Spirit Talk, Peaceful Spirit Coaching Blog

Peace in the body.

blshanahan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:17:04 +0000

The water, clear,

becomes salvation.

Flushing fear from where it lurks.

Tear drops fall,

return to earth,

to once again anoint the soul.

Who’s Dreams Are These?

blshanahan — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:33:00 +0000

We spoke of dreams

of things to come

so long ago.

We dreamt of lives

we’d grow into

together and alone.

We lived out loud

so proud to share

each others sorrow.

Who’s dreams are these?

Tapestries of joy and pain

that haunt me still.

Vacant spaces filled by time

to fade from memory

the beauty of emptiness.

Let’s Go Out For Recess

blshanahan — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:02:59 +0000

I read an article recently about how we, as adults, should take a five minute happiness recess each day. I have been thinking about it and I remember recess. I loved recess. What kid didn’t?

Recess, as I recall was 15 minutes of fun, running, laughing, playing, skipping, sharing.

How much time do you find in your day for play? For something that is sheer fun?

How hard would it be for most of us to find 15 minutes in our day? I am challenging myself to take recess each day this week. I have set an alarm on my calendar to remind me so that the week does not pass with all it’s busyness and deadlines without a single recess being had. I have set a few guidelines (not rules) around what ‘qualifies’ as recess activities ie not something that I already need to do but for today will call it my recess. It has to be something I consider fun, it will be something that I want to do, somethin that I would consider play.

What would you do if you took a 15 minute recess?

Attention/Intention

blshanahan — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:26:13 +0000

Is it my intention to bumble through my day, accomplishing little, feeling uninspired?

Am I paying attention to how my day unfolds?

What would happen if I put my attention on my intentions?

Today I will gently hold the intention to breathe in the fullness of the day. Whatever I am doing in the moment will be where I am, fully, completely. Not worrying about where I should be or what I should be doing but basking in the NOW.

My awareness, my attention, is focused on the bliss of where I am, what I am feeling, what I see, smell, hear in this moment. My intention is to reflect at the end of the day and feel blessed to have shared this day with all I encountered.

Thank you for being part of my day!

Meaning, Magic and Enchantment

blshanahan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:19:07 +0000

Barbara Shanahan

Angeles Arrien “Our calling in the 21st century is to bring meaning, magic and enchantment back into the world, and we can only do that by coming forward with our gifts and our talents.”
What are you doing to bring meaning, magic and enchantment back into the world? How about into your life? Like anything else if we don’t have it ourselves we can’t share it with others.
Having meaning in my life means having a spiritual connection, understanding that there is something bigger than me, a grand intelligence that I am a part of along with every other sentient being.
Having magic for me is the fun… the surprises … the adventure. If you have young children in your life whether they be your own children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews or the children of friends, if you take the time to sit quietly and watch them at play… you can rediscover magic.
And enchantment… a sense of wonder or delight, the key to which is held in our relationships and how we choose to experience the wonder of the world around us.
What are your gifts and talents that you will share to bring meaning, magic and enchantment back into the world?

Steps to a Peaceful Spirit – managing stress in chaotic times

blshanahan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:57:13 +0000

Chaos surrounds us daily in some form or another so rather than battle it how do we befriend it, be at peace with it?
By deciding to focus on what we want rather than what we don’t want, to give up the notion that it is a battle, or that we are fighting chaos but rather to shift our thinking to a pardigm that we are creating, promoting and embodying peace.

Inner peace is within our reach, it may not always feel easy to attain but it is always a possibility.

When it feels like you are surrounded by chaos, then more than ever, you can feel the value of taking a moment to drop your shoulders, slacken your jaw, and breathe. Allow peace to wash over you and chaos melt away. Whatever is going on around you inner peace is always a choice.

Can you breathe deep in any moment? of course you can. It takes only awareness. As does dropping your shoulders or unclenching your jaw. These are just a few ways that your body might hold onto stress. Next time you are feeling over whelmed take anextra minute or two do do a full “body scan” (I start at my toes and just mentally check on every body part until I reach the top of my head) and notice any tightness. Don’t get caught up in trying to change any of that as youdo the scan, the whole point is to check on all muscle groups and just notice – bring your awareness to what is chlenched, what is tight, what feels frozen, what is churning, pounding, burning hurting.

Only through awareness can you make changes to your stress response.

Once you have an awareness of where your body holds in stress you have an opportunity to actively take steps to release that tension. The next step which may seem obvious but is not necessarily easy is to learn how to manage those areas. Some find that setting a time is a good reminder to scan and release others find that attaching this activity to something that is already part of their daily routine makes it easier. Something as simple as correcting your posture regularty, doing a shoulder shrug and drop a couple of times per hour. getting out of your chair stretching, taking your eyes away from your computer.

Inner peace is much more than the abscence of tension or stress and there are probably as many paths to inner peace as there are ways to manifest stress and chaos, however, the moments that we spend in inner awareness, mindful reflection and loving self care allow us to be open to the experience of a Peaceful Spirit.

I Appreciate You

blshanahan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:42:52 +0000

How often do you tell those you appreciate what it is you are grateful for in your relationship? Me? Not nearly often enough. I appreciate my clients, my blog readers, my Peaceful Ponderings subscribers for the inspiration I receive from their comments, questions and support. I have so many reasons to be grateful for my family members… my daughters whom I love and adore for more reasons than I can list here; my grandchildren who are a constant blessing of light and laughter; my parents who have taught me so much about life and love; my sister – my greatest mentor and supporter, my brothers and their families from whom I have learned about adventure and strength of human spirit. My dear friends who are there for me when life is less than smooth and/or full of celebrations and who are quick with a hug a joke or a glass of wine just when I can appreciate them the most.
If you are reading this then obviously you fit into at least one of the groups and therefore I want YOU to know that I Appreciate YOU!

Trade in those old habits

blshanahan — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:05:40 +0000

Habits are sometimes hard to change. What are habits anyway? A habit is simply something that we do so often that it becomes our routine way of responding to certain stimulus. It is like a well worn pathway, it is the easy route to take, often the route we take without even thinking about it just because it is the way we have gone so many times before.
Until we consciously start to forge new pathways we will continue to follow our old habits even when we think we want to change. Like so many things in life until we recognize what we are doing we cannot make the change.
I remember years ago when my Mom went to a smoking cessation program. One of the first things she was to do was to hold her cigarette in her left hand. She was also to document what she was doing each time she lit a cigarette. They didn’t try to tell her to cut down on how much she smoked right off the bat, they made her aware of when she was smoking. I wonder how often before that she smoked a cigarette without even being conscious that she was smoking.
What habits would you like to change?
How do you form new pathways, new habits?
You can start by getting clear on what alternate routine you would like to replace the old habit with.
Want to quit smoking, what will you do each time you want to have a cigarette? Want to quick unhealthy snacking, what will you do when you are wanting to reach for a snack? To be most effective, it needs to be something that you feel some sense of reward in, rather than something that is making you feel like you are settling or that it is somehow a punishment for wanting a snack.
Another helpful tactic is visualization. You are wanting to change a habit for a reason, whether it is to become healthier, change your appearance, attract something new into your life… so spend a little time each day visualizing what you will have when you change your habit. What will be different and how exactly will that look and feel? Have a clear picture of what you want and why and check in with that vision each time you choose the new habit over the old.
Have an accountability buddy. There is something very special about being able to share your successes with someone who will be genuinely happy for you. Choose someone who you can also confide in when you backslide, who won’t judge or reprimand you but help you to jump back in with renewed enthusiasm. Changing behaviours may not be easy but with the support of others and a clear understanding of what you want instead will make it much more achievable.
If you are willing to share a habit you are wanting to change add a comment to my blog and we will all work together as our own little accountability group… come on join in, we’ll have fun!

(Re)discover Your Gifts

blshanahan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:43:46 +0000

Do you have a gift or talent? Something that you excell at, something that lights you up, ignites your passion? Of course you do, but do you know what it is? Each of us has a number of gifts but they may have been hidden away long ago. There are many reasons you may not be sharing your gifts/talents. Fear, embarassment, lack of confidence, past put downs or perhaps you have simply been hiding your gifts for so long you do not even remember what they are.
So how do you (re)discover your gifts?
You can explore your gifts by taking time to rmember the things that delighted you as a child. What did you love to do or look at or spend time on? It may not be something that you believed as a child you had talent at, this is more about the passion you feel about something than it is about being an expert, talents can be worked on, developed, cultivated.
You might (re)discover a gift by asking a trusted friend what they think your gifts are. Do not judge what they tell you, instead contemplate what they have shared with you, Take time to feel the deeper truth of what they have said.
Take time to reflect – ask Spirit, God, the Universe to reveal your gifts to you and then pay attention to what shows up. Be open to neither dismissing signs as unimportant, nor to read something into your own negative self talk.
I encourage you to set aside time over the next few days to explore, to look within and identify at least one gift/talent that you would like to examine more fully.
As always, I encourage you to share any questions, or thoughts as you read this or as you play with the concept of (re)discovering your gifts.
Watch for the next blog posts for suggestions about embracing and sharing your gifts.

Long Awaited Blessings

blshanahan — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:18:02 +0000

I opened the door to walk outside a few days ago and there is was. That beautiful perfume of the Mayday tree bursting into bloom. That final confirmation, that “Yes, it really is spring!”
We had a colder than usual (or at least the new usual of the past decade) and a long unpredictable approach to spring so that sweet scent was a welcome pleasure indeed.
Whatever in your life is ‘long awaited’, look forward to it just as we do spring time, with an attitude of: although it seems to be taking forever, it is inevitably getting closer every day. Anticipate it just as you might get out the gardening catalogues. Prepare for it, just as you might start seeds indoors in preparation for gardening once spring arrives. Welcome the first sign of it getting close just as you might throw open the windows at that first hint of fresh spring breezes. And when it starts to show up, just as you believed it would, breathe it in like the sweet smell of Mayday blossoms. And show gratitude for what is, celebrating the gifts inherent in every step along the way.