Have You Ever Heard The Animals Speak?

Recently  I was attuned as a Reiki Master. Doesn't that sounds cool. I'm a master. I'm a master at many things. Unloading the dishwasher. Whipping up dinner in 30 minutes. Napping.  Telling my kids to do their chores.  And now, I'm a Reiki Master.
 During the attunement process many people have epiphanies or deep spiritual insights.
 The only thing I experienced as my sensei (yes, I have a sensei. Me and the karate kid. I'll tell you more about her when she gets her website up!) was attuning each chakra was when she got to my heart chakra I felt like my heart was so tight and painfully full.
Like I was holding potential creations, thoughts and feelings of my heart captive for fear of being hurt.
As I felt all the captives in my heart I knew it was time to share more, speak up more, write more, sing more
It wasn't just time,
  I knew that for me to keep peace with my heart I needed to share more of what was in it.  
It didn't matter the outcome of sharing, I just needed to let the captives free for my own heart's sake. 

Even now as I type I feel my own resistance to sharing my heart.
 I feel the easy thoughts of just keeping things to myself. It is safe that way.  I'd rather take a long bath then go to lunch with my sensei than go to the effort of opening my heart and trying to figure out what's in there.
I have learned from experience there is always a lot of my own resistance when it comes to doing real living, growth causing things.
There are always reasons to avoid the uncomfortable awkward sensations of sharing my heart.
 But, it is getting more uncomfortable holding it in and so I will push through the forest of thorny resistance to arrive at the sunny meadow of satisfaction of expression and creation! 

Ha, that phrase alone gives me satisfaction and relief. 

I think what my heart wants to say first is that  God, Mother Nature, the Universe, All that is, your own divine soul, is ALWAYS speaking love and guidance to me, to you, to all of us.  From my perspective there isn't a time when messages of love and guidance aren't hovering around us, pushing in on us waiting for their opportunity to download.
Waiting for us to be receptive or open, or just listen and believe the signs and messages. 

I have been having really cool dreams. I have always had very detailed and vivid dreams. Some with clear meaning and many that I don't understand fully. Dreams are a common and good way for our subconscious, higher self, spirit, God, angels, deceased loved ones, to get a message to us. I would say that at least once a week I have a dream with clear messages that help in some small or big way. 

One such dream I had the other night. I think I could entitle it

 "Have You Ever Heard The Animals Speak?"

In the dream I was walking outside through the country. It was green and sunny. There were trees but they were not crowding in on me. It was more of an open path space. As I walked alone, wild animals approached me. They looked at me intently and then they each spoke to me face to face. They spoke to me about things I was very interested in. They recognized me and knew I would listen. I was surprised and really enjoyed getting a closer look at them. I couldn't wait to ask anyone if this had ever happened to them. I was also anxious to tell people the things the animals were teaching me and telling me.  

As I walked from the country back into a small town, I saw a group of teenage kids walking toward me.
They were rowdy and thinking they were rebels but I could see they were just insecure teenagers who needed real friendship and love.
As we got closer I said hello and started talking to them. They were headed out to the country where I had just been.
I asked them "Have you ever heard the animals speak?" Before they had a chance to even process my question a large woman with long thick grey hair came walking down the road. She was dressed in a mid length black skirt with boots and a black sweater. She had large eyes and a handsome face, except that she had such a critical expression on her face. She looked about 50 years old.   As she approached it went from day to night very quickly. It was clear that she didn't like me or like what I was trying to say to the kids.  I could see the sarcasm and disgust she had for me. I stood my ground and was polite as she approached.  She started telling the kids her own thoughts and ideas. They listened. I shared my thoughts and ideas with the kids. She scoffed at me. I then casually mentioned that I was friends with Jesus. Right as I said this it seemed to knock the wind out of her and she was suddenly standing at least 20 feet away from us. I was surprised at the power this casual statement from me had. She seemed to be fed up and repelled by me and left. I don't remember if I said anything else to the kids. The next thing I knew I was home. The dream went on with the animals in my home and out my window interacting with me. They didn't speak as fluently as the wild animals but they were very affectionate with me. When I woke up I looked up the spiritual or symbolic meaning of each of the animals that had interacted with me at home in my dream. It was a very visually beautiful dream with several personal messages for me. Some of the birds I saw in my dream were large and vivid in color. It was lovely. I wrote down all the messages and meanings I felt applied to me in my journal.
 I'm still smiling and pondering over this rewarding dream.

My desire in sharing this little bit of my heart is to remind or teach anyone reading this post to pay attention to all the ways God or the greater wisdom within you is trying to talk to you. Pay attention to the animals, and trees that come into your physical life or your dream life. They all have a message for you. Nothing is coincidental. You are so loved and treasured and this life is school. Your divine teachers want to help you. They want to make you smile and laugh. They want to see you move along your path and grow. That is all for now.
Love, Kristen.

P.S. My last post I left you hanging about what I do about my need for chocolate since I am partaking of very little sugar and dairy.

Here is the chocolate that saved my chocolate life!

Behold! The Chocolate Conspiracy!

Read the pure and perfectly innocent  ingredients.

Made right here in Salt Lake City by a couple of cool looking guys. I actually called and thanked them and asked them for a discount . They said sure and I went in and bought a bunch of bars for 25% off.
Life is good, especially when you find chocolate that makes you feel so nourished.

Food. It's kind of one of my hobbies.

Food. I'm really into it. 

Not as much for cooking creatively or pleasurable eating, but I'm very interested in how food makes me feel and what foods can DO for me. Let me start by saying if what you are eating and drinking is working for you and you feel good then I say stick with it! 

Enjoy it! Do what makes you feel nourished and happy.

 I don't think I have found the holy grail of diets or a one size fits all solution. 

I do think I have figured out which foods make me tired and inflamed and which foods make me feel fluid and energetic.

 I think we all have different needs when it comes to food and even different emotional metabolisms. I have been interested in health and nutrition since I was a teenager. 

My grandparents on my dad's side were dairy farmers and grew a huge garden full of delicious vegetables. 

They had fruit trees of every kind and berries and grape vines for home made grape juice. 

They would make their own wheat bread, jams and yogurt and their milk was unpasteurized unhomogenized, cream on the top, deliciousness. 

I loved their root cellar full of potatoes and onions and other root vegetables. 

My grandparents ingenuity was fascinating and wonderful to me. 

They grew flowers from seed and had a green house that my grandpa had built. 

They had a big tractor and a big swing in their beautiful old willow tree. 

They lived in Cornish Utah when they had the farm and then next to the Bear River in Mink Creek Idaho after they sold their farm. 

They always had a lot of land where they grew a gorgeous huge garden that could have fed a few hundred people in my child perspective. 

It was a magical place for me as a kid. 

I loved being in the country with the sound of the river out the window. 

One summer my sister and I went to stay for a couple of weeks. 

My grandma took us to the neighbor's house who's cat had just had kittens. Grandma told us we could each pick out a kitten for ourselves! It would have to live at grandma's but it would be our kitty. 

The miracle of this to me as a city kid was shockingly wondrous. 

We had so many fun times there. My grandma was always very concerned with getting your vitamins and would drink brewers yeast. Nasty stuff but she would endure the taste for the health benefit. I admired this very much and I think I have taken her love of healthy food and have tried to eat the healthiest I know how in my day and time. 

For the last 10 years I have been eating less and less meat and eating more and more "super foods" however unpleasant I am willing to endure if I think it's good for me.

 I also ate my share of deserts and cheese and chips and all the yummy junk food.

 I ate these things in what I considered to be moderation but I still ate them. 

This June I wanted to see what I would feel like if I only ate what was actually unprocessed, real, grown from the earth, food. 

I wanted to see if I could NOT eat sugar and treats. 

I have NEVER gone off sugar. I've watched my friends go off sugar for a month and thought it looked like terrible torture. How can you just NOT eat chocolate cake?

 I also wanted to see what it would be like and how I would feel to not eat meat and dairy. 

What do you eat if you don't eat meat and dairy??? I didn't know. Re fried beans from a can?

 The older I've gotten the more I have taken comfort from nature and animals. 

I started to feel sad every time I ate another chicken breast. 

I felt like a traitor since I have 6 pet chickens of my own. I wondered if they could smell their kin on my breath when I went out to pet them and talk to them. ;) Emotionally it was getting uncomfortable for me to feast on the flesh. 

Well, for multiple reasons, June of 2016 is when I just had to try something different to help myself feel better physically and emotionally. 

I felt pretty good but was dealing with some health issues that I didn't want to see get worse. I had no interest in weight control since my weight pretty much has held steady after my twins were 3 years old. 

I thought I looked fine and was not going on a diet for weight issues. I was going on a real food diet for health issues. My goal was not how few calories I could eat but how many nutrients could I pack in.....really, how many nutrients could I pack in? 

My biggest concern about going "vegan" was fear of what others would think, or worse, offending my parents and in laws by not eating what they served for Sunday dinner. 

But then I realized that I should have the last say when it comes to what I put in my body! 

If I offend someone or someone thinks I'm weird, well, I'd just have to be OK with that. 

 Again, if I don't have the last say about what I put in my mouth then how much of my power and choice am I giving away to what our culture says is normal?

One of the reasons I felt like I could make the plunge into a new world of eating was that in my ward/neighborhood there is a Health Coach. A real life nutritionist. I met with her and set up meetings with her twice a month for 6 months. She gave me recipes and tips and taught me the ways of healthy eating without meat and dairy. I even stopped eating my chickens eggs. 

After 6 months of sticking to this way of eating pretty strictly this is what I discovered.

1. My body has a hard time with dairy. It makes my throat congested and makes me feel like I'm on the verge of a cold and makes me actually get a sore throat then a cold. My whole life I wake up in the morning and have to clear my throat over and over. Soon after we were first married, Nate jokingly asked me if I had turrets  because I cleared my throat so much. It also makes my tummy bloat. It also make the taste in my mouth unpleasant.  Since going off dairy I digest better. I don't have to clear my throat all day. I don't get colds or flu. I haven't all winter. No stuffy nose or congested throat for me. Wow. 

2. Wheat bread isn't the health food for my body that I thought it was. Maybe its the fact that the commercial yeast they use these days is fast acting and doesn't break down gluten and other things in the wheat that can be hard on the body. Maybe its the fact that I ate so much bread with this commercial yeast plus lots of sugar that I had a yeast over growth in my gut and through out my body. Or maybe its because in the 1970's they hybridized wheat to be able to grow in dryer climates and it just isn't the plant that it originally was.??? I don't know all the reasons but wheat seems to cause inflammation and ache in my joints and gut. My tummy has flattened out since going off wheat bread. Arthritis pain in my joints has drastically reduced. Wheat bread toast used to be my go to snack food. My all purpose meal. Now it is a green smoothie :)

3. I was a complete sugar addict. I had withdrawl when I went off. I felt sick and crabby and so tired. Part of it could have been the yeast die off that wasn't getting all the sugar it needed to live in my body so it died in my body and made me sick. For 2 weeks I thought about cookies all day. I felt sick and tired and craved cake and chocolate. Sugar is so addictive! I had no idea how it was making me moody and tired. I'm already prone to mood swings but sugar exaggerated the problem. Sugar is not a food. It is a isolated component from a plant which literally makes it a drug. No wonder it gives me 60 seconds of bliss followed by a crash in mood and energy levels. As I have gotten older I'd have to take a nap every day to recover from the desert I had at lunch. 

4. Emotionally I feel better not eating meat. Physically I smell better not eating meat. It also gives me an unpleasant taste in my mouth. But, I also miss meat. Its just so salty and tasty! My spirit loves not eating meat but my body misses it and asks me to eat it. At Thanksgiving I ate the full delicious meal. Christmas I did the same thing. It was great and I really enjoyed all the food and meat. I did feel happy to not keep eating that way though. I really do feel better so it makes it easier to give up the old ways of eating. Because I have felt a bit protein deficient I drink plant based protein shakes and protein bars. I also eat some smoked salmon and my chicken's eggs occasionally. I really have loved adding back in the smoked salmon. It is so good on my salads. 

5. There is a whole world of food I didn't know I liked. I also love eating big quantities and not feeling like there is a lead ball in my stomach. Fruits and vegetables just sit in the tummy nicer. 

Next time I'll give you a list of some of the new foods I've discovered. Also, I'll tell you how I live without normal chocolate. I found something better. 

To be continued. 

:) :) :)

Kristen

so many good things

Today is February 13, 2017. I wrote this post in October but never quite finished it or posted it.

 I'm posting it now because it's bugging me that I never posted it. 

Love, Kristen. 

My life is full of good and beauty and wonder and I'm keeping my focus on all that I love.

 I'm not putting my focus on this bazaar election or how anything else exasperating or frustrating.

 I am focusing on how I love what I do and I do what I love.

 Everything from my kids getting older and more independent to my adorable cat Max.

My kids are getting funner and I'm not comparing myself to other perfect mom's who do it all right and know where their kids are 24/7 and who never get really annoyed and blunt with their kids and who all they do is put the needs of their kids before their own and love every minute of it. 

Nope, I'm not comparing myself to those imaginary moms who don't even exist. 

I'm chilling out and letting my kids be and not blaming myself for every childish immaturity they have.

 They are growing and so am I. I feel angels and my grandma's in my home helping us all have more fun and laugh things off.

Right after school started my husband and I took a trip of a lifetime.

 It was the best trip we have ever taken. 

A white water rafting trip down the Colorado river through the grand canyon. 

It fell into our laps. (I mean, we still had to pay for it) I've never even heard of this tour package. 

Our friends called us and asked us if we wanted to join them since some people had dropped out.

 Oh my was it exciting, relaxing, thrilling, glorious. 

Glorious nature all around me! 

We slept under the stars. 

I have never seen so many stars! 

So bright. 

The canyon walls towering over us, the sound and smell of the river running beside us as we slept. My dreams were vivid and full of meaning. 

I saw faces of the ancients in the canyon walls. 

I also saw Darth Vader in the rocks of the canyon walls. 

Nature speaks to me in unique ways. ;) 

See that little waterfall? I stood under it let the water soak and wash over me. 

It felt like magic. 

Itty bitty lizard.

Lots of caves.

 Havasu I LOVE you! That's me about to jump in the river. 

Blue and green refreshing water from Mother Earth. 

I love my mother!

floating peacefully till the next section of rapids.

Other fun updates in my life. 

I'm studying Indigenous tribal teachings/Native American studies and Shamanism with Jeff Olsen. There are over 40 of us in the class. It is wonderful and I love it. I love learning about ancient cultures and practises. I can incorporate their wisdom into my modern life and feel the benefit and love. 

I am also gradually incorporating what I am learning about the ancient ways of health and life into my own Reiki Mastery practice and spiritual life coaching with my clients. 

 I'm excited about the possibilities. 

People are ready and hungry for the wisdom of those that really knew the earth, themselves and God. I know I am hungry for it. 

And it makes me feel like one of these beautiful Native women on horseback. 

I love really love studying ancient cultures.

Other updates...

I just had PRK done on my right eye to improve my vision. very little pain even though it can really hurt. I think it's because I eat big boxes of dark leafy greens and Nate gave me a blessing and Michell (my friend and teacher) sent me Reiki and I gave Reiki to myself and my body knows how to heal itself with all the love I give it!

I am loving eating a plant based diet.

 I love plants and plants love me. 

I feel so very much better, physically and emotionally. 

I love the food I'm eating and I have fallen in like with cooking and being in the kitchen putting recipes together. 

Big deal for me since I used to kind of hate it. 

I love eating beautiful fresh fruits and vegetable of all different colors. 

I have been able to go off my prescriptions 3 months after going to a plant based diet.

 I used to wake up with aches and pains in my back or in my feet. 

No more. I feel fluid and fresh. 

My pants are all really baggy and falling off. 

I didn't know how much fluff I had till it fluffed off. 

I didn't want all my fluff to fluff away. 

My sister told me to put yummy nut butters on everything. OK, I will. My nutritionist told me small bodies are healthy bodies.

 She also gave me some tips to fluff myself up a bit. 

 It really does matter what I eat. 

I have power to change my health for the better and it is fun, liberating and empowering to take charge of what I put in my body.

I am loving my private Reiki practice! 

I have as many clients as I desire to keep me the right amount of busy, but not so busy that the joy of it is drained out. 

I am meeting wonderful people and I am showing them their own power to help themselves. 

It's really rewarding to help people feel the love of God and heaven and help to empower them. 

 It's also really fun to feel like a grown up and have my own little business that I operate out of my back yard "she shed"

I haven't watched any of the debates.

 I have stopped reading articles or researching candidates.

 I don't want to vote. Think what you will of me.

My husband was made the Bishop of our ward this summer.  

When the Stake president called us in to call us to the calling.

 It's Nate's calling but in a marriage it affects us both. 

Anyway, when he called us in and called Nate to be Bishop of our congregation I felt God say. 

"This is no big deal. You've been prepared. 

I told you this was coming, it was your choice to not fully believe me" 

I'm putting word's in God's mouth, all this came through with feelings not words. 

As we walked home I had several minutes of clarity and could see how we are just the perfect recipe for our ward at this time in our ward's life.

 Then for the next 2 weeks all I could think of was how immature we are and how I don't want this responsibility to mess up my life. All I could see was how my kids are a mess and how I don't know what the heck I'm doing and our grass is full of dandelions and that I like dandelions but lawns are supposed to be just green grass and something must be wrong with me since I like my lawn with clover and violets and dandelions. 

 I really don't want this calling to interfere with what I want to do in our life. 

I felt tortured by negative thoughts and dreams. 

Then, on the Sunday it was announced and everyone knew and everyone raised their hand in support, these feelings and thoughts began to quickly evaporate off of me as I knew they would. 

I married Nate for me. 

He is kind and fun and good and capable and I married him so I would have a great life. 

I haven't wanted to share him. But since I feel it is God who is asking for him I will say yes. 

Our Father gives me joy after joy, fun after fun, friend after friend, love after love. 

I'll share my wonderful Nate for Him. 

Life is good. I am determined to keep seeing it that way.

Love, Kristen