Life

Interstices

Sometimes in that twilight space between sleep and wakefulness a voice speaks to me of things I need to learn. Recently it transmitted a word I haven’t used since my days in academia.

“Interstial! Pay attention to the stillness and silence between words and sounds, to the spaces between the grains of rice.” I was pleasantly lulled by the initial abstraction, but that last bit about the rice roused my mind, which then began to fiddle at the edges of the metaphor.
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By Ysette, ago

How far can you get out of the way?

It’s a truism in energy work, whether it be in intuitive readings or healings, that the best thing a practitioner can do is get out of her own way. As with all great lessons—and getting out of your own way is a great life lesson—learning comes in layers. When I was first learning how to work in the Akashic Records, the phrase “get out of my own way” pretty clearly translated to cletting go of fear and doubt. The very first time I tried to enter the Records, I was so wrapped up in the fear of messing up and the doubt that I could actually do this for myself, that all I could experience was my negative energy. I had to back out of the Records, take a deep breath, and start my opening process all over again.

As I started to progress in this work, trusting that I could access the Records stopped being a problem. But fear and doubt showed up in other ways. While I knew that I could connect to the Records, I found myself falling into anxiety around my ability to make sense of the guidance I was receiving. Because I started out getting a lot of images, I shouldered the responsibility of being able to make immediate sense of everything I was getting. And if the connection between the question asked and the image received did not seem to have a logical connection, I would automatically seize up in fear and fall into the habit of blaming myself for getting some part of the process wrong. (I missed the obvious fact that this work, like dream work, is highly irrational and symbolic.)

Again, with time, I learned to develop further trust in the process, which in this case meant doing the opposite of my natural tendency to shut down when presented with the unknown. When the Records sent me something I did not automatically understand, I learned how to open up further. What I discovered is that I have so many options in the face of uncertainty: I could wait a moment or two for the image to unfold naturally; I could just start describing the image while trusting that the energy would continue to open up as I spoke; I could ask the Records what this image meant in relation to the question and/or in the context of the seeker’s life; or I could turn to the seeker herself and ask her how the image resonated with her. Knowing which road to take is a matter of intuition, and most times I seem to choose well. But I have also come far enough along in my practice that even if I “get it wrong” the first time (i.e., I ask the seeker if an image means something to her and it turns out that she is as clueless as I am), then I simply choose another avenue without beating myself up for having to try again.

Getting out of my own way also entailed releasing the pressure of “right interpretation” and “full understanding.” (more…)

By Ysette, ago

The songs of your soul

This was the closing exercise we did to unwind from the previous exercise. This is inspired by something I did with my friend Jennifer Urezzio in a workshop called “Voicing Your Vision.” I posted about this on Instagram, but am reposting here. The full exercise involves taking the second song that comes to you and then singing that karaoke-style in front of a group. When I did this I got paralyzed part-way through and then I started to cry. Since the last activity was so intense, I took this one down a notch and just suggested that we just do the first part of finding our songs.

In Dreamers & Schemers, we’ve done many meditations similar to this where we turn inward to connect to an aspect of ourselves / a source of knowing / flow of energy to find our truth. The advice I always give is to play along and act “as if,” even if you don’t feel or see or hear anything special. If you aren’t used to this sort of exercise, your ego might try to get in your way and tell you that you’re just making it all up, but to that I respond that your imagination is not your enemy. With wonder, curiosity, and beginner’s mind, your imagination will lead you to the very depths of your truth.

SONG OF YOUR SOUL

So here’s a quick meditation exercise that is a lot of fun! (more…)

By Ysette, ago

Other as Mirror of Self

The tools I share are really effective in helping you shift your energy in one way or the other. Some are really handy (many of my meditation tools can be used while you’re out walking to the train or are actually riding the subway), while others require more quiet and reflection. Other as Mirror of Self falls into the latter category. It is worth the work, however, because in my opinion (and from experience bringing it repeatedly into Dreamers & Schemers), this is one of the most incisive ways to identify your growth edge (which is another way to say “your issues”), and work through your issues from an angle that goes beyond the usual fodder of talk therapy.

In other words, this is not just about identifying your wounded inner child and blaming it on some external cause, but taking for your ALL emotional reactions. This might sound hard or yucky because it’s a lot easier to blame other people for how you’re feeling, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find this to be a tremendously useful and empowering life skill!

To be perfectly honest, learning this process was no cake walk, and I experienced a lot of tough love from my Akashic Records learning to do this. I spent months in resistance, clinging to my anger and self-righteousness, until one day something shifted in me and I experienced the transformative power of this habit of mind. This is a habit, so it gets stronger with practice. When it becomes second nature, you will ask yourself why you spent so much time suffering over something you actually had control over: your own emotional reactions.

If you’re feeling resistance now, take a moment to soften and open yourself to something new. Yes, we’ve all heard some variation of the old chestnut that you can’t control others, you can only control your reaction to them. Sure, you’re thinking, easier said than done. But let me break down the process into manageable steps so you can see that this is actually easier than you think.  (more…)

By Ysette, ago

What it really means to “follow your heart”

Can you think of a more common piece of inspirational life advice than “follow your heart”? So many of us heard this growing up, and perhaps we’ve even passed it onto our young people, but just how much do we trust it? Is it trite or true? I’m going to cut to the chase and stand in the conviction that it is always wise to follow our hearts. But there is a disclaimer here, and it is a big one: We have to be very attuned to how we define “heart,” and also what truth is for each of us in every moment.  (more…)

By Ysette, ago

June 2017 gathering

 

Smudging ceremony

Since June’s gathering was full of veteran Dreamers & Schemers we skipped over the agreements and “getting to know you” and opened up the circle with a smudging ceremony. Since getting back from my trip to Peru, I have been opening sacred space for myself with a private smudging ceremony. This is more than just smudging myself and my space, but also calling out to the four directions for support and in thanks. This ritual has been a really effective way of opening up my heart and familiarizing myself with my own heart energy, so I was really excited to share this with Dreamers & Schemers during heart month!

Physical heart vs. heart chakra vs. sacred heart

Leading up to the workshop I felt a bunch of resistance to referring to Anodea Judith’s work on the heart chakra. I was wondering about that on my walk to the gathering, and then it hit me: It’s because the work I want to do around the heart goes beyond the heart chakra, which is Judith’s concern. When I refer to the “heart center,” I mean both what we think of as the heart chakra and what we might call the divine sacred heart. (more…)

By Ysette, ago

“Show me who I am” [ancestors + solar plexus meditation]

One of my favorite sources of tools is the Akashic Records, since they come tailor-made for the recipient. This tool is one I actually channeled for a client, but as it is often the case in readings, there was something in it for me, as well. I felt resonance in my body as I was communicating it to my client, so I filed it away as something to practice for myself. I love it because it is extremely simple, but incredibly powerful.

The purpose of this tool is to give you the experience of simultaneously feeling the support of your ancestors and your own power. To do this, you turn inward and feel your personal power in your solar plexus and feel the support of your ancestors at your back. (The Records said, “Your ancestors have your back.”) After some practice just imagining this, I viscerally felt this one day as I was practicing “on the go.”

My most powerful experience using this tool, however, was during my plant medicine retreat in Peru. I was really struggling to make it through the weeks with a healthy sense of self intact and woke up crying in the middle of the night on the eve of the last ceremony of the week. In the face of my shadow, I was wracked by fear, doubt, anguish, and self hatred, and I had no idea how to step forward from all that negativity. And then it occurred to me that I had read of countless people in similar situations turning to prayer, and how that became a miraculous turning point for them.

If it can happen for them, why not for me? (more…)

By Ysette, ago

Dreamers & Schemers May 2017 gathering

AGREEMENTS

For the May gathering we welcomed a new member to our circle, so I took my time with the agreements. Because we were talking about personal power this month, I underscored the policy of not offering help to anyone unless they ask for it. It may seem counterintuitive, but part of claiming your power is being able to ask for help when you need it. The flip side of that is respecting someone’s power is not victimizing them and assuming we know when and how they need to be helped.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Along the theme of empowerment, I asked everyone to name an area in their life where they recently started to feel especially empowered, and another where they were still working on stepping into their power. (more…)

By Ysette, ago