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<channel><title><![CDATA[Soul Spackle - Blog]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/blog.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Blog]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:30:34 -0500</pubDate><generator>Weebly</generator><item><title><![CDATA[The Roots of Desire]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/02/the-roots-of-desire.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/02/the-roots-of-desire.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:03:47 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/02/the-roots-of-desire.html</guid><description><![CDATA[Image by flickr user vividBreeze      _ [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div id="385396960652285457" align="left" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vividbreeze/2910305094/" title="Scale by vividBreeze, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3122/2910305094_5422f101d0.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Scale"></a><p>Image by flickr user vividBreeze</p></center></div>    </div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span style="float: left; z-index: 10; position: relative; clear: left; margin-top: 0px;"> <em><strong>This  post was originally shared in the October Museletter. Are you signed up?  Museletter subscribers get exclusive content, first dibs on freebies  and additional chances to enter giveaways! Sign  up <a href="http://tinyurl.com/soulspackle" target="_blank" title="">here</a></strong></em><em><strong>!</strong></em></span><br /><span></span><br /><span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">&ldquo;The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.&rdquo;</span><br /> <br /> That&rsquo;s how the saying goes, and I have always loved it; but I am thinking now what it means in relation to <span style="font-style: italic;">A Course in Miracles</span>.<br /></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><br /></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">Course</span> states that all our choices, decisions and thoughts come from either fear or love, and the two cannot exist simultaneously. Love is pretty easy to recognize (if hard to achieve), while fear can sneakily wear the face of anxiety, anger, hatred or even indifference. Only the experience of Love brings us peace.<br /><br />The experience of Love is &ldquo;right-minded&rdquo; thinking, according the <span style="font-style: italic;">Course</span>, and is considered a miracle in perception. It is also an example of Heaven on earth.<br /><br />Living from fear keeps us far from peace -- it is <span style="font-style: italic;">Hell on earth</span>.<br /><br />How often have we made a decision or pursued a course of action from what we considered to be good intentions, only to fail miserably, and descend into fear, self-hatred and anxiety at the result?<br /><br />We want desperately to see our scales move to a shinier, happier number. So we set ourselves&nbsp; the task of &ldquo;losing weight&rdquo;. But we hit a bump in the road when our weight doesn&rsquo;t budge as quickly as we like. <span style="font-style: italic;">And all we really lose is</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">faith in ourselves</span>.<br /><br />What is the root of this desire to lose weight? Perhaps you&rsquo;re single and convinced no one will ever love you unless you lose 40 lbs. But you&rsquo;re also getting older and magazines tell&nbsp; you (wrongfully, I might add) that you are more likely to be shot out of the sky by a terrorist than to find love and get married at your age. You feel you must move quickly.<br /><br />And thus, fear and desperation are at the bottom of your quest to lose weight, and that can only lead to one place: <span style="font-style: italic;">Hell</span>.<br /><br />I recently had an epiphany about my own health and weight. I ditched my scale 8 months ago, and though I do not know how much I weigh, I do know it&rsquo;s <span style="font-style: italic;">too much for me to experience optimal health</span>. I do know that I cannot run across the street without getting winded, which was not a problem when I was training Couch to 5k, and I know that clothes that used to fit me easily no longer fit at all.<br /><br />Having struggled with health in recent years in a variety of ways, I know what it&rsquo;s like to feel great and, on the flipside, what it&rsquo;s like to feel quite sick as a regular thing. Health is my goal. I know, deep down in my bones, that the picture of health for me does not include this weight. Extra weight is a side effect of failing health; less weight is typically a side effect of regaining health*. This does not mean that I have to use the weight as a marker of my health at all. In fact, my goal of good health includes a variety of markers independent of what the scale says. I simply trust the weight will budge, and I <span style="font-style: italic;">surrender</span> the fears surrounding that particular piece of the health puzzle.<br /><br />I can love myself for where I am at, and still desire better for myself. Self-love does not praise your unhealthy habits and pretend they are healthy; self-love accepts who you are in the present and lovingly nudges you toward better choices, as soon as you are willing to make them, and not a moment before.<br /><br />This is a desire rooted in Love. If I meet my &ldquo;goal&rdquo; of health, I simply cannot lose; and that is Heaven on earth.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">What are the roots of your desires?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Can you ask, today, for a miracle in perception that might allow you to shift your goals from ones based on fear to ones based on love?</span><br /><br /><font style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" size="2">*I am no expert on you, and only you can know what your personal appropriate health set point is, just as only I can truly know mine.</font><br /></div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Words from the Front Lines]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/words-from-the-front-lines.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/words-from-the-front-lines.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:10:59 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/words-from-the-front-lines.html</guid><description><![CDATA[Image by flickr user Leland Francisco       [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div id="946942735101726039" align="left" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lel4nd/4277978437/" title="Psalm 34:18 (Clouded Heart) by Lel4nd, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4007/4277978437_cbccd5bfcb.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Psalm 34:18 (Clouded Heart)"></a><p>Image by flickr user Leland Francisco</p></center></div>    </div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span>I know life hurts sometimes. I know you want to hide. I know you want to stay quiet while words war inside your heart and head.<br /><br />But the world carries so much hurt of its own, it needs your warrior's heart, wide open.<br /><br />The world needs your truth. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Demands</span> your truth. Can survive on nothing less.<br /><br />The world needs the gifts you bring, the ones you are hiding behind some buried shame.<br /><br />The words are there but you are terrified to speak them; I was once just like you.<br /><br />You think no one could possibly understand. But someone somewhere does.<br /><br />Someone somewhere is struggling with the same exact thing. Someone else's heart is breaking.<br /><br />Break the silence and you don't just heal yourself; you heal us all.<br /><br />If you can't grab a friend or regale a stranger, put your pen in hand. Let it all out.<br /><br />Don't hold back. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Now is not the time to stop the flow.</span><br /><br />Declare your heart's manifesto; pump your fist in the air and swear never to shut your heart again.<br /><br />Swear you will always seek the smallest seed of courage in the face of your fear. Promise you will always try.<br /><br />Remember your face when you were two, three, four. Do it for her; and ask for more.<br /><br />She deserves the world; give it to her, one day at a time. Feed the child in your soul with all your love and all your heart and tear down the walls to let it all in. The tender-hearted are resilient, strong; hearts broken scar over and grow, grow, grow; walled hearts shrivel and die.<br /><br />Love sews up broken hearts with magical golden thread; but you only get this magic if you're willing to be broken. Take off your mask and your bullet-proof vest. Be willing to step out beyond the edge, trusting in the uncertainty.<br /><br />Life is a mystery, no single moment beyond now is guaranteed. <font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Walk fully into it anyway</span></font><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">.</span><br /><br />You are a warrior. Let that truth shine a light into your darkest corners. Gather your strength, rise up.<br /><br />Every day greet the world and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">write your manifesto across the hearts of those you meet. </span>With a touch. With a smile. With the truth.<br /><br />(To quote John Mayer) <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">say what you need to say.</span><br /><br />Your heart needs to speak, and someone's heart is aching to hear it.<br /><br />You have taken the first steps to freedom. And once you've tasted freedom, you are always free, whether in your whole being or in the smallest part of you.<br /><br />You are a warrior, you cannot be caged. <font style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Love rushes in to raise up your courageous heart.</span></font><br /></div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Yes Needs No (A Little Letting Go)]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/yes-needs-no-a-little-letting-go.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/yes-needs-no-a-little-letting-go.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:27:07 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/yes-needs-no-a-little-letting-go.html</guid><description><![CDATA[Image by flickr user ~BostonBill~       [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div id="625175778656835109" align="left" style="width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;" class="wcustomhtml"><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8533266@N04/5797591488/" title="letting go by ~BostonBill~, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3382/5797591488_56f304c807.jpg" width="500" height="312" alt="letting go"></a><p>Image by flickr user ~BostonBill~</p></center></div>    </div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span>I guess I am still being a bit of a New Year's rebel. Instead of fixing my life, I find myself really wanting to savor it.<br /><br />Give up the striving. Stop the need to be smaller, smarter, softer (in all the right places), firmer (in all the others), faster.. stop needing to be anything other than what I am right now. Do we ever sit still long enough to find out who this person is? Without squinting with digust and slapping a label of "Before" on our current image of self, while knee-deep in the striving toward the image of "After"?<br /><br />My word for 2012 may be Yes, but a lot of those Yeses need a counter-balancing No.<br /></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span>I'm giggling to myself, "Oh, Sara." I have downloaded possibly my 9,000th FREE ebook, bookmarked a hundred blog articles to my toread tag on delicious, and last week I signed up for the 5th groovy new mindfulness challenge of January. They are everywhere this month! A series of symptoms that point to excessive striving. The emails for these challenges arrive and I have to sheepishly remind myself that I cannot do it all, and certainly not all in January. My enthusiastic Yeses need to learn that saying No to doing it all is saying Yes to the calm in my soul.<br /><br />I am putting behind me the chaos of trying to do everything, <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.37days.com/2011/12/letting-go.html">there is so much pain in the striving, I need to let it go</a>.<br /><br />As part of my introduction in <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.writingourwayhome.com/">Writing Our Way Home's</a> ecourse <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.writingourwayhome.com/p/new-online-course-year-of-questions-how.html">A Year of Questions</a>, I found myself articulating my current life lessons:<br /><ul><li>Life is meant to be lived, not resisted;</li><li>surrender is simply the wise recognition that we don't have control, anyway;</li><li>and the removal of cat-hair from clothing is futile and a waste of my precious time. (This one is actually the hardest.)</li></ul>Goodbye to trying to do everything, and at once, and perfectly... without cat hair. I will not live a life manipulating it beyond all recognition by trying to follow "5 Ways to Be Better" at anything. My Inner Director is learning to give it up to the Director Upstairs. And the cats, well.. they are staying.<br /><br />Still. I *do* want to share these yummies with you. For you to do, when you&nbsp; feel called to, or not at all. I do not wish to stir up chaos in the cauldron of your heart, or to be in service to your striving. Strive no more! You are perfect. So am I. (still giggling)<br /><br />Despite that.. there is some Great Shit happening. (Did I just swear on my blog? YES!)<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.writingourwayhome.com/p/river-jan-12.html">A River of Stones</a>: A challenge in mindfulness and writing. Each day observe something fully and then write a small stone about it. Can't do it this month? Pick up this practice whenever you like and aim for 30 or more days of stones. I managed to capture some amazing moments on the day my father passed away and in the days that followed by playing with this practice in a little journal I got for Christmas that fits in my purse.<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.writingourwayhome.com/p/new-online-course-year-of-questions-how.html">A Year of Questions</a>: Dedicated to living the questions that life hands us (and that are captured in Fiona's gorgeous companion ebook) and slowing down, being present. I think this challenge actually speaks to my need to stop striving. You can sign up any time during 2012, stay a month or the whole year. I'm not getting paid to tell you this! I am simply quite pleased to have found this gorgeous community.<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://lifeunity.com/blog/an-invitation-to-practice-mindfulness.html">The Wild Elephant Project</a>: I'm planning on following along as best I can despite the fact that I don't yet have the book that inspired it -- <a title="" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590308174/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=throfgol-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1590308174">How To Train a Wild Elephant and Other Adventures in Mindfulness</a> by Jan Chozen Bays. I love how Lisa gives us permission to make this practice our own and begin when we are ready to, while also reminding us of something you'll often hear me saying: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">you will get out of this what you put in</span>. No one will admonish you for not doing your practice, but you're shortchanging yourself. Self-respect is the ultimate <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span>!<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://thebarefootheart.com/365-altars/">365 Altars</a>: Just the name of this project made my heart flutter. I haven't yet committed to this or dove in, but I intend to. Every day, honor your Self by creating something that brings this self out in the world in a tangible way.<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://wildpreciouslife.com/book-of-days-2012/">Book of Days</a>: Effy Wild is sharing her art journaling passion for FREE throughout the year! Weekly arting videos and tons of techniques and how-tos are sure to inspire and it won't cost you a dime.<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://sacredsexyhealthy.weebly.com/its-time.html">SacredSexyHealthy</a>: Lisa Carmen of <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://sacredsexyu.com">SacredSexyU</a> has committed to turning this train around and getting healthy in 2012. Not a diet or some fad way to lose weight, everyone gets to define for themselves what steps they need to take to get healthier. There's a FREE Facebook group to help keep you accountable and to follow Lisa along on her journey to wellness.<br /><br /><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.carriehensley.com/">My Body, My Temple</a>: Carrie Hensley's inaugural expedition of My Body, My Temple is chugging along. Though I haven't been following it to a T (rebellion, again), I am enjoying the sense of slowing down and being present in my body. <br /><br />And, since this is about letting go and NOT striving to add more pressure and striving to your precious plate, I leave you with a link to Danielle Dowling's <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://danielle-dowling.com/let-go">wise words on letting go</a>, in a phrase, to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"proactively choose to let go you make delicious space for what you really want to show up."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">What feelings or experiences do you really want to show up? Only invest your time in those things that actively invite these experiences in, and see what happens!</span><br /><br />Amen!<br /></div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Are You Saying Yes To?]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/what-are-you-saying-yes-to.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/what-are-you-saying-yes-to.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:50:28 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/what-are-you-saying-yes-to.html</guid><description><![CDATA[    Image adapted by me from the original by Mike Fischer (click image for source).    [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikefischer/4664986445/' target='_blank'> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/6022840_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:100%;max-width:500px" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Image adapted by me from the original by Mike Fischer (click image for source).</div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; ">This year my chosen word is <font style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span></font>, and I expect I shall be writing about it frequently. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> encompasses, for me, the words <span style="font-weight: bold;">Receive, Open, Fearless, Freedom </span>and<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Courage</span>. It also takes under its wing my previous Words of the Year, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Self-Love</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Surrender</span>. <br /><br /><span></span>It is a natural progression. It is big and bold. It is an affirmation of life itself.<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" size="7"><span style="font-weight: bold;">YES!</span></font><br /></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Self-Love</span></font><br />We are always being told that we need to learn how to say No. I need to learn this just as much as anyone else, as I've found myself at various times taking on too much and overstepping my own boundaries. But learning to say No when it's appropriate is really just one more way of saying&nbsp;<span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> to yourself. It's about self-respect.<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Surrender</span></font><br />My journey with <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Surrender</span> has really only just begun. Knowing intellectually that I do not ultimately have control has done little to stop my tendency to micro-manage everything. I am learning to undo this lifelong habit, one day at a time.<br /><br />But No is resistance, and resistance is the opposite of <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Surrender</span>. So embracing What Is, is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span>, so<span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> is a continuation of my journey with <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Surrender</span>.<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Receiving</span></font><br />In 2011 I was given so very much in terms of encouragement, love and compliments. I have never collected so many warm fuzzies at one time, and I came to discover that I have a very hard time receiving what comes my way. In the back of my mind I think about how we are not to take criticism too personally, and if so we should not take compliments too personally, either. At the end of the day, it is only what I think of myself that should matter. I need to stop seeing myself through the eyes of others -- my perception of their perception --&nbsp; and start seeing myself clearly from within.<br /><br />But.. then I realize that not being able to graciously receive what another is giving with their whole heart stops the flow. For them and for me. So I am learning, one compliment at a time.<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Opening</span></font><br />I've been pretty open here on the blog, but being so in real life is much harder for me. Finding the words is so hard for me when they need to be spoken out loud. Take away my writing, and my confidence flags. I don't know why.. it's just that way.<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fearless</span></font><br />For years I have said  No because I was afraid to say <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> (since agreeing to whatever it was  might betray my lack of social prowess, or the fact that I'm a total  beginner at something, and therefore clueless and stupid).<br /><br />For years I have said <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> because I was afraid to say No (since saying no might make me appear to be selfish, greedy, or rude).<br /><br />When  we say No for the wrong reasons, we are saying <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> to fear.&nbsp; When we  say <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> for the wrong reasons, we are also saying Yes to fear. Fear has  been making all my decisions. Fear has been directing the movie of my  life! I have been known to go all deer-in-the-headlights when faced with  any kind of decision. I'm not willing to live this paralysis anymore. I  am embracing life on earth, perhaps for the first time in my 36 years.<br /><br />I am saying <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> to the lessons of 2012 and.. to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes</span> itself!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">What are you saying Yes to in 2012? Fear or something better?</span><br /></div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Saying Goodbye and Setting the Tone for 2012]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/saying-goodbye-and-setting-the-tone-for-2012.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/saying-goodbye-and-setting-the-tone-for-2012.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:03:10 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2012/01/saying-goodbye-and-setting-the-tone-for-2012.html</guid><description><![CDATA[    Dad, Frankfurt, Germany, 1952. He served there as part of the CIA during the Korean  [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a href='http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5019711_orig.jpg' rel='lightbox' onclick='if (!lightboxLoaded) return false'> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5019711_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:100%;max-width:960px" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Dad, Frankfurt, Germany, 1952. He served there as part of the CIA during the Korean War.</div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span>For years I was fixated on starting my New Year the <span style="font-style: italic;">perfect </span>way. Namely,  my bed had to be made and my sink shiny. My plans for the year ahead  (including resolutions, which I gave up a few years ago and replaced  with a Word of the Year) had to be firmly in place. <br /><br />But I've learned that this type of superstition is a form of control, and I'm learning, slowly, how to surrender control. </div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><br /><span></span>Yet in my head somewhere I hear a voice saying <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'How you start your year is how you will spend your year'. </span><br /><br />In  rebellion of this and all my previously held superstitions, I slept in  on New Year's Day. I didn't make my bed when I got up. I put off taking a  shower. I was still in my pajamas at 1:00 in the afternoon, when I was  making pasta for my lunch and got a message that would change my day, my  year, my life. My Dad, diagnosed with Alzheimer's many years ago, had  been struggling with ill health for two months. Yet we had seen him  rally and fight, making it easy to deny the inevitable. On New Year's Day we were told that he was no longer responsive to the people who  cared for him, sick as he was with pneumonia. Clearly he was retreating,  perhaps in response to the pain, perhaps preparing for his journey, we  cannot know. <br />  <br />I had half an hour to eat my lunch, shower and be ready. I cursed  myself for my New Year's rebellion that meant I wasn't even dressed at  that late hour, yet in retrospect it's probably best I didn't have the  time to sit and wonder what was about to happen as I waited for my  family to come get me. <br />  <br />We crammed ourselves into his half of the tiny room at the nursing home. At  one point there were seven of us there, dwindling down to four as my father's  apparent struggle with his breathing led my brother-in-law to send my  nieces and nephew home. His breathing was so labored and painful, yet for much of the time he  seemed to be outside of consciousness. My sisters and I rubbed his  shoulders, patted his chest and held his hands which did not hold ours  back. Not knowing whether he knew we were there or not, we said soothing  words. They increased his medication. He continued to breathe with  difficulty. After nearly six hours of this, his body finally took ease  from the medication. His breathing grew more shallow, his struggle just  about over. We watched his chest as his respirations slowed and then,  finally, stopped.&nbsp; We drew in closer to be sure and to say our goodbyes,  holding on to one another. Though I have dealt with death pretty openly  since my mother passed, this was the first time I had ever been witness  to a leavetaking. And in this moment, I had come full circle, recalling  once again the birth I was present for at 21 -- another of the most  moving experiences of my life. First breath, last breath, miracles both.<br />  <br />So, shall I spend the rest of 2012 the way I spent its first day?  One hopes I do not have to watch people I love dying day in and day out.  I suspect that if it's a truth foretold, it might mean that I would live a year in which I gave in to  <span style="font-style: italic;">surrender</span> and focused primarily on love and the sacredness of life,  letting fear take a backseat..&nbsp; and that would be a beautiful thing. No  resolution consciously made on December 31st could have the same kind of  eloquence.<br /> <br />2012 for me, so far, has been a little bit like being in suspended  animation. I have not put my plan onto paper or into motion. I have not  begun establishing new habits. I have been holding my breath, but also  holding my family, and letting love inform my footsteps. <br />  <br />And so we have been enveloped by a particular grace I have only  known following the death of each of my parents. I do not stop to wonder  from whence it came. Though, if I did, I would imagine that in my  father's new state of wholeness, his Egolessness and Love are now wings  held aloft over all of us who cared for him in life. Holding off the  storms of life for us, but just for a time. Soon he will be called again  to service, in the flagless world of Heaven's army. The clouds will  roll back in on his retreat, but this is okay. We shall have each other.     <br /><span></span><br />I will never experience my father's passing again, nor will I again be the person I was before it. But January 1st  will come again and again. It is just a date on a calendar! We can  begin anew in each moment, because we <em>are</em> new in each moment. <br /> <br /> Rest well, Daddy. 1927-2012</div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Well, 2011: I Did It]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/well-2011-i-did-it.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/well-2011-i-did-it.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:09:01 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/well-2011-i-did-it.html</guid><description><![CDATA[    photo from morguefile.com, edited with text added by me, free to use as you like!   _ [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/7083072.jpg?555" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">photo from morguefile.com, edited with text added by me, free to use as you like!</div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span>Well, I did it. <br /><br />I decided to take the plunge and publicly  reflect on the year we're leaving behind. Let's face it, I've never been one to  hold my cards close to the vest, at least not as far as this blog is concerned. My barn burned down. Again and again.  2011, well.. it's been equally hard and beautiful. I am so grateful. And  if I'm honest I'll admit that much of the beauty of 2011 came  as a direct result of the barn-fires. Clearly poet Masahide was on to  something. <br />    <br />This was a fabulous exercise in retraining the mind to see the good. I can easily rattle off all that I've  lost, or all that went wrong, yet it is much harder to recall what's  been accomplished..&nbsp; that's <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://diannesylvan.com/?p=834">just how we're wired</a>. But it is a worthy effort nonetheless.<br /> <span></span><br /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Here is a collection of my 2011 "I Did It!"s, both personally and blog-wise.</span><br /><br /><span></span><span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic">Soul Spackle</span> got re-designed from scratch, changing from <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://vbook.blog.soulspackle.com/">this </a>to this.. and in June I re-launched it with <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/self-love-explosion-sneak-peek.html">10 days of giveaways</a> and the blog series <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/summer-of-self-love.html">Summer of Self-Love</a>!</span></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:0px'></span><span style=' float: left; z-index: 10; position: relative; ;clear:left;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a><img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5319539.jpg?269" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0;" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder" /></a><div style="display: block; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;"></div></span> <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; display: block; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span>I wrote, designed and released two ebooks, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/drive-thru-sanctuary.html">Unapologetically Whole</a>  and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tell Your Soul Story</span>, the latter being part of the Goddess Circle's <span style="font-weight:bold">30 Days of Goddess</span> ecourse (Pssst! You can get it for free by <a target="_blank" href="http://tinuyrl.com/soulspackle">signing up for my Museletter</a>). </span><br />      <br /><span>I played with art journaling and collage composition via <a target="_blank" href="http://21secretsspring.ning.com">21  Secrets</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://wildprecious.com/blog/elements-self-guided/">The Elements of Art Journaling</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/compcollage.php">Composition for Collage</a> with  Claudine Hellmuth, and had so much fun! </span><br /></div> <hr  style=" clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 100%; "></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:91px'></span><span style=' float: right; z-index: 10; position: relative; ;clear:right;margin-top:20px;*margin-top:40px'><a><img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5530123.jpg" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0;" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder" /></a><div style="display: block; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">Her Goddess Nature collage, Sara Thibault</div></span> <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; display: block; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span>I told a difficult truth -- one bound up with shame -- in a circle of women and was witnessed and healed.<br /><br /></span><span>My <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/soulspackle">Museletter</a> went out monthly, starting in July!</span>  And I blogged fairly regularly, honing my writing, strengthening my voice and being less  afraid of the emotional and often sentimental tone of my writing. <br /><span></span><br />I contributed guest posts for <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://anempoweredlife.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/what-empowers-me-saras-thoughts/">An Empowered Life</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://moonlightmuse.creationsbymoonlight.com/p/featured-artisian.html">Moonlight Muse</a>, <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.thespiralandthelotus.co.uk/1/post/2011/12/celebrate-the-light-a-guestpost-by-the-lovely-sara-from-soulspackle.html">The  Spiral and the Lotus</a> and .. I did a <a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.craftingthesacred.com/soul-work-sara-thibault/">Soul Work interview</a> with Jo of <em style="font-weight: bold;">Crafting the Sacred</em> which appeared on her blog just this month!<br /><br /> Finally got off of my acid reducer -- the last pharmaceutical to get kicked to the curb! (HOLY YES!)<br /><br />I followed my spirit's directives much more often, sometimes not even pausing to ask "How the eff am I going to do THAT?" <br /></div> <hr  style=" clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 100%; "></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:left;height:96px'></span><span style=' float: left; z-index: 10; position: relative; ;clear:left;margin-top:20px;*margin-top:40px'><a><img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/8109587.jpg" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; border-width:0;" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder" /></a><div style="display: block; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;"></div></span> <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; display: block; "><span style="display:none;">_</span>I launched my free e-course, <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html"><em>31 Days of Soul Medicine</em></a>.<br /><br /><span></span>I  took the time to nurture my friendships, new and old. I am so grateful  for my spirit sisters who have proven themselves to be true friends in  such a short time, and to those who have remained loyal and true despite  not having the luxury of regular communication.. I carry you in my  heart. <br /><br />I completed one enormously fruitful and fulfilling year of being a mentor in the Goddess Circle.<br />      <br />I navigated the subway alone!<br /><br />Learned some hard and painful truths about myself and those around me. I  got really clear about what's mine and what isn't mine, and with  lessons in hand, clarified my own intentions about what kind of business  person and <span style="font-style: italic;">person</span> I want to be this lifetime. <br /><br />I uncovered <a target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/10/harvesting-the-future-by-facing-the-past.html">a major pattern of control stemming from my childhood</a> and started an enormous healing process for my family soul. <br />     <br />Had revelation after revelation about how I have let fear run  my life, and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I'm not going to do it anymore. </span>(More on this in the New  Year).<br /></div> <hr  style=" clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 100%; "></hr>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style=' float: right; z-index: 10; position: relative; ;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a><img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5696850.jpg?331" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:0;" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder" /></a><div style="display: block; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">Patti Smith in Paris, nabbed from her book, Just Kids.</div></span> <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; display: block; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span>I contributed to a <a target="_blank" href="http://holdontightstories.wordpress.com/">writing anthology</a>!</span><br /><br />I enjoyed amazing music, television and books! (Top picks: Florence and  the Machine, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QI4TP8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B005QI4TP8"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ceremonials</span></a>; <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049P1VHS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B0049P1VHS">The Walking Dead</a>; <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060936223/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0060936223"><span style="font-style: italic;">Just Kids</span></a> by Patti Smith)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">I wrote my way through difficult times.</span><br /><br /><span>I completed a training program in MS Office and QuickBooks. </span><br />      <br /><span>Offered guidance, proofreading, editing and design skills while trying  to figure out my own personal business goals.. which was great fun!</span><br /><br /><span>I committed to the ever-evolving "project" of re-connecting to Nature wherever I am. </span><br /><br /><span>Good grief.. or should I say.. Holy Wow! </span>Thank you, 2011. <br /><br /><span>Time now to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/11/its-always-darkest-before-the-dawn.html">"Shake It Out"</a></span>, it's hard to dance with a devil on your back...<br /></div> <hr  style=" clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 100%; "></hr>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[[Soul Medicine] Day 31: And Still I Rise]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-31-and-still-i-rise.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-31-and-still-i-rise.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:27:35 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-31-and-still-i-rise.html</guid><description><![CDATA[       _This is part of a [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/2475426.jpg?705" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This is part of a series called <a href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html">31 Days of Soul Medicine</a>. To sign up for the daily emails, click <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html" target="_blank">here</a>.               You can dip into each post and apply the medicine, but the      best     way    to   approach the work is to read through the first      three  days,    which    are  the  foundation. To get caught up</span><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">:</span><ul><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-introduction-and-day-1-the-door.html"><span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 1: Introduction &amp; The Door</span></a></li><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-2-the-key.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Day 2: The Key</span></a></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-3-the-soul-cave.html">Day 3: The Soul-Cave</a></span></li></ul></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/83096974@N00/1502990706/' target='_blank'> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/9709149_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:100%;max-width:500px" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%">Phoenix Rising by flickr user In Praise of Sardines</div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="6"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rx </span></font><br /><span></span>You have recognized your doors, and passed over their thresholds with key in hand.<br /> <br /> You have done your soul&rsquo;s work from within the cave.<br /> <br /> You have gathered bones.<br /> <br /> You are not the same person who entered this space 31 days ago. You have  been through the fires of transformation! This is true whether you did  your soul work, or not, though the exact nature of your transformation  could, in fact, be affected in some way by your commitment.<br /> <br /> And yet.<br /> <br /> The soul&rsquo;s journey is a judgment-free zone. You are always free here,  free of the shackles of the past. The Holy Now is the only moment that  matters, and each moment is a fresh clean, slate. Each moment we begin  again. No matter what happened yesterday, or what shall happen tomorrow,  the soul&rsquo;s journey requires we step into each moment fully awakened to  its presence.<br /> <br />  	<font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prompt </span></font><br /><span></span>Consider the past done. Ashes. Dust. What would you do if you knew that  your past did not matter? That your past failures, old grudges, old  pains, even old attachments to habits and identities have all fallen  away, and this moment is an entirely clean slate? With your new soul&rsquo;s  knowledge, what would you choose to embrace? What would you pursue?  Could you do it now?<br /><br /><font size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Soul Craft</span></font><br />Your soul craft? <strong style="">To go through the previous days&rsquo; soul crafts and select one you didn&rsquo;t do, for whatever reason. </strong>Do it today.<br /> <br /> Have any stories to tell, arts or soul craft to share? Any new revelations or breakthroughs? I&rsquo;d love to hear about them!&nbsp; <br /><span></span><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Please feel free to email me at: </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">sara at soulspackle dot com</strong><br /><span></span> </div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[[Soul Medicine] Day 30: The Glittering Bones]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-30-the-glittering-bones.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-30-the-glittering-bones.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:13:13 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-30-the-glittering-bones.html</guid><description><![CDATA[       __ [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/3971413.jpg?688" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span style="display:none;">_</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This is part of a series called <a href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html">31 Days of Soul Medicine</a>. To sign up for the daily emails, click <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html" target="_blank">here</a>.              You can dip into each post and apply the medicine, but the     best     way    to   approach the work is to read through the first     three  days,    which    are  the  foundation. To get caught up</span><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">:</span><ul><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-introduction-and-day-1-the-door.html"><span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 1: Introduction &amp; The Door</span></a></li><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-2-the-key.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Day 2: The Key</span></a></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-3-the-soul-cave.html">Day 3: The Soul-Cave</a></span></li></ul></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/8240111_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:100%;max-width:500px" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><br />                                                           	<span style="color:#800000;"><em><strong>We all begin as a bundle of  bones lost somewhere in a desert, a dismantled skeleton that lies under  the sand. It is our work to recover the parts. It is a painstaking  process best done when the shadows are just right, for it takes much  looking.<br /> 	~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD., Women Who Run With the Wolves</strong></em></span> <br /> <font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rx </span></font><br /><span></span>Bones are what endure long after we&rsquo;re gone. Bones are what carry the  imprints of our ancestors. Bones carry our legacy and the chance to  share our truths with future generations.<br /> <br /> Humans may not know exactly what a dinosaur looks like, having never  actually seen one, but we imagine their likenesses from studying the  bones they have left behind. In this way, everything lives on. Burn it  all away, and there is still bone left, perhaps fragments, but bone  still.<br /> <br /> Imagine before you now, two suitcases, one quite small and the other quite large.<br /> <br /> Inside the small suitcase lies a vast collection of bones, glittering  truths uncovered from your time working the soul medicine these past  several weeks. These bones are all shapes and sizes, and some are more  delicate than others. Some are revelations that will stand the test of  time, others will crumble in your fingers and need to be found again and  again. That is the way of your soul&rsquo;s truth.<br /> <br /> When you open the large suitcase you may find it is largely empty, save  for one or two bones of importance. Usually these are large bones, made  of a very hearty bone and marrow, not easily crushed. These are the  enduring truths of your soul, some of which may even have survived from  another lifetime and come into this one along with you. This suitcase is  where the bones of your purpose, whether you understand or know that  purpose or not, lay in repose. This is where the bones of your legacy,  what you are leaving behind right now as we speak, rest. Have they seen  the light of day or spent many a year locked up in this suitcase? Is it  time, perhaps, to sing the flesh back on to the bones of your purpose,  the bones of your legacy, and get on with your life?<br /> <br /> <font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prompt </span></font><br /><span></span>What bones have you collected on our journey with soul medicine? What  bones would you like to take with you into the coming days, months,  year?<br /> <br /> What are the bones of your purpose? What are the bones of your legacy?  If you could sing the flesh back onto these bones, where would the song  come from? What words might be part of this song, if there are any?<br /> <br /> Remember,<em> there are no wrong answers. </em><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Soul Craft</span></font><br /><strong style="">Make a shell and bone bracelet to symbolize the bones you've gathered on your journey.</strong>  Gather small seashells or buy some online. Within the US you can order  animal bones online via Etsy, where you can also get a sense for whether  they were gathered humanely and treated with respect. In most cases  you'll need a drill to drill a small hole in each bone fragment or shell  before stringing them on cord or attaching to chain with a jump ring.  You can embellish your bones by writing the words that express what they  symbolize. You can also try soaking in dye, adding ribbons, gems,  glitter etc. Try varying the sizes of your bones and shells to add  visual interest, and above all, have fun! My favorite thing about my  bone bracelet? The lovely tinkling sound it makes as I move through my  day. The bones sing to me.<br /> <font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">  	Recommended Resources </span></font><a style="" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409876/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0345409876" target="_blank"><br /><span></span></a><strong style=""><a style="" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409876/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0345409876" target="_blank">Women Who Run With the Wolves</a>, </strong>by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD.<br />                                                          <span></span><span style="display:none;">_</span></div>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[[Soul Medicine] Day 29: Be Peace]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-29-be-peace.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-29-be-peace.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:02:13 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-29-be-peace.html</guid><description><![CDATA[       _This is part of a seri [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5073964.jpg?705" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This is part of a series called <a href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html">31 Days of Soul Medicine</a>. To sign up for the daily emails, click <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html" target="_blank">here</a>.             You can dip into each post and apply the medicine, but the    best     way    to   approach the work is to read through the first    three  days,    which    are  the  foundation. To get caught up</span><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">:</span><ul><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-introduction-and-day-1-the-door.html"><span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 1: Introduction &amp; The Door</span></a></li><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-2-the-key.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Day 2: The Key</span></a></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-3-the-soul-cave.html">Day 3: The Soul-Cave</a></span></li></ul></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/5791804_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:100%;max-width:500px" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><br /> 	<span style="color:#800000;"><em><strong>Sounds of laughter, shades of life are ringing<br /> 	through my opened ears inciting and inviting me<br /> 	Limitless undying Love which shines around me<br /> 	like a million suns, and calls me on and on<br /> 	Across the universe<br /> 	Jai guru deva, om,<br /> 	Nothing's gonna change my world,<br /> 	Nothing's gonna change my world.<br /> 	Nothing's gonna change my world.<br /> 	Nothing's gonna change my world.<br /> 	~"Across the Universe", The Beatles</strong></em></span>  <br /><br /><span></span><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rx</span></font><br /><span></span>We wait.<br /> <br /> We wait for someone to call. For someone to love us. For our skin to  clear up. To lose the last ten pounds. To fit into our skinny jeans. To  be worthy, because we don&rsquo;t know we are already worthy no matter what  surrounds us now.<br /> <br /> We convince ourselves we&rsquo;ll be at peace<em> later</em>.<br /> <br /> But the soulful life requires no special circumstances in order to be  lived. You can be licking the pavement, alone, staring at the thing you  fear, but you&rsquo;re choosing LIFE, are you not? You can always choose, and  the soulful life is always there, always ready to remind you that beauty  is everywhere and your worthiness to bask in it is <em>inherent</em>.<br /> <br /> When we stop in the midst of pain and agony, searching and dread, and  hold ourselves perfectly still for a time, following our breath, we find  the place of peace within ourselves. From this place our soulfulness --  our ability to see beauty -- bursts through like a ray of sunshine.  Peace can be yours no matter what the circumstances of your life are  right now. You just need to stop, take a breath and listen for the  stillness within.<br /> <br /> Once you know the peace that comes no matter how painful and difficult  the circumstances of your life, you are free. You are free to experience  life in this moment, no matter what. These things cannot be taken from  you as long as you are alive. It is just that we have forgotten how to  do it.<br /> <br /> You do not need to be an enlightened master. Or a Buddhist. Or a monk.  You do not need a yoga mat or the right teacher. The teacher is you. You  are all, and peace is within you.<br /> <br /> Your soul will show you the way.<br /> <br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prompt</span></font><br />  What are you waiting for? Can you just stop waiting? Can you seek the kingdom within right now?<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Soul Craft</span></font><br /></div>  <span class='imgPusher' style='float:right;height:0px'></span><span style=' float: right; z-index: 10; position: relative; ;clear:right;margin-top:0px;*margin-top:0px'><a><img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/4907875.jpg?185" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; border-width:1px;padding:3px;" alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder" /></a><div style="display: block; font-size: 90%; margin-top: -10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;"></div></span> <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; display: block; "><strong style="">Thank you for joining me on this journey!</strong> Your soul  craft today is simply to meditate, if you wish, for anywhere from 5-10  minutes. Just quiet your mind, count your breaths. Listen to some New  Age music. if it helps. My favorite is <a title="" style="" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000003IV5/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000003IV5" target="_blank">Stephen Halpern's Higher Ground</a>.<br /> <br />  	<font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommended Resources</span></font> <a title="" style="" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000002UB6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000002UB6" target="_blank"><br /><span></span><strong style="">Let It Be, the Beatles</strong></a><br /> </div> <hr  style=" clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 100%; "></hr>  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[[Soul Medicine] Day 28: Sacred Beauty]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-28-sacred-beauty.html]]></link><comments><![CDATA[http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-28-sacred-beauty.html#comments]]></comments><pubDate>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:15:41 -0500</pubDate><category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-28-sacred-beauty.html</guid><description><![CDATA[       _This is part of a [...] ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/9600426.jpg?695" alt="Picture" style="width:auto;max-width:100%" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "><span style="display:none;">_</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This is part of a series called <a href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html">31 Days of Soul Medicine</a>. To sign up for the daily emails, click <a title="" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/31-days-of-soul-medicine.html" target="_blank">here</a>.            You can dip into each post and apply the medicine, but the   best     way    to   approach the work is to read through the first   three  days,    which    are  the  foundation. To get caught up</span><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">:</span><ul><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-introduction-and-day-1-the-door.html"><span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 1: Introduction &amp; The Door</span></a></li><li><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-2-the-key.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Day 2: The Key</span></a></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a title="" target="_blank" href="http://www.soulspackle.com/1/post/2011/12/soul-medicine-day-3-the-soul-cave.html">Day 3: The Soul-Cave</a></span></li></ul></div>  <div >  <!--BLOG_SUMMARY_END--></div>  <div ><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-thin " style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center"> <a> <img src="http://www.soulspackle.com/uploads/7/0/2/4/7024002/472288_orig.jpg" alt="Picture" style="width:100%;max-width:500px" /> </a> <div style="display:block;font-size:90%"></div> </div></div>  <div  class="paragraph editable-text" style=" text-align: left; "> 	<span style="color:#800000;"><strong><em>&ldquo;The beauty of a woman is not  in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she  combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that  is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty  in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly  gives, the passion that she shows &amp; the beauty of a woman only grows  with passing years.&rdquo;<br /> 	~Audrey Hepburn</em></strong></span> <br />  <font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rx </span></font><br /><span></span>Think of a snowflake. The beauty of a snowflake is in its complete and  utter uniqueness. The snowflake did not go to beauty school, or learn to  pluck its brows to look like everyone else&rsquo;s. The snowflake learned  nothing of lashes from the Kardashians. The snowflake arrived,  beautifully and fully itself, without apologies.<br /> <br /> To me, that is sacred beauty: the beauty of truth, authenticity and  uniqueness. Twelve girls in a room with the same trendy haircut may be  gorgeous, but I won&rsquo;t know who is beautiful until each in turn opens her  mouth to speak. What stories do they have to tell? What words do they  use to tell it? What love and enthusiasm escapes their lips when they  speak?<br /> <br /> To find your own sacred beauty is big work. It is big because this work  does not want you to find it. This world wants you to forever look  outside of yourself and remain wanting, so you can buy products that  won&rsquo;t really help. Because sacred beauty does not come in a bottle, and  sacred beauty is what you&rsquo;re really after. The world wants to divide  you, make other beauties your competition, breed comparison. But do we  compare two snowflakes and imagine which one is &ldquo;more beautiful&rdquo;?  Ridiculous, right?<br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prompt</span></font><br />  <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"There is a vitality, a life  force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into  action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this  expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through  any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is  not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how  it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours  clearly and directly, to keep the channel open."</span><br /><span style="color:#800000;"><em><strong> 	~Martha Graham</strong></em></span> <br /> There has never been anyone like you on the face of the earth at any  time. You give something to the world that is so needed, so wanted, and  so beautiful. <strong>Look for it, hold its gaze and know sacred beauty to be in you.</strong><br /><br /><font style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);" size="5"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Soul Craft &amp; Recommended Resources</span></font><br /><strong style="">No soul craft today except this: </strong>ask yourself what quality you would most like to see in yourself and spend the day "trying on" that quality.<br /> <br />  	<strong style=""><a style="" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933979968/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=soulspackle-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1933979968" target="_blank">The Beauty of Different</a> Karen Walrond</strong><br /><span></span><span style="display:none;">_</span></div>  ]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>

