Inspiration In a Time of Pandemic

This is our moment. None of us has lived through a time like this, our lives already changed forever, in ways we can't even name yet. We've already come so far.

It may seem odd to feel inspired just now, but I do.

I am still painfully aware that people are suffering from C-19 and the chaos surrounding it, and all the world's afflictions that existed before this pandemic and haven't been called off despite being upstaged. If anything, many are worse now, and it breaks my heart. Tears are not uncommon in my morning ritual, sending healing to the world, and I fear for my family and community as well. And yet…

This is also a time of great opportunity, when we can shape our world by making changes unimaginable just a few months or even weeks ago, but now almost inevitable, even if we haven't quite figured out how to accomplish them. But we shall not go back. We can't go back, so we will go forward.

We start by shaping our bodies and minds, our lives and communities, with gentle and powerful practices that unleash our innate healing and creativity as we are ready to progress, and this we will do together.

I struggle with the challenges and uncertainties too, yet I'm also embracing this time of transformation. I cultivate optimal wellness every day with relaxation practices, Reiki and more, always learning, healing, and looking for ways to help. This is what keeps me going - using what I've got to contribute where I can, determined to respond with a flourish in the face of fear and frustration.

Because you know what inspires me in this moment? You!

I hear your isolation, frustration, waves of emotion, struggles to balance work and home and family, or to fill long, empty hours. I hear the questions, Who am I now? What future can I hope for? Where did my life go?

And I see your strength and resilience and it inspires me deeply. I see you bringing groceries to neighbors, making protective masks, sending cards to nursing homes and reaching out by phone or video chat, improvising absolutely everything, all in the face of global chaos and confusion. I see you in online yoga classes and virtual pub sings, learning new computer skills, getting out in your gardens, grieving and celebrating in turns. You are amazing!

I've also been inspired by the incredibly demanding combination of challenge and opportunity we now face, and despite turbulence in my own world, I have held onto the thread of hope that I can help someone with my dedicated life's work of healing and spiritual support.

I also realized that I, like so many others, needed to get back to basics. When we worry about feeding ourselves and our neighbors, when we can't sleep for fear of tomorrow's news, when we can't draw a deep breath against the band of anxiety around our chest or knotted stomach, and our neighbors lack essential resources and safety - it's not the time for learning advanced healing and spiritual techniques, unless we're well on our way down that path, and I can vouch for the need even for advanced practitioners to return to the fundamentals, to let simplicity be our guide and our comfort.

I am in awe of what I know humans can accomplish with kindness, humility and devotion, with curiosity, courage and skill. We can all do it, but we can't do it alone. We're meant to develop our own practice, and to share our journey with others, to learn from those with the training, experience and dedication to guide us, and to offer a hand to others where we can.

We need your gifts now, we need you to be as healthy and sound, as clear and confident as you can be in this multifaceted challenge of truly unknown proportions. We need you to power up, dear friend. I know you can do it and I can help.

And there's no time to waste. We need to be patient, yes, because the learning curve is as steep as the hockey stick graphs of infection and mortality rates, and yet we are learning so quickly. Nearly everything we do in our daily lives has needed to be reimagined, adjusted, questioned, or sanitized.

We're making progress even as we feel our familiar lives and routines slipping away, falling behind us. We're processing so much information, emotion, and stimulation every day that our systems are naturally struggling to keep up, but this is pushing us forward, making us stronger, stretching our capacity to learn and adapt, and these gains are permanent if we keep them up, and we lean on each other.

The good news is it may be easier than you think, in some important ways. We all have natural healing ability, intuition, body wisdom, emotional intelligence, connection with the Divine, and the wonderful ability to align our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing to become healthier, smarter, happier and more fulfilled in our lives and of greater service to the world.

We start by learning to relax. When we train ourselves to let go of stress, let go of tension, let go of worry, amazing things happen. Our muscles soften and our breathing deepens. Our minds become clearer and less cluttered with unnecessary static and noise. We begin to feel more comfortable with ourselves and our situation. We can safely honor our feelings and the waves of emotion that many of us are experiencing right now as the magnitude of this global tragedy becomes apparent, again and again. And we can reach deep within ourselves, and beyond ourselves, to find new wellsprings of strength, hope and inspiration, even Divine guidance that will see us through trials we could never figure out with our intellect alone, no matter how smart we are.

To support you on your journey - our journey - I've designed the new program, Learn 2 Relax, and I'm just launching it today!

This is the perfect time to create or renew a personal relaxation practice that offers you sanctuary in any moment. Some techniques can be activated on the fly, throughout your day, and others will help you deepen into a special time and space you set aside to reinvigorate your mind and body, so desperately needed now.

Learn 2 Relax isn't just for newbies, it's for all of us. These are things I practice in my life and I'm doing this program right along with you. We don't ever get beyond the need to be mindful, breathe calmly, open to inspiration or recalibrate the balance in our lives, or to need company and support along the way. In fact, this is the perfect time for all of us to join together in these simple and powerful practices we can share.

Whatever your situation, you can benefit from the Learn 2 Relax program. Enjoy the Learn 2 Relax Starter Kit free of charge. Or choose the Learn 2 Relax Intro Package and receive a Virtual Reiki healing session as well - at half the price of its full value. For ongoing Reiki healing support, personal guidance and small group sharing, select the monthly membership level that suits your needs, Sustaining or Unlimited Optimal Wellness.

Due to the personal support I offer at every level, there are a limited number of people I can enroll at each level, so I encourage you to listen within for the path that calls to you now and act on your prompting today.

A limited number of scholarships are also available. Please let me know if you can contribute to scholarships for others, or if you need scholarship assistance. This is one way we can create a more just, healthy and equitable society and economy, both by accepting what we need and by offering what we can.

Enrollment for Learn 2 Relax is now open at www.essentialarts.net, and if you have any questions please get in touch with me - I would love to hear from you.

Breathe in ... inspire ... inspiration. It's that simple. Let's begin.