LIVING FROM THE HEART

 Heart Chakra by Kim Dreyer

Copyright © Kim Dreyer 2011.  All rights reserved.

So much of what I read and hear these days has to do with living from your heart center, not your head - love not fear.  Below are my thoughts and feelings about this.  I have found it quite difficult to put them in the right words, because for me so much of it is more a feeling than a thought.  But here goes....

It is time for us to move from a life based on fear to a life based on love.  This is something that has been written and talked about for ages.  And it seems, more and more the message is coming through stronger and stronger, that we need to do it sooner rather than later.  We cannot carry on living on this planet the way we do.

Our minds drive and control our fear.  But it is in our hearts where we need to be, where love is.  It is generally agreed that  when we live from our minds and allow our thoughts to control our lives, we fall into a pattern of fear based experiences.  Along with fear comes all the other negative emotions - anger, hate, jealousy and many more that most of us struggle with daily.  These negative emotions also bring with them stress, dis-ease and suffering.

If we lived from our heart center, these negative emotions and the miriad of dis-eases they cause would disappear.  But it is not easy to change from thinking with the head to feeling with the heart.  Especially if others around us are still living a life based on fear.  After all, we have all been brainwashed into this way of life from the day we are born, so it is what we know and what we are used to.

We are taught to live from a position of fear from our parents and as we grow up we get this same message from our educational systems, our religious institutions, from government and large corporations, even in the advertising we see on TV!  Eventually this fear effects our thinking to the extent that we can no longer see things logically, nor think clearly for ourselves.  And all these negative emotions control every aspect of our lives.  From our relationships to our careers, our happiness and our health.

But the big question is, how, after a lifetime of living from our heads and fear, do we change and live from our heart centers.  There is no easy, quick-fix.  It takes a lot of hard work and dedication as well as many hours of soul-searching.  But the most important thing is you must WANT TO!  And not 'want to' because you think it is the right thing to do, but really 'WANT TO', a feeling from deep down within you.

Most of us probably wouldn't even know when we are in our heart centers.   So we need to teach ourselves to 'think' through our hearts.  When a thought comes into our heads, we need to move it down to our heart and FEEL it.  If this thought feels right once it is in your heart, then that thought should resonate with love, if you are being true to your heart. If it does not, the thought is still being controlled by your head/mind.   You could also think back to a situation when you felt  that warm glow in the center of your chest.  When your mind wasn't thinking about anything, but your heart opened up to a feeling of joy, love, contentment.  Perhaps it was when you saw a loved one you hadn't seen for a long time; or someone did something for you when you were sick or sad that made you feel loved and cared for; or the joy you get when your pet showers you with a loving welcome when you return home from a days work; or the peace and contentment we get sitting in nature.  We all DO have these 'heart feelings' tucked away somewhere.  We just need to reach within and bring their energy, the feeling, back to the present and experience it.

I believe that if we can use our hearts to go back to a time when we felt this way, when we felt an unconditional love and then allowed that warm feeling in our hearts to grow and then learnt to keep it there for as long as we can, we are a step closer to living in our hearts.  All we then need to do is to 'go there' every day and soon we will be able to bring that feeling back in the blink of an eye.  The trick then would be to keep that feeling for as long as possible and at the same time go about our daily lives with that feeling of love held in our heart.  Even if we feel we do not have these feelings or find it difficult to bring them out, we can teach ourselves to feel unconditional love from deep within our hearts - it just takes will and practice.  Soon it would become such a natural thing to do that one would be able to stay in the heart and eventually live a life based on love and not on fear.

The Finance of Healing

 Artwork Copyright of Kim Dreyer 2008.  All rights reserved.

May not be used without written permission from the artist.

We are all caught up in the economic system that drives this planet.  Whether we believe it is the right way or not, we do not have much choice at the present time.  It is almost impossible to live without money of some sort.
But how do we not become a slave to money or worse a worshipper of money?! 
I believe that if you live from your heart center and are true to your soul, money will not be the motivating factor guiding you.  I have a serious problem with 'healers', irrespective of whether they practice in the traditional, modern or alternative fields of healing, who charge high fees, placing their services out of reach of the majority of people.  Good health should be available to everyone - not just those who can afford it.   I believe that if you are a true healer you will find a way to make your services available to as many people as is possible.  I am not saying healers should offer all their services for free nor drain all their energy trying to help every single person on this planet.  There needs to be a balance.
I am also very concerned about those giving courses, especially in the alternative healing fields.  So many claim to have received much of their knowledge from the divine or other higher sources - fairies, angels, etc.  Did they also tell them to go out and make a financial killing at the same time? - I think not.   These courses are often out of reach of the average person out there.  Sure, we all need to pay the bills, but we do not need a new gadget for the kitchen everytime a new one is advertised on TV or in a magazine.  We don't need half of the stuff we buy that sits on a counter collecting dust, or in a cupboard growing cobwebs.  What will give us more true, longlasting joy, peace and contentment  than a fancy designer handbag or pair of shoes, is the smile on the face of someone whom we've helped.
As women we are naturally nurturers, caregivers and healers.  We need to take back that power that we were given by the divine femine source - start caring for others.  Bring that essence into your heart and let it guide you in all you do.   For every living being on this planet is in need of healing and caring and it is our duty as caretakers to take care of, not only our fellow human beings, but all life on this planet.

You Can Make a Difference

Getting through the mundane tasks confronting us on a daily basis can be daunting.  Then trying to 'do your bit' - be a more loving, understanding person; recycling; eating nutritiously; being environmentally conscious; and ... and ... and...... puts so much pressure on us that we often feel we cannot cope.  Our lives are just too hectic.  The more hectic our lives are the more stressed we feel.  The more stressed we feel, the less we are able to cope.  And so a downward spiralling pattern starts taking over our lives.  So what is the answer?  How do we find a balance?  How do we cope and still feel good about life and ourselves?

I think that one of the ways to do this is to focus only on oneself.  And I don't mean becoming selfish and self-centred.  Though sometimes being a little selfish and a tiny bit self-centred can be a good thing.

What do I mean by - 'focus on oneself'? 

I think we have to stop trying to change the world, the people around us and simply change ourselves.  We need to think, speak and do what we feel is right and then hope that those with whom we come into contact with, will be influenced by our thoughts, our actions and our words.  We cannot change someone who doesn't want to be changed, but by 'walking the right walk', others may be inclined to follow our path, especially if we radiate feelings of love, happiness, joy and contentment.  But we cannot do this unless we love ourselves, are happy with our lives and are content.

 

We need to be fully committed to our higher selves.  If everyone worked on changing themselves - their own lives, then we wouldn't have to worry about each other.  We could get on with our souls purpose without unnecessarily stressing about things or people we cannot change.  We have to trust that each one of us will connect to that Divine source within ourselves and make the necessary changes.

I am not saying we shouldn't help others.  Constantly share your beliefs, thoughts and experiences.  Help others by graciously sharing your gifts and skills.  But if others do not choose to follow the same path as yourself, don't allow that to prevent you from following or put barriers in your own path of body, mind, spirit developement and wholeness.

Then comes the controversial subject of charging for one's 'gifts and skills'.  I know that way too many people are in the 'healing and helping'  fields purely for the money.  It may not have started out that way, but it often turns out that way.  How do we find a balance - earn a living, yet not keep much needed help and healing from others simply because they can't afford it.

This will be the topic of my next blog - where I will discuss my feelings on this in more detail.

But before logging off I'd like to share a poem I've written and the accompanying artwork I created to go along with it.

 Artwork by Kim Dreyer

Copyright by Kim Dreyer 2008 - all rights reserved. 

GROUND AND CENTER

from gaia's pulse of life we take

the essence of our being

and in our centre there it glows

enhancing our wellbeing

and as it flows from base to crown

a state of peace we enter

soaking up the love and light

it's time to ground and center.

poem copyright byKim Dreyer 2011 - 

all rights reserved.

A CONSCIOUS CONSUMER

Artwork by Kim Dreyer

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here, even though I have stopped going to markets, there still doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day to get done what I want to and need to.
Today I want to talk about consumerism and materialism.  I find it very hard at times to justify adding more products into the market out there - my artworks.  I believe that we consume way too much on this planet and HAVE to slow down...... but how else does an artist make a living other than to sell his/her art.  So I try to always have a deeper meaning to my art - something special I can share with everyone out there who buys my artworks.  That's why you will find most of my artworks linked to a story or a poem about conservation, healing and love.

Today, so many of us, especially those in the bigger cities fall into the vicious cycle of consuming at an alarming rate.  And it's not surprising.  We are bombarded in the print and digital media by advertising.  They constantly find new ways to persuade us to part with our hard earned money.  We are so used to it that we do not notice how totally invasive and over-the-top it has become.  Supermarkets use carefully planned techniques, tricks of the trade, in displaying and promoting products.  See Tricks Supermarkets Use to Sell Their Products   (Even though this article is written in the UK, these tricks are used world-wide.)  Print and digital media advertisers also use a number of tricks to catch our attention and encourage us to part with our money.

They use catch words that have nothing to do with the product; words like natural and healthy to describe processed foods and the worst thing is we let them get away with it.   I mean who is going to believe that a chocolate spread is a healthy breakfast to feed to your children in the morning?.....sadly way too many.   In South Africa at present there is no proper control regarding Organic products .  So retailers and producers can get away with calling a product organic, even though it might not really be.  In fact a leading organic retailer told one of their suppliers that even though not all the ingredients in their product were organic, they can still label it organic  because products do not get checked at present.  As consumers we need to educate ourselves, read and question before we blindly buy an item.  The consumer is powerful.  We can have more control over what we see in advertising and in retail outlets, but we do not use that power..... it's time we did.

So how can we make a difference?  Firstly, don't blindly believe all you see or hear in an advert.  When buying a bigger item, think about it for a couple of weeks first (or longer) - you might even decide you do not really need it.  Don't replace an item just because a new version is available.  Buy local wherever possible.  I have what I call a double-back policy.  If I decide to buy a new item, I have to donate at least two similar items to charity.  If you feel a company is using less than honest ways of advertising a product, write to the authorities, or at least boycott that product and tell your friends and family about it.

Remember producers and retailers DO NOT have your best interests at heart - all they are interested in are sales which translate back into profits - it's all about MONEY!........your money!  So take back your power and become a conscious consumer.  It's about supply and demand. YOU are the demand - so start demanding what is best for you and your family.

Further interesting reading:
Become a Conscious Consumer
Throw off the Chains of Consumerism
The Ethical Consumer

Things To Ponder and Sleep on

My most reflective and creative times are the early hours of the morning between 3 and 5am, when I lie awake and let my mind go where it wants to ......... well, mostly.  If it strays too long on the negative, I coax it back to thoughts of gratitude, from which more positive thoughts once again flow.

The Drawer under my desk in my studio is filled with scraps of paper, with thoughts and ideas scribbled down in these wee hours.  Notebooks and sketchpads, filled with scribblings and doodles - embryos of new poems, stories and paintings.  Often a single word or sentence will spark an idea or a verse.  Today I'd like to share a couple of these with you.  Firstly a poem which - as is usual - evolved in one of these early morning 'sessions'.

Return to Soul - A poem by Kim D

“They say you reap that which you sow

And this is true, for this I know

There was a time my life was dark

When sadness filled my lonely heart

For far too long my heart did cry

And when at last I questioned why

I looked in my neglected soul

To find a dark and gaping hole

And realized that the hurt I felt

To others and myself I’d dealt

And then as my awakening grew

My soul did show me what to do

And from a journey painful and slow

My inner beauty began to show

And as it grew my heart did lift

To happier times my life did shift

So this is what you need to do

For the law of attraction to work for you

Surround yourself with that which you seek

Joy, love and happiness each day of the week

Your thoughts and actions shape your day

As does each word that you do say

The universe reflects it back at you

So to your heart and soul be true.”

 Image Copyright Kim Dreyer 2009

And then I’d like to leave you with the following thought:

‘Our lives on this planet are fragile and short, so if we're to leave something behind, let it be love, hope and happiness, for surely that is then what we will take with us on our next  journey too!’

A Conscious Start

I have started this blog to share my beliefs, hopes, fears and experiences of life with others in the hope that it can be of benefit to others out there.  Although my focus will be more on the feminine spirit, mind and body, it is for all who pay this site a visit.

My hope is that by sharing our feelings, beliefs and experiences we can learn to live more holistic lives, in tune with not only the wonderful natural world around us, but also the beautiful, creative spirits which are at the core of each one of us.  Let us connect together and share in the wonder of all life on this beautiful planet.  Life is truly a unique gift and we need to honour and cherish every minute.

Love & Light......

  Image Copyright Kim Dreyer 2009

EARTH ANGEL - A poem by Kim D

"Beautiful planet earth, there is but one
But alas, look around and see what we’ve done
To her life giving forests, her plants and her trees
To the magnificent animals, we should be on our knees
Asking for forgiveness, for treating them so bad
Why are humans so destructive, it really is sad
If I had but one wish, it would most definitely be
To open everyone’s eyes so they can truly see
The beauty, the magick, the joy and the bliss
The splendour that mother earth surely is
To spread love and healing from north to south pole
And in so doing also heal each human’s soul
One planet, one wish – that’s the name of the game
I really do hope that you wish for the same."