We are in the middle of the National Novel Writing month, where it is everyone’s goal to reach 50,000 words towards a new novel. I am happy to share I have written 12,000 plus words towards mine. Words I might not have written, were not for this opportunity. Thank you to those who have offered encouragement to me during this process which is by no means an easy thing to do!
It is awe-inspiring each time I read one of Howards letters and how he shares his heartfelt love through poetry and his artistic ability to draw little pictures. I have just sorted out all the letters and have began the process of documenting. This is a 6 month commitment for sure but I am encouraged as I teeter on the edge of a nostalgic memoir evolving.
The Courtship of Gwendolyn Eve
Once again please feel free to leave an encouraging message or connect with me in other ways.
Have you connected to nature lately? Earlier this month I had the opportunity to go for a walk along the Windsor Riverfront with a friend. It was a warm beautiful November day that called to fellow outdoor enthusiasts to fall in step.
Photo by Tiffanie Rajki
The Detroit skyline rose from blue sky reflections of the lazy Detroit river. A river that flows into Lake Erie’s basin by the tip of Amherstburg, Ontario. We walked along with no distractions, no phones ringing, no need to fill the silence, just admiring the sculpture gardens, the people unmasked, heavy in conversations.
Photo by Tiffanie Rajki
When was the last time you sat or walked in nature with a family member, friend or lover and listened to their troubles or joys without judging or shifting them to be someone else? I found on this day even when our conversation was one of joy and peace, that new aspects of myself began to flow forward. I felt the stillness of nature. I sensed the shape of leaves, their colours transforming the landscape, the whisper of birds singing songs of joy!
Being in nature helped me accept the gift of life. That gift being, to know yourself fully beyond the daily distractions. Today I teeter on the threshold of happiness connected through nature. In the calm I create each day, I can accept the mysteries of the universe lie within me. I also accept that I create my own life and above all, I accept that I need YOU to help me experience each brand new day!
Yes Nanowrimo is here again! and I decided to join this year. I will be taking the month of November to start a draft manuscript of a book I comprised a few years ago. After the passing of my mother in law, we found a bag of love letters in the bottom of her closet. These love letters were written in the 1940’s after the war, the year they were courting. Yes that is what they used to call dating. My how dating has changed but falling in love is timeless. These letters were given to me to use as I wish. I cherished my mother in law, even after her son & I divorced, she remained a major role in our family’s life.
The memoir “The Courtship of Gwendolyn Eve” comes from my heart to yours. A distant whisper calling us to court.
Feel free to leave comments of encouragement and interest in this topic.
I talk a lot about our minds and spirits but less about our physical bodies. Last week during Thanksgiving weekend I decided to put my body to the test. I am overweight for my height and because of…, well you know the list of reasons we tell ourselves why we can’t lose weight, I decided it was my time.
Often I desire to lose the weight but have not put the discipline in to get the desired results. Our bodies do so much for us. I am very grateful for mine and its time I showed myself the self love that is missing. I live with a paramedic who is constantly telling me about 50-65 yr old’s who are in bad shape so that’s a statistic I do not want to follow. I do feel stiff, out of breath and lethargic sometimes blaming my age but hell no I’m 58 yrs young and I have lots of grandchildren I enjoy being active with. It’s time for Nana to take that army discipline she was taught many years ago and get back in shape.
Today marks week 1 and I am feeling so much better already. Just being outside lifts my spirit and I can’t tell you how many happy people I passed today that said hi and wished me well! You don’t get that sitting inside the house! The picture above is one of the trails I use and as you can see it is beautiful!
To prepare for this new journey I bought vitamins, fruit for smoothies, metabolism booster tablets and I put an app on my phone (the free pacer app) to help me graph the data. I started a walking program and walk soon after I get up in the morning. Stretching exercises before walking are very important I forgot one day and I was so stiff I could barely make it up my stairs when I got home. By walking early I found that if I wanted to walk again there would be time to do so, thus being able to double my daily steps/miles. After each walk make sure you do cool down exercises, these can be found on the app and they are very helpful.
Here is a walking chart I followed:
Of course being an ex letter carrier I started at 3 miles a day just because of the trail I use and I am capable of walking that distance. I now find walking my favourite way to meditate. It is the perfect way to ground yourself and the sound of the birds as they follow you adds to the bliss. Watching the hawks as they circle and the leaves turning the most precious of harvest colours, fills me with peace. For those interested in my journey I hope to inspire you to start your own challenge. Loving your body is just as important as loving and attending to your mind & spiritual needs.
Each day is a new beginning and I will keep you updated on my success.
To everyone that reads this, I wish only the best for you and your families. As we teeter on the edge of this covid reality still, we are having to make decisions we never thought possible. Whether we chose to dine with our immediate households, FaceTime each other or to gather as a family, let us honour each other with grace. Take a moment to find thanks for someone or something you still have. We are all struggling to make sense of our world as we are forced to distance from each other, mask our beautiful faces and bend to the weight of new societal rules. If you haven’t been told lately, you are loved! I am thankful for you, a fellow human being, and one day we will not have to teeter on the edge, we will fly to higher levels of unity and stand on firm ground.
On my journey I have said and done many stupid, judgmental, unkind things, all for the sake of finding love and acceptance. That’s OK! I did not become stagnant, hiding in self loathing, blanketing myself in guilt, knowing what I did was wrong. I forgave myself and others and moved forward trying not to repeat patterns. Especially patterns that were not healthy or wise for me. My journey consists of solving MY OWN karma, growing spiritually and finding better ways of being human.
Coming to the recognition that your life is a journey is the first step in leveling up. What I know of journey’s I relate to hiking. My favourite passion. Hiking can be anywhere, any country, any place. It can be a paved path, a dirt trail, a direction, or a dream. Paths can be straight, curved, unkindly going upwards, or silently flowing downwards. They can involve parachuting the sky, hiking a live volcano, walking in a forest or meandering a waterway by kayak. Our life journey’s are as varied as each of us here living one. Recognizing this and allowing for the surprises and challenges that come with each path we take, is part of leveling up as a human.
The second step to leveling up is to allow yourself to learn the lessons that flow from the challenges we face. It’s OK to not succeed, to fail, to have to re-do or retreat at times. Lessons are only lessons and mile markers that should encourage you to think differently about how you are dealing with a situation or person. As an Aries I have had a life of lessons dealing with how I approach things by banging my head against a wall, over and over again, getting nowhere. It wasn’t until I surrendered and looked at things with a bigger perspective, that I noticed a change in my life. I recognized the negative patterns I was developing, the limited beliefs I had, the ways I wasn’t manifesting my true hearts desires. My mile markers were the divorces I had to endure in order to learn I did not need to look for love and acceptance outside of myself. My inward search allowed me to recognize who I was, why I am here and how I need to move forward accomplishing my goals and desires. I have learned I have within me all I need. I create my own life. I am who I am! I recognize now all my stupid, judgmental, unkind days while growing up, lack in comparison to all the wonderful, encouraging, kind, non-judgmental acts I continue to perform each day. I see myself as a divine being, whole, not above or below anyone else. You cannot control or manipulate me because I make my own decisions and choices that benefit me. By going within, getting rid of negative patterns, limited beliefs and recognizing who and what you are, you will be able to see we are all wanting love and acceptance in our lives.
The third stage of leveling up along your journey is to understand the importance of forgiveness and it’s role in your life. Allowing forgiveness into your heart to melt away all anger, traumas, or blocks that may prevent you from moving forward in love as a human being. Forgiveness is asked for by apologizing and it is given with a desire for a better relationship. Forgiveness has no expectations or rules. Forgiveness is the key to everything. It is the key I hand you and the key you pass on to others.
By going within you will find what you lack, why you lack it and how to fill it. Allowing life lessons to lead and direct you is another step up. Lastly, we are all gatekeepers and its up to you to open the door for others to heal.
It is with pleasure that I announce the launch of my debut book of nature poems
By clicking on the picture in the sidebar you will be forwarded to Amazon.ca to purchase a copy. Thank you to all of my family & friends who supported me through this endeavor. I am planning a book launch party but it will most likely be in July or August, where you will be able to purchase a book with a personalized note & signature.
All I can say is Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Wholeness & love to everyone! Jacqueline Denis
Photo by Thiu1ec1u Hou00e0ng Phu01b0u1edbc on Pexels.com
With a deep breath in and in slow release let your body fall into calm surrender. Empowering yourself begins with being in a receptive mode. Being receptive to learning all you can about yourself. When you are in calm surrender you are able to recognize what you struggle with and what you need to change in order to move forward. One of the things you may need to change is your attachments. Attachments can be emotional bonds that connect us to other people, they can also be our style of connecting with others ( secure, avoidant, anxious or disorganized ) or anything we cling to, to help us identify who we are, what we do or how we enjoy doing things in specific ways. Even our belief systems or worldviews are a part of our attachments.
Part of learning to empower yourself is learning who and what you are attached to. This exercise will help you:
Write a list of the people and things you feel attached to.
Review this list acknowledging what or who causes you tension, anxiety or emotional harm.
Acknowledge what is working for you or in your favour on this list.
Now consider what your life would look like if you were not attached to any of the things causing tension.
Self empowerment comes with recognizing that you don’t really need those attachments that cause you tension or anxiety. All you need is to be yourself fully, openly and honestly. Be true to you!
Chances are your attachments are related to the idea that you are not enough by yourself. So let go and let more of who you are come forth.
You are a creator, You are all that is, You are everything you need!
If I were to tell you it may take 2-10 years to work through the chaos resulting from this pandemic, how would that make you feel? Would it cause fear or anger and if so where in your body would you feel it? We hold emotions within our body and where it hurts is directly related to a held emotion.
Our 7 chakra’s are connected to different organs, systems and cells. There is a connection between what we think and how we feel. Clearing and stabilizing your 7 chakra’s helps to strengthen and heal you.
The truth is the human population is a highly traumatized population and trauma sometimes comes down through generations and reincarnations. As we awaken we will be faced with truths that we may not even want to hear. Truths that have been covered and hidden from us. Truths that may reveal the evil, fraud, control, slavery and abuse from the highest people within our Governments, religious, financial, entertainment, and educational systems. Abuses towards women, men and children, we never thought possible. Remember it is better to know the truth and move forward then to look the other way.
WE, humanity, are in a huge collective healing right now and your contribution begins with taking responsibility for your own healing. By doing the work and stabilizing yourself you will be able to stand firm through the trauma and not get caught up in all the drama.
A. Raising our vibrations – refer to my prior article for 10 ways to raise your vibrations.
B. Standing in your own Autonomy & Sovereignty – when faced with family or friends who may want you to agree with their perspectives or they will feel rejected, stand firm. You may have to agree to disagree with others dis-information and stand firm in what YOU believe. Love them anyway but commit to your beliefs and live by them.
C. Develop a higher mindset – Even though we may not know what the future holds, that’s OK . Live your life knowing what kind of world you do want to live in and pray for that to manifest on earth. Resist anything that does not resonate with you, and let it go lovingly, knowing sometimes we need to see the dark shadow side to know where the light is coming from.
D. Let go of external authorities – Be your own sovereign self. Use your sense of discernment wisely. Rebuild your internal supports like prayer, meditation, or connecting to the higher spiritual realms. Don’t think too much about what others say about you, be careful who you give your power to. You are a great soul on the journey of a lifetime, so don’t resist your own evolution you are here to learn!
E.Another way to contribute to your own healing while helping the collective heal is to learn how to stabilize yourself.
-don’t get caught up in the drama if you see or hear something that bothers you. Try to bring yourself into a neutral state.
-we achieve neutrality by grounding ourselves to the earth and connecting to the zero point energy field within us.
-your zero point is located in your heart chakra
-it is the centre of your being where only love exists (being love & self love)
-hold steady to this calm
When the drama rises, alleviate any negative physical symptoms, stabilize yourself and continue to work on your healing so the drama doesn’t turn to trauma.
TEETERING ON THE EDGE 