One of the most important secrets I've learned is that the hardest or scariest experiences that we have are actually our most powerful catalysts to joy and freedom.
All of us have experienced feelings we'd rather not experience. Most of us label these negative emotions, and they include fear, guilt, shame, anger, jealousy and many more.
When I first started facing these emotions, rather than stuffing them down or ignoring them, I was pretty confused about the process. I learned that feeling these emotions could bring me liberation. But I'd been feeling them all along! But I discovered that there is a subtle but powerful distinction in the way that we relate to these emotions in order to heal them.
Emotions that trap us are ones that we've judged as bad, and pushed away or stuffed down. But in the process of resisting an emotional experience, we've aligned ourselves with that particular emotion.
To illustrate how this works, think of a nemesis you've had, whether in the past or today. Someone you just can't stand. When you were in the peak of that negative relationship, did you think about them? Were they constantly on your mind, or in the back of your mind? Of course.
There's a powerful saying - what we resist persists. And it's completely true, in my experience. Only once we've moved through the strongest emotions can we get to a point of neutrality, which is the place from which we have the most control over our experience. As long as you're hating someone, you're in relationship with them. Once you've let go of the hatred, you've moved out of that toxic relationship.
Here are some steps to move through the emotional experience of any powerful emotion - good or bad - to limit its influence over you. And yes, even positive emotions can be limiting if we overly identify with them. Neutrality is the most powerful place, and it's a surprisingly blissful experience too.

• Label the emotion. A big recurring emotion of mine is fear. 
• Identify when you feel it, then invite yourself into that experience. For example, I know that I'll experience fear when I walk by a particular dark closet at night.
• Feel the emotion, then notice where you feel it in your body.
• Notice if your emotion has a color or shape. Just observe it and gather information. No need to analyze it.
• Keep it in your awareness, and send love to it. You might mentally repeat the word "love" or envision that space filling with bright light.
• Maintain your focus on the emotion and keep sending love until it subsides or goes away entirely.
• You may experience complete healing after one session like this, or you may need to reinvite the emotional expereince several times in different ways before it's gone. 
• Notice the feeling of relief and put your attention on it, since what you focus on expands.

I've included a short guided meditation below to take you through this process. Relax and enjoy! 
And please share your experiences and questions in the comments!

Gratitude is "in" these days. And for good reason. It's a joyful, high frequency emotion that can attract more wonderful things to be grateful about. 

We're told to use gratitude journals or daily rituals to increase our levels of gratitude. And these can certainly help. But they also relegate gratitude to a specific corner of our life that has little to do with the rest of us. And that, by its very nature, limits its impact on us.

In order to really reap the benefits of gratitude, we can increase our awareness and use of it in real time. This means putting our attention on the things that we're grateful for, as they occur. Here are some tools to play with over the course of your day.

1. Is something wonderful happening? Did you receive a compliment at work or a hug from a friend? Savor it. Really open up and welcome in the feeling of what is happening in your present moment. Welcoming your experience, big or small, is gratitude in action.
2. Is there a voice in the back of your head saying "yeah, but..."? As in, she's just giving me that compliment to be polite? Listen to it, then say "thank you for your opinion, but I'm choosing to enjoy this feeling right now." Then go right back to #1 and enjoy! What do you have to lose?
3. Did you just receive money? Maybe it was a paycheck, a gift certificate, or even change from a cashier. Welcome it with genuine appreciation! This is a powerful one. The more you can love and appreciate money - being grateful for it - the more you can attract into your life. 
4. Has something upset you? Maybe it was an argument with a friend or an awkward encounter on the street. Find a reason to be grateful for it. You might be grateful that these things don't happen very often. Or maybe it opened your eyes to a feeling inside of you that needs attention. Drawing in gratitude when you're down can help shift you to greener pastures.
5. I saved the best for last. You know those moments when you're totally present in the moment? Wide awake and aware of something real, whether it's a bug crawling across the window or a child's smile or an intense emotion inside of you. Notice and be grateful for it. These are the moments you want to magnify, because these are the powerful times in which you can appreciate the mysterious gift of being alive.

How has gratitude shaped your relationship with the world? What are your favorite gratitude practices?

Ever since I left the world of office buildings and paychecks, I've been going down a path where I could only see a few steps in front of me. 

I thought I would become a consultant, then I veered down the path of coaching. I thought I would do only "socially acceptable" career coaching, then I was drawn more to life coaching. I started integrating my propensity for healing the spirit and the depth of my coaching work soared. I opened up to the truth of the intuitive and mediumship abilities I'd been shutting out since childhood and my work pushed me and my clients to an even deeper level of impact.

Every step of the way it's been a bit scarier and a bit more freeing to open myself even wider to the truth of myself and facing my fears of what people might say about who I am and what I can do.

And with every step I move deeper into the mystery of who I am and what I'm longing to express to the world.

And so here I am, ready to share and confess the next step of what's wanting to be expressed through me, petrified of the hypothetical "they" as in what "they might think." But not needing to live my life through the hypothetical judges on the sidelines of my life anymore.

So here's my latest truth.

I work with the Archangels, a body of angels who have been available to humanity and to all of creation since the dawning of that which we know as the universe (or more accurately the multiverse).

Not only do the Archangels aid in my healing work and the readings that I do, but I am being called to bring forth more truths about how they show up in our lives. And to act as a liaison to those who seek their guidance, their healing and their divine influence in their lives.

As someone who's spent the bulk of her life trying to squeeze myself into social norms, I know how this sounds. And I know that this may or may not resonate with you.

So here's my call to action. 

• If we've veered off the path of seeing eye to eye, if I've moved so far beyond the reasonable world in which you operate, feel free to step off the ride now and unsubscribe (I won't be hurt, I promise). 
  
• If this resonates on any level, then stay tuned and see where this path might lead. 
  
• If you have a friend or family member who loves this stuff, share this post or invite them to join my facebook community so they can open up alongside me.
  
• And, if I've entered into the territory of "yes, this is exactly what I'm looking for!" then book a reading or healing, and see how the Archangels can help you to discover more meaning and truth.
  

Namaste :)