Shakti Sutriasa
An Invitation from the Darkness

Have you noticed that certain times of year evoke different feelings or orientations?

What does December ask of you?

For me, it’s about LIGHT, about opening to it and receiving it.

How do you define light?

Perhaps you think about it as: inspiration, healing, divinity, truth, love- or something else. 

Whatever your definition of light, the dark days of December seem to call for a kindling of that spark, a nourishing of our inner light.

How about A practice to help you connect more deeply to that light?  

Here’s a simple one: How would you complete this sentence? 

An Invitation from the Darkness
Shakti Sutriasa
Death of Normal: Embarking on a Hero Journey

Last week I began an online class focused on the arc known as the Hero’s Journey. If you’re at all familiar with the mythologist, Joseph Campbell and his work, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!

Essentially, the idea is that we are all the hero of our own story, and within our lifetimes are invited, encouraged, urged, and sometimes dragged onto a journey of self-transformation.

It all begins with the death of normal.

Death of Normal: Embarking on a Hero Journey
Shakti Sutriasa
3 Practices to Help You Live Life Your Way

Have you ever thought about the unique track of your life and your experiences as being tailor made just for you?

It’s kind of a radical idea, one I learned from the Manual for Teachers, which is part of A Course In Miracles (ACIM).

In it, it says that in our journey to God, we have,

“[A] curriculum [that] is highly individualized, and all aspects [of it] are under the Holy Spirit's particular care and guidance.”

When I first read this, I smiled.

3 Practices to Help You Live Life Your Way
Shakti Sutriasa
How to Move Through the Veils

According to Celtic tradition, we’re about to get to the time of year when the veils between worlds is purportedly thinnest.

The actual date is from sundown on October 31st to sundown on November 1st which coincides with Halloween and the Day of the Dead.

Supposedly, this 24-hour period is a powerful time:

  • for divination (since the veils are more porous)

  • for reflection on the balance of life and death

  • for connecting between the physical and spiritual worlds

  • for honoring and remembering loved ones who have passed on

How to Move Through the Veils
Shakti Sutriasa
How to Discern Between Love & Like

I'm sure you’re aware of the difference between liking someone and loving them. But would you indulge me for a minute?

Call to mind a friend or colleague. Someone you genuinely like who perhaps is reliable, trustworthy…Now think about someone you love. A family member or close confidante.

Can you feel the difference?

Yes!

Unfortunately, sometimes the lines between love and like get blurred, especially with members of our family.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

When I was in my early 20s, I moved across the country to live near my sister. Growing up, our relationship was complicated. Sometimes we got along wonderfully, other times, not so much.

How to Discern Between Love & Like

An Invitation from the Darkness

An Invitation from the Darkness

Have you noticed that certain times of year evoke different feelings or orientations?

What does December ask of you?

For me, it’s about LIGHT, about opening to it and receiving it.

How do you define light?

Perhaps you think about it as: inspiration, healing, divinity, truth, love- or something else. 

Whatever your definition of light, the dark days of December seem to call for a kindling of that spark, a nourishing of our inner light.

How about A practice to help you connect more deeply to that light?  

Here’s a simple one: How would you complete this sentence? 

Death of Normal: Embarking on a Hero Journey

Death of Normal: Embarking on a Hero Journey

Last week I began an online class focused on the arc known as the Hero’s Journey. If you’re at all familiar with the mythologist, Joseph Campbell and his work, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!

Essentially, the idea is that we are all the hero of our own story, and within our lifetimes are invited, encouraged, urged, and sometimes dragged onto a journey of self-transformation.

It all begins with the death of normal.

3 Practices to Help You Live Life Your Way

3 Practices to Help You Live Life Your Way

Have you ever thought about the unique track of your life and your experiences as being tailor made just for you?

It’s kind of a radical idea, one I learned from the Manual for Teachers, which is part of A Course In Miracles (ACIM).

In it, it says that in our journey to God, we have,

“[A] curriculum [that] is highly individualized, and all aspects [of it] are under the Holy Spirit's particular care and guidance.”

When I first read this, I smiled.

How to Move Through the Veils

How to Move Through the Veils

According to Celtic tradition, we’re about to get to the time of year when the veils between worlds is purportedly thinnest.

The actual date is from sundown on October 31st to sundown on November 1st which coincides with Halloween and the Day of the Dead.

Supposedly, this 24-hour period is a powerful time:

  • for divination (since the veils are more porous)

  • for reflection on the balance of life and death

  • for connecting between the physical and spiritual worlds

  • for honoring and remembering loved ones who have passed on

How to Discern Between Love & Like

How to Discern Between Love & Like

I'm sure you’re aware of the difference between liking someone and loving them. But would you indulge me for a minute?

Call to mind a friend or colleague. Someone you genuinely like who perhaps is reliable, trustworthy…Now think about someone you love. A family member or close confidante.

Can you feel the difference?

Yes!

Unfortunately, sometimes the lines between love and like get blurred, especially with members of our family.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

When I was in my early 20s, I moved across the country to live near my sister. Growing up, our relationship was complicated. Sometimes we got along wonderfully, other times, not so much.

Ready for Your 2nd Chance?

Ready for Your 2nd Chance?

Today is my grandson’s birthday. It also happens to be the day my sister was born. (She died in 2010.)

 Two years ago, when my grandson arrived looking like my sister and me (blond hair and blue eyes), it felt like a circle had been completed. I wrote about that experience and you can read it here.

As I contemplate the miracle of this day, I find my mind ruminating on the idea of repeating patterns and do-overs. The way life keeps circling people, experiences, and things around to us again and again much like the changing of the seasons.

The Place Where Dreams Come True

The Place Where Dreams Come True

I used to think that if I moved somewhere else, everything in my life would be better.

Have you fallen for that, too?

I did for decades, spending, on average, four years in any one location.

It wasn’t until I had a child that I even considered changing. One of my close friends said, “you can’t keep moving, it’s bad for the baby.”

Initially, I ignored her, rationalizing my actions by the fact that infants cling to primary support, not place. Her words, however, rang in my ears year in and year out, until I finally stopped running.

Because- 100% transparency- that’s what I was doing. Running away from me.

You see, I’d convinced myself that each new place was the answer to my unhappiness. It wasn’t that the dissatisfaction lay inside of me, absolutely not! It was the pollution, the traffic, the neighbors, the lack of opportunities…

Embracing the Mess

Embracing the Mess

The other day, I was talking to one of my daughters who was sharing her desire to embrace the messiness of life.

Since that chat, I’ve found myself thinking about this idea because, let’s face it, life is messy!

Yet we so often put expectations on ourselves to be pristine, perfect, unruffled.

Can you relate?

Do you find yourself compulsively cleaning before a friend comes over? Or self-conscious about the way you’re eating? Wanting to look neat and delicate. 

Perhaps it’s time for a reframe.

Defining Success - 4 Questions

Defining Success - 4 Questions

I have a client who, according to her, has the ideal life. She has her own business, doing something she loves. She has help with her child, and a supportive husband who financially bears the load of their life, and emotionally encourages her to pursue her passion. 

She doesn’t feel successful.

When I talk with her, I’m reminded of myself and a similar internal struggle I had for years! That persistent feeling that success alluded me.

Sound familiar?