Dying is Hard but Death is Easy

Dying.  Death.  It's thought to be the same thing with the same process.  I disagree. I think the Dying is the process and Death is the reward.

When you stop and look at Death as an activity in life you will see what I mean...

Have you ever been around someone that is dying? Have you ever be with someone when they pass from this world to the next?  There is a difference.  It is nothing to be afraid of.  We will all one day meet the end of this life and move on to what is next for us.

To be honest, I never really gave death and dying much thought.  I had not been around dying. I only had a couple of family members that had already passed on.  It wasn't until just before my 31st Birthday when I had the extreme honor of being there for my Father as he took his last earthly breathes and moved on from this plane.

We only had five full weeks to prepare ourselves in however we were going to.  I decided that talking, laughing, learning, or just laying with him comparing our feet in silence was how I was going to spend the time I had left with my father!  I wouldn't change that for the world and I left nothing unsaid.

Why do I say that Dying is the hard part?

The process of Dying is just that.  A time, sometimes short and sometimes long, preparing yourself and your loved ones for no longer being able to see, hear, feel you in the same way.  This is an emotional time that is unlike any other.  You have fear of the unknown, sadness of what may be missed, perhaps pain in the physical.  While assuring loved ones that "everything will be okay" and also trying to convince yourself of that.  Your body has so much work to do to be able to let your soul free.  Think shutting down your computer. You have to close each program before you can power down the machine. Your body works the same way.

I personally think that is the hard part.  One by One your body systems shut down. Sadly, but also in an amazing way, our minds sort of "turn us off" to save energy and free us from some physical pain.  While I truly believe that our loved ones can still feel and hear us during this time, it pains us to not be able to ask them if they are okay or comfortable.

As not only and Emotional Empath but a Physical one as well, I had the ability to not only emotionally feel the changes but to feel the physical changes as well.  If this gives you some peace of mind I can tell you that my father was not alone. There was a presence that was a comforting one.  I know that when we pass on we are not only surrounded by our loved ones who have passed on but also by a guide.  An "Angel of Death" so to speak.  I feel that this guide is there to help us understand that we are dead and guides us forward onto the next step, whatever that is.

When we finally take our last breath we then move on to Death.  The Reward!

Who knows exactly what awaits us! Having had a couple of near death experiences myself, I honestly feel that it is nothing to be afraid of.  I feel that all of our pain and suffering will be no more. I feel we get a rush of warmth and love! I feel that as on the one hand you are leaving loved ones behind to await their turn in the process but on the other hand we are greeted by loved ones that have passed on, our Guides, Angels, Great Spirit (or what ever you call it).

Who knows what waits for us?  All I can picture is a land made of everything I love. Think of the movie "What Dreams May Come".  Everyone's Heaven, or Summer Land as I call it,  probably looks very different.  I just know I will be where my Soul needs to be. I may come back to a life here on earth or with any luck I will ascend because I have no other lessons to learn.

Whatever the future holds for my soul I know I am ready. It may be sad and painful in the dying process but Death, Death is the Reward of a life well lived!

With Light and Love
~Erin

There's a Light in the Darkness

Ahh the darkness.  The warm cozy quiet loneliness of the darkness.  Our own Darkness.

Do you feel comfortable there or are you fighting to get out?

So often we allow others to hold us down into that darkness so long it becomes a place we feel safe. Other times we hold ourselves back and keep ourselves in our own darkness.  Why do we do this? Why would we not want to let ourselves out into the light? Why not allow ourselves to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be?

Being told we aren't good enough or good looking enough or smart enough over and over and over again really makes you start to believe it. No matter if it's someone on the outside telling you or your own inner voice. Why the hell are we listening to those jerks?  Why do we give them so much power?

The worst thing happened the other day.  My almost 15 year old daughter needed a personal day from school because she couldn't stop crying. I could not get an answer out of her for the longest time (yes, she is that stubborn). When she finally stopped crying she wrote me a letter. This letter broke my heart.  In the letter she apologized for taking her anger out on me and her little brother. That she was actually upset with something that happened at a couple of days earlier. This is what has been pushing her down deep into her darkness for days. Making her start to believe the words she heard.  She allowed another to make her feel as if she was not good enough. Not pretty enough.  Not cool enough.  This person was no stranger to her.  The person who made her feel this way was in fact her older sister.  Now after a long conversation with my daughter she started to see the light again but the anger stayed with her for a while.  When I approached her older sister about this and let her know what was really going on, she didn't even realize what she had done. It took them yelling and then talking it out to get back to the light.

After so long we start to feel so comfortable in the dark that the light hurts our eyes.  Well, I am here to tell you to get your damn sunglasses out because it's time to see the brightest light of yourself!

We are all amazing and beautiful creatures of the light!  We all have our own gifts and our own weakness that make us special!  It's time we own that Light!

Today is the day that we stop letting all those voices, inside and out, tell us who we are and start listening to our Higher Selves.  Start letting your Higher Self show you who you are! We are all made for great things! No matter how hard stepping into that light seems, the fight will be worth it!

You will start to see the beauty in the world! You will start to see the beauty in yourselves! You will start to accomplish your wildest dreams! You will grow to heights you never thought possible!

There are many ways to start taking over you life and living your light! Some of them are as follows:

• Daily Mantras: Look in the mirror.  Look yourself in the eye and say (in your best Stuart Smalley voice) "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." or something to that nature. 
• STOP Comparing Yourself to Others. We are all made differently and that is important! We all have our own purpose!
• Celebrate All of Your Successes. I mean all of them! No matter how small you think they are! 
• Lighten up! Do not take life so seriously! You need to Laugh and Laugh often! 
• Get Moving! Get out there and do something Physical! Get that blood pumping and muscles stretching! 

With this list you will be well on your way to taking over your own light!  Don't be afraid to make your light shine so bright that other people can't see! They should have their sunglasses on as well! 

With Light & Love

~Erin

The Signs We Miss and Learning to See Them.

Are you seeing the signs?

Often we have a feeling in our gut... Something doesn't feel right.  We see a rare bird that makes us feel some sort of special feeling...Someone we haven't heard from or seen in a while pops into our heads and thoughts of them won't leave....

No matter what you like to call it...our Higher Self, God, The Great Spirit, Universe, Jesus, Bob...They send us signs to mark our path in all different kinds of ways.  They are always with us to help guide us and comfort us in times of Happiness, Stress, and Sorrow. 

Learning to pick up on these signs is the hard part.

"Nah..that's not a sign, that's just the taco I had for lunch" or "it's in my head and I'm going crazy"  are all things you may have heard yourself say internally.  Well, I am here to tell you that you are NOT crazy and it wasn't the dang taco!  They are all signs! They are your higher self, the Great Spirit or your guides speaking to you! Pushing you in the direction you are meant to be in. 

Open your eyes.  Listen to what your gut tells you! Your deepest self and your pure intuition is ALWAYS right! 

Why do we feel intuition in our gut in the form of butterflies or an ache you ask...It is said that our intuition is connected to our nervous system and our subconscious will send a signal to the nerves in our stomach (gut) to make us feel that way.  You can think of it like this..our subconscious is sending our conscious a text message with important information. We don't ignore silly texts from friends and family so why would we ignore an important text from ourselves? 

There is no better time than right now to start looking, listening, and feeling for the signs.  Why walk blind through this world always wondering what decision to make or what path to take when we have a path already marked for us to take? 

I know that in the beginning its not always easy to notice the signs or follow our intuition. There are many exercises we can do to grow our confidence in ourselves! 

Here are a couple of things to try:

• Spend time alone. Spending time in peace and quiet will help make you feel comfortable with your internal dialog and feelings. Take a bath or sit in nature. 
• Meditation.  Although it can be difficult to stay focused and keep our minds from wandering, it can be learned. 
• Journal. Starting a daily journal will take a little discipline but with journaling you will be able to release those daily thoughts and stress, making meditation much easier.
• Pay attention to your Dreams. Dreams are an amazing thing. Not only do they help to reduce stress, but they are jam packed full of messages from our higher selves and even passed on loved ones.  Perhaps add your dreams to your daily journal.
• Test your hunches.  When you get those silly signs like picking which line to get into in the super market, you will be able to test your "gut feeling" or intuition as its called. Think of that like practice.  To become great at something we need to practice right? Might as well start with the correct line at the store!
• Dance.  No matter what kind of music you like TURN IT UP!  Close your eyes (watch out for furniture or people if in a group) just move your body the way it wants to move. Don't worry about looking silly because it doesn't even matter.  This will give you a chance to let your guard down and open your mind to images and messages. Just let go.  When you are done, write down the images and thoughts that came to your mind while you were just in the moment. You will be surprised what might pop up! 
• Stop the negative self talk. You are not crazy! We all have intuition and we can all strengthen it so it YELLS instead of whispers.  No more telling yourself it's just in your head and it doesn't mean anything. It all means something no matter how small that may be. 

When we start noticing the small things you will quickly notice the big things! You will be able to start making all decisions with ease from what line in the grocery store to whether you should quite your day job for a shot at your dream...

The possibilities are virtually limitless! 

If you are ever stuck you can always reach out with questions or to bounce ideas off of me! Bellasoulewellness@gmail.com

With love and light,

Erin