Are You Tired of Seeking, Questioning, and Struggling Alone on Your Soul’s Journey?

/1 Comment/in /by

Discover the support and companionship of the Soulful Living Community!

Time and again my clients ask me – how can I live more authentically, more in touch with my inner truth? How can I be more present to myself and the people around me? After health-related questions, these are probably the questions I’m asked most often!

These questions get to the core of one of my favorite topics: that of soulful living. Soulful living means living a life from the wisdom of the inner soul, the inner self, the higher self – or as Louise Hay would say, the “inner ding.” It means pausing and allowing ourselves to be in the present moment, speaking our authentic truth from a place of heart, a place of love and peace.

So I am excited to tell you about a soulful living community started by my friend Jodi Chapman, in which I am the guide for questions of wellness. There are a total of 12 guides, on topics including Spirituality, Wellness, Abundance, Soulful Parenting, Self Love, Relationships and much more.

As guides, we help you to find and use the resources of this supportive community; its virtual classroom/retreat center, The Soulful Life Sanctuary; as well as a set of  tools and resources ranging from e-courses and live classes to blogs and forums to help you live your most radiant, authentic, soulful life!

To give you an idea of all this community has to offer, and how it came about, I want to share an interview that I did with Jodi just recently…

***

Cassandra: You’ve just created the Soulful Life Sanctuary, and I would love for you to share more about it with us!

Jodi: I would love to! It’s been a dream of mine for quite awhile now, and I’m so excited that it’s here! The Soulful Life Sanctuary is a sacred community where we lift each other up and support each other in listening to our soul’s whispers. It’s a gathering of like-minded friends and a collection of soulful tools and resources to help you along your journey. You’ll be supported every step of the way by me, plus a dozen Soul Guides and a loving community of like-minded friends. It’s a place where we can slow down, share authentically, reconnect with our soul, and open our hearts to others who are on a similar journey.

Cassandra: What inspired you to create the Soulful Life Sanctuary?

Jodi: I created the sanctuary for a few reasons: to give each of us a sacred community where our hearts could share openly and expand with others who are on a similar journey, to create a loving space where we could slow down from all of the DOing and simply BE, and to bring together soulful tools to help each of us along our journey.

I have found in my own life that it’s sometimes easier to disconnect from our true voice – our soul, our purpose, the deeper meaning of life – than it is to stay connected. Life gets so busy, we’re all driven by our to-do lists, and DOing sometimes seems to be given more priority than BEing.

This is something that I’ve struggled with throughout my life, actually. I’ve accomplished some really great things through doing and pushing and achieving. And I’m so grateful for that. But I found that all of these achievements didn’t mean anything to me if I lost my connection to my soul and to the universe and to what’s truly important in my life. If I wasn’t present, grounded, or connected, I wasn’t able to enjoy these accomplishments. They felt hollow to me, and I couldn’t feel grateful for them.

On the other hand, I found that when I was connected with my soul, to others, and to the universe, I could appreciate everything that happened in my life much more easily.

It’s my intention that the Soulful Life Sanctuary will be a space for all of us to go when we’re ready to reconnect with our soul, connect with each other from an authentic space, and breathe a collective exhale.

Cassandra: I see that you have invited 12 Soul Guides to join you in the sanctuary. Can you please share more about them and what their role in the sanctuary will be?

Jodi: Sure! I used to be someone who tried to do everyone on my own. And not only was it a lonely way to walk through life, it also was exhausting. When I opened up and began to live a soulful life, I realized that inviting others to be on the journey with me felt so much better. I saw that we are much more powerful together than we are alone. And my heart was happy to have others to share my experiences with.

This is why I invited these beautiful souls to join me when I created this sacred community. I chose people who were already living their soul’s purpose and were already serving others in loving ways. Each of the guides is an expert in their area, and I’m so happy that they will be sharing their wisdom with all of us. They each have a sacred space inside the Sanctuary where they will be supporting the members.

Here list a list of the Soul Guides and their Sacred Spaces (in alphabetical order):

·       Christine Callahan-Oke – Soulful Guidance
·       Leanne Chapman – Creativity
·       Robin Chellis – Soulful Love & Relationships
·       Cassandra Herbert – Soulful Wellness
·       Sue Kearney – Soulful Astrology
·       Caroline Kirk – Soulful Spirituality
·       Becky McCleery – Soulful Parenting
·       Astra Spider – Soulful Abundance
·       Dan Teck – Joy and Gratitude
·       Lori Thiessen – Earth Angels
·       Shann Vander Leek – Soulful Self-Care
·       Nuhket Hendricks – Intuition

Cassandra: I also saw that you’re offering a special discount for everyone who joins the sanctuary in June! Please share more about that!

Jodi: It’s true! The sanctuary opens on July 1st, and I wanted to kick it off early with a special discount for everyone who signed up now! So I’m offering $100 off the regular price all month long! You’ll receive over $1300 in goodies when you join + over $2000 in bonus gifts if you’re one of the first 50 to sign up. It’s pretty amazing, and I know that your soul will be so full when you dive into all that’s included! I can’t wait to see you inside!

You will find all of the details here: http://bit.ly/soullife

 

Cassandra: Before we end I just have one more question: what does soulful living mean to you?

Jodi: For me, it means being connected to our soul – to that magical, neverending part of ourselves who is so wise and loving. It’s so easy to walk through life feeling disconnected, and so this would be the first part of living soulfully – plugging back in.

It also means that we’re open to giving and receiving love, and we’re open to allowing ourselves to embrace our life. We open to the possibility that the world is for us rather than against us, and we see our life through a lens of expansion and possibility. We open ourselves up to miracles.

It also means living authentically – bravely sharing our true selves with the world – letting our uniqueness shine through. It means that we come back to the present moment – over and over again. We know that it’s natural to leave it (we’re human after all), but we also know that we have the power to come back to it – to get into the habit of grounding ourselves and breathing this exact moment into our hearts.

Living soulfully means living a balanced life. It means taking time for ourselves as well as supporting others.

It means saying yes to our soul’s whispers – acting on them and honoring them, even if we are afraid (especially if we are afraid).

I believe that a soulful life is a life filled with so much love.

***

You may be asking at this point – what do I need to do to become involved?

The short answer is simple – click here! If you’re really asking “what do I need to BE to be ready?” I’d like to invite you to take a breath, center yourself and ask your soul the following questions:

  • Are you feeling a deep desire to slow down and reconnect with your soul, your purpose, and your place in the world?
  • Are you looking for positive, soulful tools to help you become more grounded and connected to both the physical and spiritual world?
  • Are you ready to give yourself permission to Do less and Be more?
  • Are you ready to receive support to help you on your wellness journey?
  • Are you ready to love and be loved, to give and to receive, and to stay open to the magic?
  • Are you excited to immerse yourself in a loving community of guides and fellow learners who will companion and support you on your journey?

 

If you answered Yes to any or all of these questions, I hope you will join us in this center of positive living, personal growth, and healing! Click here to learn how you can take this next, important step to support your growth on all levels…and receive over $3300 in goodies and bonus gifts if you’re one of the first 50 to sign up.

But don’t wait – this offer is meeting an amazing response, and those 50 sign-ups are going fast. You don’t want to miss the deep soul-support that this community can give you on all levels, physical, emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual!

Looking forward to supporting your total wellness!

Cassandra Herbert

P.S. – Are you’re feeling hesitant about signing up? Just to give you a taste of what I’ll be offering in as a Wellness guide in the Soulful Living Sanctuary program, let me give you an free, exclusive, downloadable video on Ways to Balance your Root Chakra, along with an in-depth article demonstrating how your chakras impact your health and why it’s essential to keep them open and balanced….along with mouth-watering recipes that will support and nourish your root chakra while they delight your palate!

Just enter your name and email below, along with the word chakra in the comment section,  and I’ll send you the link…as well as add you to the list for occasional news, announcements, and special offers from the Soulful Living Community. I promise, I’ll never rent, sell, or give away your information, and I’ll never overload you with email.

Here’s to your wellness on all levels!

Anxious? The Problem May Be In Your Pantry..

/0 Comments/in /by

Perhaps you’ve been putting it down to the times we’re living in…between the economy, the environment, the atmosphere at work and all the rest, who can blame anyone for being on edge?

But if you’re like millions of people – more than 4 million in the U.S. alone! – there may be something more going on.

Called Generalized Anxiety Disorder, this condition takes basic everyday worries and amps them up to overwhelming levels. If you suffer from GAD (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), you’re stressing about a variety of topics, more days than not, over a period of at least six months, and you’re finding it hard to control your worry.

You may also be experiencing restlessness, edginess, or feelings of fear; fatigue; difficulty concentrating; irritability; difficulty falling or staying asleep, or sleeping restfully; or your mind going blank. Physical symptoms may include rapid heart beat, cold and clammy hands, dizziness, shortness of breath, muscle tension, jumpiness and/or gastrointestinal discomfort (see Positively Positive for more details).

While a little bit of fear can serve as a thrill (which is why roller coasters and horror movies draw crowds year after year) and mild anxiety can boost your performance and protect you from danger, chronic anxiety is a debilitating condition that saps energy and enjoyment, reduces work performance and damages relationships, and ultimately can have a dire impact on your health: heart disease, gastrointestinal disease, respiratory disorders, and even autoimmune disease and cancer have all been linked to long-term anxiety.

So – yes, in a very real sense, stress kills! And the pharmaceutical industry is all too eager to offer solutions.

But what if you’d rather bypass the chemical side effects and go the natural route – is that even an option?

I’m asked this question time and again, and the answer is – yes, if you’re willing to go slowly, take the time to get to know your body and observe your mental functioning, and make conscious lifestyle changes! You see, your anxiety isn’t occurring in a vacuum – it’s arises out of processes taking place in your brain that affect – and are affected by – processes taking place in your body. Very literally, it is a mind/body/spirit condition!

I work with my clients toward reducing stress and anxiety on every level, mind, body, and spirit, and offer a bulging toolbox full of techniques…but for now I just want to look at one, a big one:

What are you putting into your body?


In next week’s blog find out about the 5 anxiety building ingredients.

When Mother Nature Hits the Snooze Button…

/0 Comments/in /by

What’s going on with Spring, already? One day we’re out in short sleeves, admiring the crocuses and daffodils budding, and then – whoosh – next thing we know we’re shivering under a torrent of white stuff coming down. We’re past the Equinox – surely the weather should be cooperating? Is Mother Nature playing Lucy’s football trick from Charlie Brown?

And more to the point, how do you practice wellness in what our mothers’ generation used to call “pneumonia weather?” I’ve heard a number of my clients asking this very question over the past several weeks, and I’d like to look at it here through the Five Elements lens.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter is the most Yin time of year…time for cocooning inside, resting, and looking inward, gathering strength for the burst of growth and activity in spring. In this tradition, activity arises in Spring, peaks in Summer, begins to subside with the harvest in Late Summer, fades and dies back in Autumn, and rests deeply during Winter.

Foods, activities, and wellness practices all revolve around this cycle in Traditional Chinese Medicine. ..and all the modern Western compulsion to be busy-busy-busy, 24/7/365, is actually dead against this seasonal cycle.

But when you’ve been curtailing activities due to snow and ice, and the kids have been home for – how many? – snow days, you might ask: what role does Spring play in Winter weather (or vice versa)? How do you adapt?

I don’t think that it’s so much a matter of forcing Spring practices onto snowy, blustery days, as it is a matter of looking at the longer-term picture.

If you look back at 2013, it seemed to arrive and be gone in a flash. I heard client after client saying that they felt as if they were on a treadmill that was going 100 miles per hour; life was just passing them by. No sooner did spring arrive than it was summer, and hey presto, it was autumn, and – how could it be Winter already?

If you believe, as I do, that we are integrally connected to the Cosmos, and that our experience and desires shape the reality that we experience, then, I wonder, could our collective breathless race to keep up last year maybe – just maybe – have affected our collective reality and resulted in a long winter that forces us to slow down?

There are those who would laugh this off from a scientific perspective: research is showing that as our global climate devolves, the polar weather patterns have destabilized and swept southward, bringing with them the snowstorms and bitter weather we’ve been seeing.

But if you look at the outcome of our cultural drive to busy-ness – the lights and computers running around the clock, the nonstop road and rail and air travel, all of this adding tons of carbon to the atmosphere, resulting in the world’s carbon-sequestering forests being leveled to provide more power through coal and Tar Sands oil – all of which contributes to global climate change.

Perhaps Mother Nature is telling us to slow down, reflect, look to a more holistic, conscious approach to wellness for ourselves and the world? Perhaps this is an opportunity to turn off the lights for a while, step away from our ever-present screens and enjoy the softness of candlelight or the dark…to nestle under a pile of blankets with a loved one…or to bundle up and marvel anew at the beauty of frozen crystals of water in all their many forms. Perhaps it’s an opportunity to slow down and fall in love with the world, and with each other, all over again.

So let’s take some time to be grateful for this long winter. Appreciating the deeper perspective and the rest that winter gives us will help us to transition into the increased activity of spring much more easily and consciously. If we allow ourselves to rest, reflect and replenish our bodies, minds and spirits during this last fling of winter, our spring and summer activity can be much more balanced, grounded, healthy and enjoyable.

You could say Mother Nature is hitting the Snooze button again; the warm weather wake-up call will come all too soon. Enjoy this slow time while it’s here!

Balance Rising Spring Passions with Natural Grounding and Centering Tools

/0 Comments/in /by

With the fading of the cold winds come the first signs of spring – the daffodils and crocus poking their green shoots out of the ground; the first sighting of a robin; the geese flying north. All nature seems to take a deep breath and poise for a surge of growth.

With this upward-springing thrust of stems and trunks and sprouting leaves, it’s no surprise that Wood is the element of Spring in Chinese Five Element tradition. From the deep, dark, inward-looking Yin of Winter, we are jumping to the Yang of active outward growth and greening – time to put your Wintertime dreams and visions into action!

The Liver and Gall Bladder are the organs related to Spring and Wood in traditional Chinese medicine. They are associated with planning and decision-making…and this fits well with the new growth burgeoning on all sides.

If your Wood element is out of balance and your Liver and Gall Bladder are not functioning properly, you may find yourself acting on your visions without planning, for example, or stifling them without taking action. When this happens, the Spring energy of planning and discernment can cause irritability, even anger, shouting, and tears…or, on the other hand, to a frustrated inability to express or implement your dreams. This inward paralysis can lead to a slow burn and disastrous explosion of anger, or to your anger being turned inward and showing up as depression.

So what is the best way to stay balanced, conscious, peaceful and healthy this spring?

On the purely physical level, you can support your Liver by sweeping away any stagnant energy from the Winter’s processing and clearing the decks for action. Talk with your nutritionist about setting up a simple diet of organic fruits and veggies and (of course) fresh pure water. Be sure to include spring greens, artichokes, and asparagus, and herbs such as milk thistle and burdock root, all of which are superb liver tonics. To clear your system even better, consider a 1-3 day cleanse under your wellness coach’s supervision. You’ll be amazed at the way your energy and outlook on life improve!

But that’s not all you can do to clear and clean your mental energy. Try taking a break from the computer and television once or twice a day, and going outside and enjoying nature. Talk with your wellness coach about setting up a exercise program. You’ll strengthen your muscles and tendons, sweat out even more toxins, and get the endorphins flowing for mental clarity and emotional bliss.

To cleanse and ground your spirit, tap into the green and growing energy of the season by connecting with Mama Earth in any way you can. Go out for long rambling walks in a park and spend time just sitting under a tree, listening to the wind and watching the clouds and birds soar overhead. Or try planning and planting a garden, whether you’re out in the country with acres to farm or in a tiny apartment with just a balcony, window boxes, or even window sills! No matter where you are, you can make space for green and growing things that will boost chi, freshen the air, and remove toxins and electromagnetic fields.

Here’s a springtime mind/body/spirit grounding exercise that will last you through the whole year: go out to your favorite place in nature at the same time every day. Spend at least 15 minutes there just looking – really looking – and connecting with all the beings there, from the tiniest bugs and worms to the tallest trees. Do animals and birds pass by when you sit very quietly? Pay attention even to the quality of the soil – is it sandy or clayey, hard-packed or loose and rich? Are the stones crumbly or solid, tiny gravel or large boulders? What small shoots are starting to emerge? Sit quietly, emptying your mind, and listen – what do you hear?

Now reach deeper – choose one of the beings in this special space and put yourself in its place. Imagine how it would feel to live here, what pleasures and challenges you would face. Is this a life you would choose if you could? Empty your mind and listen with your spirit: what does this space and its beings want to tell you?

Come back to visit this spot as often as you can throughout the spring…and through the year if it calls you. See how it changes through the seasons. Bring your sketch pad or your journal to record what you see, hear, feel, sense. Make it your spot for relaxation and contemplation and renewal.

Finally:  while you are out in your special space, ask yourself: what are the qualities you want to bring into your life, what are the changes you want to make, and how can they best be achieved? Be aware – the seeds that you plant now will bear the harvest of autumn, to be stored for winter, so choose and plant them, literally and metaphorically, with care!

 

 

 

The Keys To Love

/0 Comments/in , , /by

It’s the most popular myth in the world…that your true love is “out there,” and one day you will discover that person. It’s just a matter of enduring the loneliness and looking in the right places to find him or her. S/he’s your other half, your soulmate, your twin flame…your life until you are united will be incomplete.

It’s the undercurrent of the whole singles scene, every “lonely hearts” bar, and half the world’s popular love songs. And it’s complete baloney.

No, we’re not saying that you’re doomed to a life of solitude, or that you will never find romance – quite the contrary! The myth is that life without romance is a “half-life,” an incomplete life that must be endured; that until you find your “other half,” you cannot live fully.

“Yeah, yeah,” we can hear you saying wearily. “Whitney Houston says that the greatest love is love of yourself (sigh). But that’s not going to put its arms around me in the middle of the night.”

True…however, we believe that a life that’s fulfilled and fulfilling throughout your waking hours leads to greater joy in the long run than a midnight hug to distract you from inner emptiness! And a life with that kind of fulfillment is always the result when you open your heart to love yourself.

“But isn’t that selfish?” you might be asking. Actually, no – sez not only Ms. Houston, but also the world’s greatest spiritual teachers. Jesus, for example, said that the first law was to love God, and the second to love your neighbor as yourself. Not to love only your neighbor (or only yourself for that matter), but to love both, equally.

It’s not about pulling inward to focus on how wonderful you are to the exclusion of all others; it’s about learning to appreciate yourself and your existence as a wonderful, magical part of a wonderful, magical cosmos. To celebrate the fact that you – and everyone and everything around you – are inseparable from an amazing, miraculous creation.

As Albert Einstein said, “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle, or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Simply because you are alive, you are part of that miracle.

This is the difference between codependence and love. While you are looking for an “other half” to complete you, seeing yourself as incomplete, you are missing your unfailing connection to the miracle of All That Is. When you enter a relationship in that state of incompleteness, you become dependent upon the other person to fill your need for cosmic connection, subconsciously expecting them to be perfect and limitless in their love. If you’re entering a relationship while seeing yourself as bad or worthless, undeserving of love (your own or anybody else’s), that will show up in your treatment of the other person, and of yourself.

You can see how these issues would be deal-breakers in any relationship!

And when you love others from a place of secure self-love and cosmic connection, you can relate to them with authenticity and trust, accepting them in all that they are, no matter how much like you or different from you they may be. You can forgive their failings, because you aren’t basing your identity and your self-worth on their perfection.

So before you start looking for love from others, learn to affirm and believe that you are a miraculous part of the cosmos, you are lovable and beloved whether or not you have a partner by your side. Just as there is no division between your mind and body, there is no point at which the energy of the cosmos ends and you begin. You’re not separate, you’re not fallen, you’re not lost, you’re not alone. You are connected to everything that exists, and no matter where you are, you have your place within the universe. You only need to recognize it to tap into that energy.

So how do you find that sense of connection? Here are just a few ideas…

  • Go out in the woods, or by the ocean, turn off your mental chatter, and simply focus on feeling all that’s around you…the breezes, the earth, the birds, the light, the fragrances…immerse yourself in your senses, feel yourself as a part of All That Is.
  • Go to your sacred space, light a candle, and call on your Source energy, Higher Power, God/Goddess, Divinity by whatever name. Clear your mind and feel the love and light fill your heart.
  • In your sacred space, after calling on the positive energies of the universe, journal, draw, sing, drum, dance, releasing your spiritual clutter and creating space in your soul for Love.

Isn’t that better than suffering the loneliness of believing that another human being is the Only One who can fulfill you, and you can’t live without him or her?

Rejuvenation Winter Cleanse

/0 Comments/in /by

Want to feel rested and rejuvenated?

Frustrated with those love handles that become easier to grab each year?

Need a meal plan that will help keep off the weight, not just in January, but the entire year?

Craving more energy and less stress?

Feel as though you are not functioning at your most optimal?

Ready for a body, mind, and spirit clean sweep just in time for the New Year?

Then join the Zest & Harmony Rejuvenation Winter Cleanse.

Winter prompts us to slow down, be quiet, and reflect. It’s a time to get to know ourselves on a deeper level and heal from the core to restore and generate energy for our spring time blossoming

This gentle cleanse program will assist you with healing your mind, body, and spirit.

Many cleanses focus solely on getting rid of certain foods. The Zest and Harmony winter rejuvenation cleanse not only teaches you what foods deplete your energy and cause inflammation and weight gain, but also which foods cleanse, as well as heal. We also provide tools that promote balance for your mind, body, and spirit. It’s a holistic approach to cleansing.