In the world of personal growth and success, developing good habits serves as a powerful tool, helping us reach our goals and dreams. Instead of seeing success as a distant goal only a few can achieve, we can all make simple changes to our daily routines and ways of thinking to get closer to what we want. It's important to stop and think: Can habits really unlock the life you've been dreaming about? Or are you worried that too much routine might trap you, leaving you craving more freedom and spontaneity? After all, success can take many forms. Is there a way to be successful without sticking to a strict set of habits? If you are someone who loves freedom and spontaneity, watch for my course on Crafting Creative Routines For the Spontaneous Soul. Evaluating Success and Contentment In Book One of the Mary Magdalene Lives series, Walking in Wonder, she teaches women how to have a fulfilled life of inner peace, unconditional love, wellbeing, joy and life without struggle. To gauge where you stand on your journey to fulfillment, ask yourself: - How do you define success? - Are you satisfied with your life? - Do you feel content and well-prepared for the future? - Is your job truly fulfilling, or do you yearn for something different? - Where do you envision yourself in the coming years, and does this vision excite you? If these questions stir a sense of readiness for change within you, embracing new habits might be the key to unlocking a more rewarding path forward. Understanding the Power of Habits Habits, those daily actions we often perform without thought, significantly shape our lives. They hold the potential not just to alter our routines but to enhance our spiritual well-being and influence the words we use, encouraging mindfulness and positive self-expression. Benefits of Habit Formation:
Drawbacks to Consider:
Incorporating Spirituality and Mindful Language Adding spiritual practices to our daily routine and choosing our words carefully can significantly impact our journey. Such habits can deepen our connection to our inner selves and the world around us, transforming our outlook and interactions. The Power of Words in Shaping Our Path How we describe our experiences and goals matters immensely. Shifting our perspective on habits from being chores to choices enhances our motivation and aligns our actions more closely with our aspirations. Positive language not only motivates but also cultivates a growth-oriented mindset. Are Habits Right For You? If you're wondering whether your life is heading in the direction you really want, think about how forming new habits might help close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Consider how you can do this while remaining true to your style, whether you prefer structure or spontaneity. Remember: the best habits are those that fit your personal needs and goals. As we explore the influence of habits on personal and professional success, let's remain adaptable, ready to adopt practices that resonate with our core values and discard those that don't. Remember getting the most out of habits requires us to be mindful, flexible, and open to trying positive new practices. By doing so, we pave the way for a life marked by success, meaning, and joy, powered by our actions, spiritual connections, and empowering words.
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As we step into February, it is a great time to think about the intentions you may have set for the month or year.
With January's excitement calming down, you might be wondering how to keep those intentions going strong. Setting up habits is a great way to build healthy practices for your body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Let's dive into how habits can really help you stick to your intentions. We'll take it easy, looking at why habits are good for you and how they can fit into your lives. As we go forward, we'll get into how to make and keep good habits. The key here is patience and taking small steps that can lead to big changes over time. Habits: The Quiet Power Behind Your Daily Life Habits are the small things you do every day, often without even thinking about it. They can be good for you or not so good, but the best part is you get to choose which ones to follow. By picking habits that match up with your monthly intentions, you bring your daily life in line with what's most important to you Crafting Your Days with Care Consider the serene choice of a morning walk over the morning scroll —such a choice, consistently made, blossoms into a habit that enriches your daily rhythm with tranquility. Choosing with Purpose Every habit starts with a choice—a clear moment when you decide what you want your life to look like. Taking the time to choose activities that make you feel good instead of ones that don't is key to building habits that fit who you are and what you value. The Strength of Your Words The words you use every day shape how you see our world. Changing how you talk about your tasks, from seeing them as things you "have to" do to things you "get to" do, can make your daily life feel more positive and full of chances to grow. Bringing Spirit into Routine Adding spiritual practices like taking time to think about what you're thankful for at the end of the day brings deeper meaning to your routines. These habits keep you grounded and connect you to the bigger picture of your life. Build on What You Have Much like stacking stones to build a sturdy wall, you can layer new habits on top of existing ones for enhanced stability. For instance, writing in a journal while you have your morning coffee ritual can make it easier to fit reflection into your day, reinforcing both the joy of the ritual and the benefits of journaling. The Groundwork for a Good Life Habits are the base you build your life on. They guide you towards your dreams, day by day. Whether it's keeping an eye on your money, getting better at your job , or taking care of your relationships, it all starts with the habits you choose. Reaching Further Habits are more than just things you do; they're a way to explore how far you can go. By picking up habits that truly match who you are, you set off on a journey of self-discovery and endless growth. Diving into the world of habits this month is an exciting adventure, a chance to rethink your choices, the impact of your words, and how you bring spirit into your everyday life. Changing your habits is about reshaping who you are, one choice at a time. This month I invite you to find the habits that really speak to who you are and who you want to be. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Barry Manilow's "It's Just Another New Year's Eve" and, of course, the old standard "Auld Lang Syne." I hear those songs in my head. Will you be dressing up and partying? Or do you, like me, prefer to be alone and contemplate the possibilities for the upcoming year? I have a practice that is like me, somewhat weird and woo-woo. It gets my creative juices flowing. There's a fun, whimsical ritual I like to follow. Perhaps you want to consider this instead of the old ritual I used to recommend. That was writing the aspects of your life you wish to let go of - what is no longer working - and burning them to release and transform the energy. Then writing your goals and burning them to alert the universe of your new intentions. While it works, that practice seems old, and it limits the universe's options of giving you what is beyond your ability to imagine. To prepare for my New Year's Eve ritual, I declutter my room the day before. On the afternoon of December 31, I spend time setting up a beautiful environment with candles, flowers and low lighting. I take a shower to wash off any old year energy, and feel the water cascading over me, leaving me tingling with newness. I don some nice clothes and jewelry to greet the year, which I imagine is a new friend who I'm going to meet at midnight. Next, the candles, a symbol of heaven are lit and I feel their radiance. Their light fills the room with their highest celestial frequencies. I call in the energy of the great masters and angelic beings to join me. I pour a glass of wine, and settle down with my decks of oracle cards and ask which ones wish to work with me to give me prompts to stimulate my imagination. It's good practice to cleanse them by running them overtop of a candle flame. Then I shuffle the cards, keeping in mind the intention to have a word come to me that will be the theme for the year. I also want to have a peek at the possibilities for each month that will inspire me, so I pull 12 cards. I ponder the cards as I turn them over and see what comes to my mind and heart. Most likely I'll receive my word or theme for the year. As I consider what the year will bring, I allow myself to become excited. I make a note so I can compare what the cards say to my word of the month I pick intuitively the first 12 days of January. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, I invite you to join me as together in the ethers, we do this ritual. Let me know how it goes, and any thing you do to enhance the process. The energy of the Solstice has waned and if you are observant you will notice the days are a wee bit longer. I noticed when I was out today, the sun also feels stronger I wrote a poem for Solstice to honor the returning light. Feel into the radiance and enjoy the sun and come forth into the light Solstice Reflections The solstice sun came up in my chest today It radiates a bright light out to the world Glistening off the snow like diamonds. The Sun's light twinkling from my eyes Reflects and bounces into the hearts of those who are open to the truth: We are gods and goddesses living in Nature's Garden of Eden. Come forth into the light. I belong to a fantastic Writing Circle that inspires my Mary Magdaline writing. I wanted to share a raw unedited piece from today that relates somewhat to my June post about being a Crone.
Into the Sacred Secret Heart Shall I risk opening myself Allowing you to gaze Into the sacred secret heart of me. I fear you will not find the beauty of the flowers, The delight of the dancing bees. I fear you will not be able to see the real me, revealed. I have constructed So many layers And molded myself to be Who I thought others wanted me to be... Who you wanted me to be. I knew not myself So much of that time. Pretending and longing to be I know not what I wanted to be. In the last 7 years I've been dancing Removing the veils Has the last one come off Revealing the wise crone Brought into the light Resplendent in her older age Her beautiful sacred secret heart Finally revealed? Or are there more veils To dance away? Aug 7 Lammas - Northern Hemisphere. Imbolic- Southern Hemisphere. Many People celebrate Lammas on August 1, thinking that is halfway between the Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, I found out this year, that the actual half way point is August 7 this year. So today, I wish you happy Lammas. Marifran Korb, the person who pointed this out to me made a very good observation. The process of celebrating is what is important. Here is what I know about celebrating Lammas. It is now high summer and the union of Sun and Earth, of God and Goddess, has produced the First Harvest. Lammas is the celebration of this First Grain Harvest, a time for gathering in and giving thanks for abundance. Its about half way between the summer solstice and fall equinox. Today first sheaves of wheat cut in the morning will be baked into bread for the evening celebration. Lammas is a day when we recognize bright summer days are coming to an end. But, there is still time to enjoy the summer; relaxing in the sun, floating downstream on an inner tube in refreshingly cool water, celebrating our vacation with our family and friends once we reap what we have sown at the spring equinox. It's time to gather in gratitude, and celebrate what has come to fruition in our lives so far this year… Today I'm also connecting to my friends experiencing Imbolc in the southern hemisphere. Those holding the opposite pole of the northern hemisphere have another month of winter to go through. There, Mother Earth is warming up to be ready for people to plant their seeds during the next turn of the seasonal wheel. We can still celebrate, together though far apart, our common threads of feasting, gratitude, cultivating seeds, and the change in light and darkness. The word 'Lammas' is derived from 'loaf mass'. It is such a key part of the harvesting cycle that is celebrated in the Christian Church. It shows how the first grain and the first loaf of the harvesting cycle are central and honoured in the wheel of the year. During Lammas, let us BE the 'gate of abundance' and stay open to receiving. If it resonates, contemplate what you may wish to let go of to make room for an abundance of everything you planted that is ripened now, ready to be harvested. If you choose to release anything know you release on behalf of yourself AND mass consciousness. As you contemplate, turn inward to review what seeds you planted at the start of the year. As if you were watching time move apace, see what's sprouted- how it grows into baby shoots, and watch your seeds blossom while some become ready to harvest. Be aware of the shifts in the cycle of the wheel of the year. See the first harvest and collaborate with Mother nature -continuing to watch and allow what else is growing -- needing to ripen further for the second and third harvest. Allow and honor what you've created even if you aren't sure what is going to actualize. Partake of other first fruits. I'm enjoying cherries, fresh peaches are appearing on roadside stands, people are picking blueberries. Revel in the bursting energy of the succulent sun-ripened fruits. Allow their juicy nectar to run down your face and your arms. Receive the material fruits and also receive the spiritual and metaphysical harvest that is being brought in by yourself and your sisters and brothers. Celebrate and be grateful that when one of us brings in new energy we make it available for everyone. I've always been fascinated by the prechristian spiritual beliefs of our ancestors, particularly the matriarchal cultures. Here is what's happening with the triple goddess, the maiden, mother, and crone in the annual cycle. "The Grain Mother. At Lammas the Goddess is in Her aspect as Grain Mother, Harvest Mother, and Demeter. Demeter, as Corn Mother, represents the ripe corn of this year's harvest and Her daughter Kore/Persephone represents the grain - the seed which drops back deep into the dark earth, hidden throughout the winter, and re-appears in the spring as new growth. This is the deep core meaning of Lammas and comes in different guises. The fullness and fulfillment of the present harvest already holds at its very heart the seed of all future harvest. (It is a fact that a pregnant woman carrying her as yet unborn daughter is also already carrying the ovary containing all the eggs her daughter will ever release - she is already both mother, grandmother and beyond, embodying the great Motherline - pure magic and mystery.) So as the grain harvest is gathered in, there is food to feed the community through the winter and within that harvest is the seed of next year's rebirth, regeneration and harvest. The Grain Mother is ripe and full, heavily pregnant she carries the seed of the new year's Sun God within her. There is tension here. For the Sun God, the God of the Harvest, the Green Man, or John Barleycorn, surrenders his life with the cutting of the corn." The corn harvest often features a corn dolly, made from corn stalks or woven from wheat. Nowadays it's a craft, and I wonder how many people who make them realize the symbolism. I wish you good Lammas, or Imbolc, depending on where you live. Many blessings of abundance and consider doing something to honor the energy of this aspect of the annual cycle of the year. Information about the Grain Mother is taken from goddessand greenman.co.uk/lammas This week I had a milestone birthday. I am going to assume the epithet of crone.
An epithet? A crone? Those of you who know me realize I love words and word play. Although both words are sometimes used negatively as disparaging words, I’ll explain. But there are two things to mention before I do. The first is I want to add the song Home on the Range into the wordplay-ground. Before I reveal the connection and answer the question in the title of this post, I’ll mention one other thing you probably know about me. People who follow me know I feel strongly that we can have more fulfilled lives of well being when we intend to live by higher consciously aware practices. You know I prefer positivity and high frequency words and ideas. That means no discouraging words. Just like Home on the Range where the deer and the antelope play. Where never is heard a disparaging word ---- What’s that? It’s discouraging word? Ok, I took liberties with the song to make a rather obscure point. Yes, it took me long enough to get to it. …… In my higher conscious life, epithet and crone are not disparaging words intending to belittle me. I choose the higher octave meaning of Epithet as a word or phrase occurring in place of a name. It can also be a descriptive title. Crone is an honorable title in my world. It’s given to a woman who has garnered life experience and can be called wise. It is often given to older women, because wisdom comes with long life experience. I would argue, however that if a woman has had a life packed with wisdom- giving situations she doesn’t have to be old. She is however, probably an old soul, having accessed ancient wisdom in a variety of ways. The perception might be they are supernatural ways, but I’ve known wise women who don’t have a supernatural skill in their down- to- earth body. What’s that? … You’re right I’m not talking about myself. I’m not very practical most of the time. I do have a logical streak, but were getting off topic Crone is derived from an old word for crown. The goddess guide suggests that wisdom is portrayed like a halo. Crones are past child bearing age and in times past they were designated wisdom keepers, seers, healers and midwives, and honored and consulted for their experience and judgement. Crones were powerful in their communities and drew the attention of patriarchal religions and leaders. sometimes they were burned as witches, or killed during the inquisition, Even now they are designated as old hags to be afraid of in fairy tales and Disney stories. In ancient times when women were revered and goddess worship was prevalent the Crone was part of the triple goddess -- maiden, mother, and crone. She represented the courageous, strong, post-menopausal wise woman; part of a cycle, active in the autumn and at the equinox. She felt free to express herself and to be a bit wild. I imagine she had reached an age where she no longer cared what people thought abut her. Crones encourage us to be like them; Wild, Free, Expressing our Truth. They help us see our inner strength and courage. Many cultures have wise crone goddesses. Barbara Marx Hubbard talked about regenopause a new phase of life when women realize they have their greatest period of freedom and creativity ahead of them. I choose to ally myself with this phase of remaking myself from my deepest impulses. That is why I call myself a crone.
I like to share some of what happens behind the scenes as I write my Mary Magdalene metaphysical fantasy work in progress (WIP).
Today I tell a story that ties together two events which indicate that I'm on the "write" track. I'd love to read any comments you have.
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Dear Reader. Welcome to my blog. I will share information, research and excerpts about Mary with you here, as I resume my writing. You are my touchstone as I write my spiritual fantasy novel in progress. I imagine you feeling what the characters in my book are experiencing. I’m curious to know whether you will cry during the scenes I cried at while writing. I hope you will smile when they are happy and feel the delight and childlike wonder of playing in snow for the first time. Perhaps you will get indignant, or sigh and shake your head when someone is misunderstood. A passage may trigger a memory of an occurrence in your life and you will be in a higher vibration state for the day. May you get to feel as if Mary is a good friend or sister. When you put down the book, I hope it is with reluctance and a burning desire to know what’s going to happen next. I am energized by your interest and remarks, and you have no idea how much I appreciate your feedback when I ask questions about what direction to take or what will appeal to you more.
Although I am One with my characters in their settings, living what they are as I write, you are there too, peering over my shoulder, holding your breath as their story unfolds. I've finished the first draft. My computer crashed and I lost all my work and then I had an illness that scrambled my thoughts. I have pieced together chapters I had on a backup and I plan to resume editing the second draft in the third or fourth quarter of 2021. I've had lots of insights, mystical experiences and revelations that will make a better book in the long run. In the meantime, I have been guided to do a kindle book based on several themes about Mary in her spiritual fantasy trilogy. I was shown a process that put these themes into a practical model for higher conscious living and spiritual practice. I'm selecting quotes related to the themes and look forward to telling you more about the book when it's closer to publication. Your support as we connect, even if you are not consciously aware, inspires me. Thank you for following me and commenting here, on Facebook, and Instagram, and for leaving reviews for my previously published books on Amazon and Goodreads. Be sure to let me know if you have questions or observations. Have an AwemaZing day with lots of higher conscious, good vibrations. Namaste, Gina-Dianne |
AuthorMary Magdalene Lives is the title for new book series. A Spiritual fantasy, and alternate history novel, Book One explores the life of Mary Magdalene, a powerful, compelling teacher and leader who changes history as people get to know her story and teachings. This page is set up as a blog, so you can get ideas about living the fulfilled life of inner peace, unconditional love, well being and life without struggle, that Mary teaches. Archives
March 2024
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