As well as being a powerful writer, Kerri Kannan taps straight into the Divine with amazing transformational affirmative prayers. These often create instant shifts.
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Michelle Mayur
A beautifully visual quote by Edie Weinstein from Embraced by the Divine: (Hibiscus photo by Michelle Mayur)
Julie Ann from Singapore writes about the simple, yet potent tools she used to turn the grief of multiple miscarriages and her extreme anxiety into a life of inner peace.
Here’s what Ambika Devi says about Embraced by the Divine – The Emerging Woman’s Gateway to Power, Passion and Purpose:
Lorraine Cohen gets really raw and bares her soul in her Embraced by the Divine chapter:
By Rev. Edie Weinstein http://liveinjoy.org
“Sometimes, when it is all, finally, too much, I climb into my car, roll the windows up, and somewhere between backing out the driveway and rounding the next corner, I let out a yell that would topple Manhattan. How do you pray?”
by Margaret L. Mitchell, as quoted in The Feminine Face of God, p. 124.
My friend Cindy Greb posted this on her Facebook page and I knew I had to respond since it spoke so vividly to the ways I blow off steam AND pray. My response to her was:” Sometimes a good aaaarrrggghhhh is as potent and healing as a good o0o0o00o0o0mmmmm (: I pray every which way imaginable, depending on what state of mind I am in the moment.”
When I was in seminary in 1999, studying to be an interfaith minister, (The New Seminary in New York City), I wrote a paper called Prayer is Portable. There I expressed my take on the subject that we need not be in an edifice such as a church, synagogue, temple, mosque or ashram in order to engage in communication with the Divine. Many of us were taught that prayer must be in a certain form, a particular language and uttered at certain times. I was raised in Judaism (Conservative…spiritually, not politically, which is considered a middle ground between Orthodox and Reform) and went to Hebrew school until age 16. Each night throughout my childhood, my parents would tuck us in with the recitation of the Shema, which is what I call ‘the signature prayer’ of the Jewish religion. “Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad” which translates to “Hear, O Israel, The Lord Our God, The Lord is One”. I heard my favorite interpretation from Rabbi Rami Shapiro: “That which we call God is Oneness itself.” What if we recognized the Oneness in all events and every being? To this day, I say the prayer before drifting off into dreamland. Each morning before rolling out of bed, I allow the words to The Modeh Ani to flow through me.
“Modeh ani lifanekha melekh ḥai v’kayam sheheḥezarta bi nishmahti b’ḥemlah, rabah emunatekha.“
This translates to “I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great.”
I then engage in another ritual which is to set intention for the day: “to have extraordinary experiences and connect with amazing people.” As the next 24 hours unfold, those events occur and those folks show up. Why should it surprise me? Throughout the day, my prayers are about wrapped in gratitude for what unfolds and what I desire to call in. As a wordsmith, I am careful to use language that speaks to what I do want, rather than what I don’t want…since our minds are tricky little critters that can lead us down all manner of meandering paths that we would prefer to avoid. I have found myself laughing with amazement and amusement at how far I have come in the past twenty or so years, from the somewhat timid little creature who dared not believe that she could truly live the life of her dreams. I attribute that to the process I described above. When the need to emote otherwise, arises, I allow myself to engage in toning, chanting, drumming, dancing, jumping up and down energy release.
As I enter this new morning, I express appreciation for the blessings that are constantly unfolding and let out an ahhhhh…rather than an arrggghhhh at this moment.
Rev. Edie Weinstein, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, dynamic transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, PR Goddess, radio host and the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary. She is also an Opti-Mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility.
By Lorraine Cohen, www.lorrainecohen.com
“If an egg is broken by outside force, life ends. If broken by inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from inside.” – Jim Kwik
On a recent call with a good friend, she mentioned being in a “fertile void”. We’ve both been doing deep inner healing and introspection, taking periods to slow down and rest, and letting go of people and things in every area of our lives that no longer serves us.
The “Fertile Void” is a place of preparation for something new to be birthed while living in the abyss.
Here’s an excerpt to a TED talk transcript with Suzanne Braun Levine:
“The term is a Taoist concept that describes a step in the process of change, when everything seems lost and nothing yet found. That is where we find ourselves as we make the transition from adulthood – a well-documented and well-scripted stage of life – to Second Adulthood – a totally new life experience being defined by living longer and healthier lives and by arriving there as more confident and experienced women (men get there too, but not along quite the same route).
Like adolescence, that other very tumultuous transition that it resembles, Second Adulthood is about reinvention. Margaret Mead once said that adolescence is no less than “the birth of the soul.” The Fertile Void is, I believe, where the soul is reborn.
You enter feeling broken, and you emerge feeling broken open. The process is a mission without a goal. We get impatient. We feel frantic and stuck. The unremitting unknowingness is maddening. But desperate as we are, we have to give ourselves some slack. We have to go with the flow. The solution to being stuck is being still.”
I resonate with so much of what Suzanne say about my own spiritual journey of feeling broken open to be revealed to my Truest Self. This is the journey of enlightenment and living from Higher Guidance.
After big growth spurts and extensive creative periods I often found my life slowed down and I felt disconnected from my guidance, like being “out in the desert.” I realized those were gifts of time for deep rest, contemplation, and play; to come back into harmony with myself and what’s next.
The Fertile Void has some similarities to my desert experiences and what is different is that I feel very connected to my spirit. I sense I am in an incubation period for something big to break out, which might be ME. Each time I ask for a glimpse, my guidance seems to say with a wink and a twinkle, “You’ll see!”
This is a time of letting go of everything and everyone that is no longer serving you to allow your spirit to light the way. It is also a time to stand in courage, faith, and trust in a higher plan for your life unfolding.
Imagine cleaning all the furniture out of your house to create a fresh, new space. In this period of preparation, you must let go of the need to be busy doing something and you must let go of the need to know how, what, when and why.
Do you feel like you are living in the Fertile Void?
Breathe..
The answers come when they are meant to.
You may find that whatever you are trying to do is not working despite your efforts and intentions.
Sometimes you must have a break down before you have a break through…..
The Fertile Void is a space of emergence and a rite of passage to live from a higher expression of your truest self and destiny. When you stop pushing and slow down you can ask those deeper questions like, “what do I really, really want?” and connect with the core of your heart.
Each period of expansion brings deeper answers.
I think of a Sherlock Homes line, “The game is afoot,” in anticipation of an adventure to unravel a mystery.
The Fertile Void is not static. It is a place of transformation and creation; a blessing and a pathway to live from POWER, passion, and purpose. Make the whispers of your soul the guiding force in your life and use your mind for the practical functions of your life.
Allow your spirit to carry you and you will feel the hand of Grace no matter what is happening in your life.
You are being taught to live in new ways; for your life to become fun, easy, joyful, abundant….
Embrace the mystery. The best is yet to come!
Blessings,
Lorraine
Founder of Powerfull Living, Rev. Lorraine Cohen (United States) is an internationally recognized life architect, spiritual guide, inspirational speaker, and heart healer. For more than 25 years, Lorraine has assisted thousands of women who value the inner journey, have the courage and passion to go deeper and create massive changes in themselves to reach higher states of consciousness and be of the greatest service to the world; to live a life that is awake and authentic and to create a reality that is conscious, deliberate and meaningful. www.lorrainecohen.com
By collaborator Joanne Newell www.richlifebydesign.com
Now, I bet you read that headline and thought, “Yep, I know what Joanne’s going to say. It’s what so many leaders in the personal development world espouse – the number one thing stopping me from succeeding is myself, right? My belief in my self-worth?”
Well, in my belief system, your self-worth would be the number two “thing” stopping you from receiving success.
The biggie, the most important “thing” is this: your connection with Spirit.
The realisation that you are part of something bigger.
The knowledge that you can rely – entirely and utterly – on Spirit (also known as the Divine, God, Source, the Universe and many other inspired names).
You are a co-creator of your experience, of your life on this planet. You get to follow your desires and ask for Spirit’s support in manifesting those desires. Isn’t that spectacular?
By the way, your true desires aren’t just a “whim” – the act of you creating and receiving those desires does something profound for other people and for the planet. When you live in the cycle of creation and receiving, you expand your level of joy and consciousness, and the effects ripple out and lift the vibration of the planet.
You came from Spirit, and that life force, that essence, is within you. You get the chance to boost that essence in an unlimited way when you tap into the greater Spirit, into a power that is beyond measure.
Isn’t it fantastic to know that we can all (yes, that includes you!) tap into that? That we can call on that power in any moment?
Spirit is just waiting for us to open ourselves up to guidance. It wants success for us even more than we consciously do for ourselves.
I remember, years ago, Oprah saying that she knows that God has a bigger dream for us than we could ever dream for ourselves. Look at the amazing success that unfolded for her when she continually tapped into Spirit, followed her desires and asked how she could serve?
You don’t have to meditate or journal to tap into that power (although it sure does help), but I’d encourage you to be conscious about connecting with Spirit in everyday life.
Ask to be shown what your next step should be. Notice “coincidences” and listen to your intuition. Develop the belief that you are being watched over by a parent who is loving you deeply, watching you so proudly, encouraging you, and giving you guidance – because that is exactly what Spirit is doing for you, in every single moment of every single day.
You get to create a truly rich life by acknowledging what it is you want to experience, and then co-creating it with Spirit. So, whether it comes to creating more money, better health, better relationships or other longed-for experiences, let yourself consciously re-connect with Spirit and just watch the magic unfold…
Joanne Newell (Australia) knows, to the depths of her soul, that enlightened, spirit-driven entrepreneurial women are here to change the world. They’re here to live a full, rich life, and to help others and the planet. She also knows that money makes it possible for them to do all of this, so she helps women create an empowered money mindset. She reveals how to create a rich life, by design (in co-creation with Spirit). If you’d like to start creating a money mindset that works for you, then Joanne’s here to help. www.richlifebydesign.com
Deb Scott from the US tells us about her traumatic childhood and how she turned a financial disaster around and now helps others in her deeply-revealing chapter:
Michelle loves this quote for Rev. Michael Beckwith so much she starts her chapter with it! Have his words been your experience too?
