by Connie Habash | Sep 16, 2021 | Articles, Create, Intention, Manifestation, Surrender, Trust
If your life were a book, what would its title be? What chapter are you on now? Impact your next phase of life by creating it intently as you would craft a book.
Some people believe in past lives, but my experience is that we have many lives in this one life. Isn’t your life quite different than it was in your childhood? Perhaps even vastly changed just in the last couple of years. We all go through life phases based on our age, family circumstance, where we live, our occupation, school or college, our health, our relationships, and so much more.
It’s helpful to reflect on your past as a means of gaining wisdom and understanding, completion, and crafting your next phase of life. Each period of our journey through this lifetime is like a chapter in a book. Not only can you reflect on the past by writing your story, but you can impact the future by writing your next chapter (or at least its title) now.
The Past: A Conscious Re-writing of His or Herstory
Looking at our lives as a book gives us the opportunity to write, or rewrite, our history. After all, history is told by those who write the history books, and you are the author of your own life. You may not be able to change the events that have happened, but you can change how you tell their story.
by Connie Habash | Apr 13, 2021 | Nature, Patience, Presence, Trust
If you’re willing to be patient and present – to wait a bit in the unknown – you’ll perceive the blessings showing up. No matter where you live, you can find life and inspiration; even on a busy urban street!. Here’s a snapshot from a couple years ago of a simple treasure that brought a beautiful insight.
by Connie Habash | Sep 4, 2019 | Acceptance, Nature, Presence, Resilience, Trust
A challenging hike (for me, that day!) to a pristine alpine meadow teaches me the power of presence, trust, and reveals my inner resilience. The whole day was in front of us, and we decided to take a hike that I hadn’t been on in over 20 years. I barely even...
by Connie Habash | Jul 16, 2019 | Acceptance, Contentment, Resilience, Trust
Several years ago, I began to study with a teacher named Leslie Temple-Thurston of CoreLight. She had a funny teaching that has become a big part of my life: OK with Whatever.
by Connie Habash | Mar 15, 2018 | Animals, Beauty, Hiking, journey, Joy, Life, Nature, Openness, Seasons, Trust
A couple weeks ago, I had planned to hike on a Thursday morning with a friend I hadn’t seen in months. We were looking forward to being together and venturing into one of my favorite forests at nearby Huddart Park. The forecast was for rain – not just a little drizzle. Did we want to venture beyond our comfort zone, even if it was pouring?
I was game, and so was she – what an adventure! Going outdoors brings me great joy, but there’s always an element of being uncomfortable. Will I get muddy? Will my new rain pants truly hold up? What if I slip and fall? How about the cold? Being in nature mirrors to us the fact that life is unpredictable and uncomfortable sometimes.
We met up and drove together through the windy road to the park entrance, then on to the grassy field near the trailhead. On with the jackets, hiking books, and mittens (yep, it was chilly!), and off we went into the redwood forest.
by Connie Habash | Jul 20, 2017 | Courage, Fear, True Self, Trust
I have a confession to make – I have struggled with the fear of flying for over 12 years, since the birth of my daughter. Seems that bringing a new being into the world and being responsible for her created a deeper reverence for life… and an intensified fear of death.
For many years, I avoided flying at all costs. If I had to fly, my palms would break out into a cold sweat anytime we came upon even mild turbulence. I’d shiver and white knuckle my way through it, trying to hide any signs from my daughter if she was with me.
But after several years of being limited to the ground, the mental and physical decline of my mother on the east coast necessitated more visits – and more flights. It was time to deal with my fear of flying head-on.
by Connie Habash | Apr 5, 2017 | Faith, Patience, Perception, Practice, Seasons, Trust
It’s spring, and I’ve returned to my practice of sitting outside upon rising. Most mornings, just as the sun peeks over the trees behind my neighbor’s house across the street, I go outdoors and sit for a few minutes. My hot tea in hand warms me as I sip, holding both hands around the mug. I feel the firm earth beneath me, supporting me on my journey through the day. It is a time that I attempt to quiet my mind and listen to Spirit speak to me through nature.
Some days, the juncos are busy scavenging for seeds; others I just hear the hidden birdsong of others breeds hidden in the oaks trees and pine needles above. Often, a black squirrel will scuttle along the top of the fence, his super-highway to the yard nextdoor. This is my favorite time of the year to be doing this practice, as I can see the changes that spring brings almost from day to day. I watch our California poppies change from just 3 blossoms to 8 in 24 hours.
I ask for a message, some guidance, from the Divine, and then wait. It’s not that I expect something magical and stupendous to occur. It’s more that I wait for my perception to be guided to what I need to see in order to receive my message.
by Connie Habash | Apr 8, 2014 | Control, Patience, Trust
It’s been 4 weeks now that I’ve been dealing with this. The first two weeks were a sinus infection; the last two have been an ear infection. Everyday, I wake up and wonder when my ears will feel normal again, and when I’ll hear clearly out of my left ear.
Sometimes when things aren’t going as I expect, I start to get a little panicky. When will it be healed? Is it OK? Is there something wrong? Should I be concerned that it hasn’t healed yet? I’m not the most patient patient.
We all want to be in control. We want to KNOW what is happening, and how long. But as I have learned lately (again), we can’t always know. Sometimes, we just have to be patient.
by Connie Habash | Mar 14, 2014 | Acceptance, Appreciation, Challenges, Gratitude, Healing, Patience, Trust
I was lying on a treatment table at my acupuncturist’s office, with a painful ear infection. I had felt mentally, emotionally, and energetically better since the first treatment two days ago, but the ears continued to feel blocked, and I still was spitting up yellow phlegm.
Nalinee, my acupuncturist, talked about how much my energy field had improved. In her Thai accent, she reminded me of the power of the mind, and how harnessing that would facilitate healing.
I knew that, of course, but had been humbled. I had been struggling with my emotions for several days, feeling fearful and sometimes depressed, and had not been able to make the full shift in my consciousness to a true healing mentality. I wasn’t practicing what I knew.
by Connie Habash | Apr 7, 2013 | Action, Choices, Courage, Empowerment, Fear, Illusion, Right Action, Tolerance, Transformation, Trust
Everyone deals with difficulties in life. Sooner or later, something scares us. It may be the aging process, a snake, the fear of rejection, or a dwindling bank account.
Gone are the days when we have to worry about lions chasing us (unless, of course, you live in Kenya). Fear has become more subtle. In the words of Kristin Neff, PhD, author of Self-Compassion, now our fears arise not just from dark alleys or sounds that go bump in the night, but from “threats to our self-concept” – the idea of who we think we are. Yet, they end up causing similar levels of stress in the body as that lion chasing us. The fear that runs us, day in and day out, is the fear that we’re unlovable, of being bad, wrong, or a failure.
React or Respond
When we are faced with fear, we have two possible choices: react or respond. When we react, we allow fear to run us, to control our emotions, our actions, our words. But when we respond, we transform a moment of fear into a moment of empowerment.
What is a fear reaction? When we are exposed to a traumatic situation, there are three reactions that occur: fight, flight, and freeze (see Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine). The kind of fear I’m referring to, however, isn’t life or death situations, although learning how to respond rather than react in those is very helpful. In our day-to-day lives, it is the little fears – the perceived threats to our self-concept – that disempower us and cause us to react.
It is in these little fears that we have the opportunity to change our lives. And we see three similar reactions to those little fears: fight, flight, and freeze.
