When anger, sadness or fear arises, the lens of perception becomes clouded with darkness. Instead of reacting with old patterns of behaviour, mindfully bring an open heart, unconditional love and acceptance to the forefront.  Stay open to exploring the origins of your pain.  Inevitably you will discover a distant memory that directs you towards self-care.  Perhaps compassion or forgiveness are needed in order to return to wellness. Have patience with yourself and the process of healing.  Like a small child who is soothed by a loving parent, you too can heal from darkness and grow stronger each day.

The lens of perception may be interpreted as consciousness.  Therefore whatever you hold in your conscious mind colours your lens.  Negative thoughts darken the lens while positive thoughts increase light.  Both are normal and natural parts of the human experience.  Both have value and contribute to the whole.

In order to increase light, adopt a neutral stance and become an observer without attachment.  This act alone empowers you in significant ways.  Not only will you detach from negative thoughts but you will also have more space for positive ones.  For instance, if you enjoy art, you might set time aside each day to explore colours, shapes and textures.  If you love music, you might set time aside to explore instruments, song and dance.  These practices alone will naturally enhance light in your lens of perception!

The lens of perception is derived from thoughts, beliefs and memories from within.  Your unique lens holds both positive and negative energies.  Positive energies include love, compassion and acceptance.  Negative energies include anger, fear, and rejection.  Accept and honor both energies within your lens.  Each are important components of the whole lens.  Just as a mountain reveals beauty on its sunny side, there is also beauty hidden in the shaded side.  Stay open to the dark side, bringing a healthy dose of positive energy to your experience.  The dark side holds valuable information on what is needed to amplify light on the sunny side!

Every person has a unique lens in which they perceive and experience the world.  Thoughts, beliefs and memories create this lens, a reflection of one’s inner world.  In order to live your best life possible, care and attention must be placed upon this lens.  Over the next five weeks, there will be tips for developing awareness on the lens of perception.

This weeks tip involves simple awareness that we each have a unique lens.  A great deal of discomfort for most people comes from expecting similar perceptions from others. In reality, no two people view are experience life in exactly the same way.  Acknowledging and accepting our own lens, as well as the lens of others, is vital to overall wellness.  Acceptance naturally leads to reduced judgement and conflict.  Honour your lens of perception and the lens of others for their uniqueness.  Together, we are an integral part of the great ecosystem of life!

Go with your first response.  If you are trying to decide which route to take in life, put yourself in each environment and witness your body’s response.  For instance, in deciding whether to live in a townhouse or condo, make a trip to each place and observe your physical reactions while standing quietly and calmly without mental engagement.  Does a feeling of excitement overcome you?  Do you feel energized and inspired or is there a dulling sensation with negative energy?  Are you feeling open and loving or closed and resistant?  These are all valuable indicators of what your intuition is telling you.

If it is not possible for you to physically put yourself in the environment you wish to test, try to visualize it with as much details as possible using all of your senses.  Imagine yourself standing in each setting.  What do you see?  What do you hear?  What do you smell?  Who is present?  What are you feeling?  Allow yourself to fully experience the setting with an open mind.  After a few minutes of meditation, observe your initial overall response.  If you receive no clear indicators pointing you in a certain direction, let it go and try again another day.  When the time is right, your intuition will provide you with exactly what you need to know in that moment.

Intuition requires a generous amount of love and trust. We must love ourselves enough to trust our inner knowing. When we can accept ourselves without conditions, release self-doubt and mindfully bring our heart to every moment in life, we demonstrate trust in ourself.  Trust is something we must build throughout life.  Trust is something we feel deep within.  Love yourself and build trust within that you can and will make good choices for yourself.

Inner peace is the portal to intuition and inner knowing.  Calming the active mind is vital to receiving messages from within. These messages may come in the form of bodily sensations such as muscle tension, increased heart rate or tingling sensations.  They may also be more subtle and fleeting like a flash word or phrase, or a spontaneous image in your minds eye.  Intuition comes in many different forms and is unique for each person.  Make space for your inner knowing to arise and very naturally, you will open yourself to enhanced wellness and greater balance in life!

Intuition often arises in a flash.  It may be a phrase that pops into your awareness, such as “Time to go”, “Need a break”, or “I love this!” How do you know these are not from your thinking mind?  The major difference is that intuition is spontaneous and always supports your highest self.  In contrast, thoughts are typically linear and rational, leading you anywhere and everywhere.

For instance, if your intuition presented “Tired”, the thinking mind may go on to add “I didn’t sleep well last night”, “The neighbours had a very noisy party” “There must’ve been a lot of alcohol there.”, etc., etc.  Thought trains can go on forever unless you mindfully get off the train.  Thoughts can lead you on an emotional roller coaster, depleting your physical energy.  Open yourself to inner peace and intuition will arise.  Feel the difference!

Mindfulness is being fully present in the moment, observing activities of the mind.  Let go of any reactions or judgements that arise and commit to maintaining a sense of calm.  Inner peace can be your reality anytime you choose, regardless what is happening in the external environment. The more you practice mindfulness, the more peace you are likely to experience in daily life.

Life happens one moment at a time. When you follow your active mind, you are not present in the moment.  You are missing out on life.  It is as simple as that.  Bring yourself back to the present moment and open yourself to peace.  This vast resource within is available to each and every human on this planet!

The latin word for breath is spiritus.  Therefore, we can interpret breathing as a way of witnessing the flow of spirit through us. Spirit is life energy.  If one has high energy and enthusiasm, spirit flows freely with abundance and ease. Conversely, if one has low energy and is depressed or fearful, spirit is blocked and consequently, the breath may be constricted as well.

It is normal to hold your breath when overcome with fear or sadness.  External circumstances can sometimes literally take our breath away. When this happens, it is imperative to bring attention to any changes in your breathing pattern, then focus on grounding and centering yourself through deep abdominal breathing.  Mindfully, bring yourself back to a place of calm relaxation and with patience and perseverance, the flow of spirit will naturally return in a very timely way!  Breath in love, breathe out lingering fear and sadness.