The REAL reasons we all have teachers on our Spiritual paths

One of the reasons we are attracted to certain people, teachers, healers and books to guide us on our Spiritual pathway is because other people hold different energetic vibrations and frequencies than we do. We are vibrational beings and we respond to the vibrations around us – we can feel it when we resonate with others, and we know it when there is a mismatch of energies. It’s like how a tuning fork works – the fork strikes the master pitch and everything rises to align with it.

There are people we are just drawn to and that we “click” with, whether it’s a person we have met, heard speak or read their writings. There are these certain people that bring out the best in us and when we are around them we feel smarter, wiser, more loving- our best selves. These are the people we get excited about and seek out. These people are our vibrational teachers. They are the people who hold that higher vibration our Spirit is seeking. They can be friends, clients, students, teachers, healers, writers, even family members. By spending time in their presence, we are learning to match our frequency with theirs. There are even sacred places on the Earth that serve this same function of offering a higher vibration for us to align ourselves with.

For example, when the vibrations between healer and healee are aligned, the healee experiences profound and transformative effects that come from a true healing. The healer is not only offering their skills, they are holding the space and the vibration for the healee’s Spirit to heal itself and align itself vibrationally. It works this way with books as well. When you read the words of an author that excites and inspires you, you are responding to the vibration they are holding. As you read their words, your vibration rises to meet theirs. You intellectually comprehend the material they offer, but your energy is rising to resonate at their frequency as well. When we find a teacher that inspires us to reach new levels, it is because their vibration is what we ourselves need. These people teach us not just with their words and actions but also with their presence, their vibration or the energetic space they occupy. Finding these people is vital to our growth. The more time we spend in those higher vibrational spaces our teachers are holding, the more our own frequency matches it and the stronger and longer we can hold that vibration ourselves.

Holding your own vibration means not allowing other energy to take you off your vibe, but instead offering such a strong vibrational space that the other energies around you rise to meet yours. This is a state of being – it’s not really about actively thinking or acting in a certain way. It is a vibrational state. The Ascended Masters such as Jesus Christ and Buddah, are examples of beings able to hold their vibrations at an enlightened level and so create and hold the space that allows others to rise to join it.

We need different things during different stages of our growth. This is why it is important to allow the teachers, friends, clients and students to ebb and flow, to come and go, in our lives. What and who excites you at one point, won’t at another.  As your vibration shifts and elevates, your relationship to everyone and everything else shifts as well. When we allow the fluctuations in our friendships and the shifts in our desires to guide us, we honor and facilitate our growth and we give our selves the space to find the higher vibration our Spirits seek.

Don’t forget that this works both ways – I am sure there are people in your life who seek you out because you are holding that higher vibration they need.

Notice who and what draws you in – who inspires you and who do you want to be with, who’s words can you not wait to read? These are people holding a vibration your Spirit needs right now. If you find yourself feeling like you don’t have that spark of excitement in your life, ask your Guides and your own Higher Self to guide you to the next person who is holding that higher vibration that you are ready for.

Then get ready to fly!

With love,

Ashley

Tips to help DURING meditation

There is a lot of information out there about meditating, especially about it's importance in your spiritual growth. I have written about its benefits and importance on some other posts. Most of the information out there discusses how important it is,  but what about when you are actually in the moment of doing it and encountering challenges? I have not seen much about that, so here are some things I do that may help you as well.

The main goal each of these exercises accomplishes is to change your brain state from an active, mindful state to a more passive receiving state. This is the state you want your mind and brain to be in when meditating as this is how you begin to open your awareness to beyond the here and now and into the realm of energy and Spirit.

1. How do I get my mind to STOP??

This is always an obstacle, especially in the beginning. Resisting your mind will not work (as in “Stop thinking right now. OK wait. Ok stop thinking right now.... OK wait.) This will drive you crazy. What will work instead is a shift in your focus.

Try this:

To break the cycle of thinking and help you get out of your headspace and thoughts try using this visual:

Imagine either getting into an elevator or walking up a huge staircase that leads you up to another level, above the Earth. Imagine it as clouds, a room, a nature scene, whatever. Just walk up there. When you arrive, allow yourself to receive what it looks like and accept what comes into your mind. Allow your experience to continue to unfold.

What this exercise does:

It gets you out of thinking mode and into receiving mode. By giving yourself a visual of rising to another level, you are actually signaling your brain to shift into a higher state. Then once you arrive at the new level, you have flipped the switch from imagining to receiving.

2. How do I stop evaluating myself mid-meditation??

This is the ego and the brain that are used to non-stop, constant entertainment and judgment. In order to be in the moment, you want to get out of judging/evaluating what's happening and back into experiencing it:

Try this:

Ask your Guides and Angels to show or take you to the information or place that best serves you now, in this moment. Allow yourself to notice what changes you experience visually, through your feelings, through your physical sensations, through your internal soundscape. Then, simply allow it to continue as long as it does.

What this exercise does:

This puts you back into a place of receiving and out of thinking/analyzing. The more you can be in a receiving state during meditation, the more you are putting your attention/awareness on connecting with Spirit.

3. I don't feel like anything's happening!!

This is again evaluation happening, so you want to get out of that and back into receiving mode.

Try this:

Call in your Angels and Guides. Feel where they are around you and allow your body to turn to face one and then see what happens.

What this does:

First, it puts you into receiving mode. As you ask for them to come in, you automatically shift into a receptive state as you put your awareness into noticing the shift in energy as they come into your space.

Second, Allowing yourself to shift your facing to turn to a Guide or Angel puts the whole experience into your body as opposed to just in your mind. As you do this, trust whatever your body chooses. Often we are picking up on way more than we "think" we are. Your body is smart and it’s picking up on stuff before you recognize it, so learning to trust your body reactions is key. Doing this exercise fine tunes your physical awareness and shows you just how sensitive you really are! It also teaches you to trust yourself.

Meditation can be a lot of fun and very informative. The key is to not fight the mind, give it another focus instead! Remember to go easy as you begin and start with short times -10-15min is all you need.

One final bonus tip:

Finding time is always a challenge, so do it first thing in the morning or last thing at night so it becomes a part of your already engrained morning or evening routines!

With love,

Ashley

The REAL benefits of discipline & routine

Dancers are super disciplined. As a professional dancer, I go to ballet class when I haven't slept, when I'm injured, when it’s cold outside, when I'm sick. This is how dancers are trained and it's because through the discipline, through the act of showing up, you build a finely tuned, strong, resilient and absolutely confident tool that will perform no matter what. My husband (and everyone else in my life!) thinks I'm a little crazy at times, but it's who I am and what I do. I've been this way since I discovered dance when I was 12. And this work has paid off: I have performed in all kinds of conditions, in all kinds of shows, in all kinds of places. If it wasn’t for the work I put in, believe me, I would not have been able to pull off performing when the conditions were difficult! When I opened up to my mediumship abilities and began a regular practice of connecting with Spirit, I found that this rote discipline I had developed through dancing had some major benefits.

Here is what I learned and how you too can grow exponentially by using just a few basic tricks:

You are what you do.

You know that Nike slogan? Well, it's right, just Do It. Like, every day. Practice is everything. Every time you make yourself actually sit down to read something, meditate, write something, practice read or do guided meditations you are flexing that muscle. The more you do it; the more it becomes second nature. Everyone has gifts - the difference between someone who is a great medium, psychic, healer, writer, dancer, chef, musician and those who aren't often comes down to two things: practice and discipline. We all have the ability to connect with Spirit. The variables are how much you desire to do it and how much work you are willing to put into it.

Routine, routine.

This is key. The more consistently you set aside a certain day, time of day or just a specific amount of time to practice, the more you reap the benefits. 90% of life is showing up. This means you have to follow through on your grand plans. It just takes a little bit every day. The journey begins with a single step, so take one every day. For me, this means showing up with an open heart and mind at every reading, every time, no matter what.

Do it in little chunks.

Just make the effort to do it for 30 min, or meditate for 10. This is most definitely about quality-not quantity. A little bit everyday is golden.

Discipline and routine may sound boring, but if you have ever practiced anything, like an instrument or really any kind of skill, you know how discipline and routine pay off. It is the same with connecting with Spirit. Yes, we all have gifts and levels of ability, but don't underestimate what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.

But the REAL value of developing habits of discipline and routine in relation to your goals in Spiritual growth is not about self-punishment – rather it is the creation and re-creation of a higher, positive image of yourself that you choose to reinforce through committed physical action. We are what we believe we are, and physical action and repetition are the follow-through steps that create the pathway to our Highest selves, and to what we want to create.

As always, we can work together in a reading with your Spiritual support team to discover your best next steps for your growth!

with love,

Ashley

What to do when your ego takes over

You’ve probably heard the saying “your ego is not your amigo.” Well, it’s true.

The ego is the most obstinate and persistent obstacle when it comes to connecting to our Higher Selves and to Spirit. It is the voice of doubt, casting a shadow over your burgeoning experiences opening to Spirit. The ego is he naysayer, the denier, the doubter, the blamer and the block to your own Spirit as well as your Guides, Angels and Loved Ones. Its voice leaves you feeling doubtful, afraid, insecure, judgmental, anxious and/or resentful. Hmmm – sounds like fun, right? Hardly. The ego is really not who you want to be spending time with, much less giving the run of your house, right? But the ego looms large in our world, both internally and externally. As a medium, nothing filters messages or shuts Spirit out faster than the ego, so I have developed some tools that I use to keep it in check. I hope they help you on your spiritual journey as well:

1. Detach from it.

Listen to that doubting voice as you would to someone else speaking to you. The ego is actually NOT really you -it is the voice of fear speaking. So, if you can step outside of it for a moment and try to hear it as an outside voice, like it's someone else talking to you, you will begin to hear how damaging it really is. In fact, I bet you would not allow someone else to speak to you the way your own ego does! I know I wouldn't. My ego constantly tells me how I am not measuring up, how I should be different or better, and tries to blame other people for the things happening in my life. Every time I separate from that voice, even just a little bit, it gets easier to identify when it creeps in to my mind. The ego loves to make everything and everyone into a problem, so you know if you are jumping from one “problem” to another, it’s your ego running wild. Your true self-your Spirit- would never talk to you like that. It speaks softly, gently and with love and encouragement.

2. Make it a person

Give your doubting voice a persona: an age, a face, and a gender, even an outfit! I imagine mine as a small child, so when I hear that voice of fear, I can comfort it and say doesn't have any reason to be afraid. By imagining my ego as a child, it helps remind me that it is only the voice of fear and that helps me stay in my Higher Self. Actually, the pretty much has the maturity level of a small child anyway! Maybe yours looks like your mother in law- here's your opportunity to send her packing! Just kidding. Anything you can do to separate that voice from feeling like its your own helps to tone down the damaging and demoralizing effects the ego can have on us.

3. Turn it down

When I start to notice the ego voice in my mind, I actually imagine a dial and I look to see what number it's on-sometimes it's high, like around 8, or maybe it's more of a five or 6. I imagine physically turning it down, like I would a radio dial, so it's at about a 2 or 3. This way I can still use my logical mind, but the ego is not yelling at me at every turn, which is it can feel like sometimes!

4. Give it a job

You can re-direct the ego by giving it tasks to perform for you. By doing this, you can actually have it serve you as opposed to interfering with you and bringing you down.  Ask that doubting voice to assist you in organizing your time so you have time to focus on your spiritual growth.

Ask it to help you find resources like the best bookstores, food stores, spiritual centers, Meet up groups, or the next workshop or class.

Really, the most important thing about dealing with the ego is recognizing that it is not really your true self talking to you, and you don’t have to listen to it. The more you can separate from it and stop identifying with it, the clearer, more positive and more pleasant your life will be. The best book that I have read about the ego is "The Power of Now" by Eckardt Tolle. Tolle expertly explains and discerns between the voices of our Spirit versus that of the ego. I believe it's required reading for anyone on a Spiritual path. You can find it here.

When you start feeling doubtful or like you aren't good enough, check your ego. There is no need to feel badly about yourself, no matter how much change you would like to see in yourself. We all have ways in which we can grow and change for the better. That's why we're here in the first place! Plants grow better with love and so do we. Tell that ego to take a hike!

With love,

Ashley