformation you are creating in this experiment happens on a subtle energetic level. Just return to repeating in your mind the phrases and carry on with what you are doing.

Please continue with this by continuing to repeat these phrases for the duration of your family gathering.

I would love to hear from you about your experience with this experiment. On my website I have a section called Transformation Stories. You are invited to share your experiences there.

Please note: The phrases included here are a minor modification of the teachings of Hoʻoponopono [ho-o-pono-pono] (an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness.)

You can find more about this in a book by Dr. Joe Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, titled “Zero Limits”

Thank you,

The Blessing of Love on all that you do.

Namaste

Genevieve Gerard

 

P.S. Please feel free to pass this article on to others who may find it of interest (just click one of the buttons below and share it socially.)

 

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Copyright © 2013-2016 by Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul. All rights reserved.

 

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Breath of Life

Breath of Life

One Life, One Love, One Breath

We are all One by Genevieve Gerard

Many teachers of the Spiritual Path teach about Oneness.

In our world of rugged individualism and self-focus this concept of Oneness is foreign and can be a little threatening.

After all, if we are truly all one, if we truly believe that and begin to live that, we would have to change our behavior to others.

Within this paradigm of thought we would not only be compelled to follow the Golden Ruledo unto others as you would have them do unto you” we would realize that in the Oneness that unites us, harming another causes us harm.

This is a vast and profound concept that as we ponder on it, would by logical conclusion transform all our relationships into right human relationships. It would lead us to the conclusion that Arjuna reached on the battlefield as told in the Bhagavad Gita “I can no longer war against myself.” If by some miracle of awareness and enlightenment every human being on earth began to accept and live this concept, the Golden Age of Peace and Prosperity prophets predict would be immediately ushered in, not just for 1,000 years, but forever.

Greed, war, revenge, selfishness, and forces that move so much of our current reality would become unthinkable. Watching anyone, anywhere in the world die of hunger, a virus pandemic or the diseases of contaminated water would be too painful to bear.

If we grasped the truth of Oneness of which the sages and wise men expound, we would realize that not only are we our brother’s keeper but that by helping our brother we are helping ourselves.
      – Genevieve Gerard

This concept is so vast, so outside of our daily experience, that it is easy to dismiss. We think, “How can we be One since I am clearly me and you are clearly you?” It is easy to reject these thoughts, even among spiritually motivated and inclined people. We quickly ascribe these insights to Holy Men or Saints knowing that to live and embody such a truth would bring so much change and transformation to the world that it is beyond our imagination, beyond our ability to even conceptualize.

Recently, while I meditated with some friends on the issues of Goodwill and the Will to Good, embodied in the past Olympic Games, an image came to me that in some small way demonstrates this principle of unity, of oneness. It was a positive image I called One Breath, One Life.

I invite you to experience this image as you just breathe. To experience this, you must join with your thoughts and your imagination the possibility of the oneness of our being linked with all of life on this planet. That link is through the life-yielding breath. Something we can take for granted.

Recently, while I meditated, an image (and meditation) came to me that demonstrates the principle of unity, of oneness. It was a positive image I called One Breath, One Life…

Breathing Oneness Meditation

As you sit and breathe (no more is required of you than that), realize that the air you breathe is the same air that is available to every living being on earth, purified every minute by plants and trees.

As the air enters your lungs, it infuses your blood, your very life force. The molecules, the atoms the very essence of that breath circulates through you, infuses you, sustains you.

When you exhale, those atoms, those molecules are released back into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide you release is then transformed by plants, maybe as far away as the Amazon or some rainforest. The atoms and molecules that have nourished and sustained you travel on the currents of air to faraway peoples and foreign cultures.

This air, these very atoms, and molecules, are available to other life forms, the plant life of the planet and the animals of the planet. That which has touched you and sustained your life is available to touch them and sustain their life.

As you just sit and breathe in and exhale naturally and effortlessly in this small way we can become aware of the unity of life that exists on this unconscious, pre-conscious level.

Have gratitude and give thanks for the miracle of purified breath and oneness.

 

               – GG

 

As I realized this, pondered on this and imagined this I was filled with a sense of oneness, a sense of connectedness to life that filled me with great peace and with great joy. This is a simple way we can touch this concept through our mind, through our intention, through our heart. If you choose to try this exercise while you are sitting and breathing, make sure you “Calm your Mind, Open your Heart and Invite the Light.”

Pay attention to any thoughts and impressions that may come from your Soul (your Higher Self) and realize that ‘Energy Follows Thought.’ Ponder on this! Your actions or lack of actions can affect others.

In this simple experience you have touched on the unity of life through breath, the oneness of all of life for just these brief moments of time, right here, right now.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All that you Do!

 

P.S. QUICK FACT: This post has been viewed 6,972 times. Please share it with friends and then check out our other related posts below and in the “Hot Topics” sidebar.

 

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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 5/20/2020

 

Copyright © 2012-2020 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

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Body and Soul

Body and Soul

-Your Soul as your Teacher

Read Body & Soul article by Genevieve Gerard

This article is part of my ongoing series on the Soul.

Within each of us lies wisdom, an awareness of truth and more important knowledge of what direction we need to travel in our life to grow, to learn and to develop into who we truly are and what we can become, that is our Soul.

Our Soul is an integral part of our Self, but it is not usually that which most readily springs to our conscious mind when we ponder on and reflect upon ourselves. It remains the most profound and in many ways useful part of what for better words we may call our Spiritual Anatomy.

Our Spiritual Anatomy is usually not a part of our everyday consciousness because when we think of ourselves we most often think of our personality. Indeed, our personality is the vehicle that does the bulk of the “heavy lifting” as we move and function in the world of men. Indeed, our personality is usually a most significant part of our being as we live and move and have our being in any given incarnation.

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.
            – Mahatma Gandhi

The ancient wisdom tells us that our being is composed of a variety of vehicles that come together to form the fullness of life. These parts of ourselves are often referred to as bodies, and it is in the interplay and integration of these diverse parts of ourselves that we learn to live and express the fullness of our human nature. It is through this interplay, this integration that we learn that we grow, that we come into our full awareness and learn to express the fullness of what it means to be a human being.

It is through the integration of our physical body, our emotional body and our mental body that our personality fully develops and grows. But the adventure of becoming does not stop there. As we increase our awareness and our integration of Self the process of integration grows and expands as we begin to incorporate the fullness of our nature, that of our spiritual nature or our Soul.

It is through the emerging awareness of our Soul that we begin to understand and come to the joy of what it means to be a human being. It is through the “Touch of the Soul” that we begin to understand what a myriad of spiritual paths have taught throughout the ages, that as human beings we are a spark of the Divine. It is through becoming aware of our Soul that we can begin to manifest the fullness of this miracle we call life.

To start to understand your Soul as an integral part of yourself and begin to connect with your Soul as a part of your full being and your true nature, is the beginning of wisdom and the portal to real joy.”
            – Genevieve Gerard

This part of your Self, your Soul, contains within you a jewel of the greatest value we can find in life. The ancients have long referred to it as “the jewel of the lotus.”

What is wonderful and glorious is that this jewel of great value is within you and available to you. It is yours to use and come to know. It is yours to call upon for the wisdom it possesses. It is yours to enjoy and express. It is yours as a teacher, as a guide and as a source of love, joy, and peace, the “peace that passes all understanding.”

It is through meditation that this part of your being becomes accessible to your mind, to your heart and your personality. This quest to learn to touch your Soul and to incorporate the fullness of your Soul ultimately into the fullness of your being is a journey that has been undertaken by wise men and sages throughout time and is available to reach by everyone.

I invite you to embark upon this journey of meditation to awareness, to wisdom to joy through meditation. As the ancient Chinese saying expresses “every great journey begins with a single step.” As you embark upon this step be assured that your Soul awaits your intention to know yourself to the fullness of your being with such a deep and abiding joy, and such a powerful and profound love, that the best in life is yet to come.

 

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 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 © 2012-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

Body and Soul Read More »

Difference Between Prayer and Meditation

The Difference Between Prayer and Meditation

Read the Difference Between Prayer and Meditation, Serenity Sunday article by Genevieve Gerard

This article is part of my on-going series on Prayer & Faith and Meditation.

The spiritual journey, no matter the name of the path or the structure of the belief has always contained the techniques of both prayer and meditation.

Some paths include both prayer and meditation, comfortably vacillating from one to the other depending upon the purpose or needs of the moment.

In many ways prayer and meditation are twins, but they are not identical twins. They differ in subtle but significant ways.

When I was first taught to meditate by a Maharishi Yogi; as I was leaving the instruction called an “initiation” back in the 1960s, I recall pondering about the experience I had just had. I remarked to myself that I had previously known the state of consciousness that I had just experienced at the conclusion of a time of deep prayer; a state I had referred to as “prayer beyond words.” Ponder on this!

Even at that young age the universality of the path we take to connect to our Soul struck me. Beyond the connection to our Soul, which I have come to believe is the hearts desire of everyone, exists the desire to connect with a higher source (God), however, you define God.

Each one of us needs time and space for recollection, meditation and calmness…. Thanks be to God that this is so!”
        – Pope Benedict XVI

It is to reach the Soul and connect to God that people along all spiritual paths engage in the practice of both prayer and meditation. And although both prayer and meditation serve a similar function there are differences in both the purpose, method, and outcome of the two practices.

Prayer is you speaking to God & meditation is allowing the spirit to speak to you.”
        – Deepak Chopra

Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra on prayer vs. meditation

Prayer has always seemed to be best suited to times when praise or petition is the need. In times of great need, prayer seems to spring naturally from the human heart as we reach out for help and healing in times of danger, distress, and pain, be it physical or emotional.

In times of trouble we reach automatically for the help and intervention of the Divine, even if we have no sustaining belief in the Divine. It is archetypal in the human experience to reach out, indeed cry out for that which is beyond our human limitations for help and comfort.

Likewise, in times of transcendent joy praise rises spontaneously in our heart. Even if we do not conceptualize what we are praising that welling feeling, praise accompanies the experience of great joy and great love.

I deepen my experience of God through prayer, meditation, and forgiveness.”
        – Marianne Williamson

Meditation is best suited for contemplation, deepening our understanding or quieting the chattering mind and engaging the power of our higher source (Soul) to bring about the desired result. One would meditate for deep relaxation, healing and to invoke the power of our intention using techniques such as visualization.

Meditation is more a conscious approach than prayer and as such garners the best result when entered into with conscious intent and regularity. The continuity of consciousness that disciplined practice of meditation grants makes meditation the technique of choice when one desires a specific outcome, which is why visualization is a technique incorporated into most meditations.

There exists a myriad of techniques of meditation designed by spiritual leaders and masters throughout time to bring the student of meditation to the desired state of consciousness, being or understanding.

In understanding the subtle differences that exist between prayer and meditation, we are empowered to draw from these two ways to connect with our Soul and connect with our Source using whatever method is best suited to our desired outcome.”
        – Genevieve Gerard

Fortunately, we can choose and use whatever technique best meets our needs at the moment, freely guided by the wisdom of our inner nature and our Soul in any moment of time to receive what we need.

I encourage you to explore prayer and/or meditation and see which resonates with you.

Namaste,

   Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

QUICK FACT: This post has been viewed 2,104 times. Checkout our other related posts below.

 

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Last Updated 11-03-2019

 

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 © 2012-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

Difference Between Prayer and Meditation Read More »