Guided Message April 10th, 2016

There are benevolent forces around you available to support, guide and lend their healing energy and wisdom.

Listen to the audio below for a short 6 minute guided journey to connect with your higher source whatever that may be for you: Source, Guardian Angel, Higher Self, the Divine..etc. Feel free to pause the audio to take more time listening to your higher source. You could even journal, in a question-answer format to receive some valued wisdom and guidance. [Watch for my online series 'Journal with Your Guides, coming this year.]  If you haven't read the last blog post, you might find that helpful as well: Your Many Medicines.

Wishing you a beautiful day!
Beth

Listen:

Your Many Medicines

Knowing your Medicines provides inner and outer resources for physical, spiritual, mental and emotional well-being. An amazing abundance of Medicine is available to us in every moment of every day. Have you ever considered that this planet is a Medicine planet? Let's explore this topic, look at what some of the Medicines are, as well as how to intuit and connect energetically and physically with Medicine that would be beneficial to you right now. I'll also share how I personally use this process in my life and healing work with clients.

Medicine with a capital 'M', refers to everything that truly supports, nurtures and heals. Our Earthly existence is infused with it on every level. One reason I want to talk about this, and invite you to think about and actively retrieve your medicines, is because it empowers you in your own well-being. This is a process you can use everyday and call on between visits to your healer, intuitive, therapist..etc.

This process begins first with an awareness of all the Medicines already at work in your life. 

Medicine can be many things! It is the oxygen we receive from the trees, the waters, the sunlight, the rain, the moon, the color all around us, the herbs, scents, medicine plants, food, breath, meditation, dance, movement, music, poetry, art, creativity, sound healing, sacred geometry, chanting, mudras, yoga, hiking, traveling, dreaming, journaling, hugging, talking, connection with friends, our pets...etc. What Medicines do you already utilize consciously and unconsciously?





We live IN Medicine.
When I bring my awareness to this truth, I feel so deeply grateful for the Medicines all around me and this incredible Earth in which I am a connected living breathing physical part. Most of us are receiving an abundance of Medicine every day.







What Medicine would be useful for you right now?

Whether you'd like to nurture a certain quality, work towards a personal goal, heal an issue or physical challenge, experience more balance or anything else, connecting with the right Medicine can assist you.  Sometimes it takes a little experimentation to find it. That's ok. Just keep paying attention to what works well for you. Think about what may have helped in the past. Maybe, for instance, you used to meditate more regularly and go to yoga twice a week, and you remember how good that felt and the well-being it brought. As you engage in this process you empower yourself, strengthen your relationship with your resources, and expand your apothecary.  Sometimes seeking a professional/practitioners help is just what we need. It's also beneficial to do your own research as well. Consider the Medicine retrieval the intuitive side of your own research.


Medicine Retrieval

If you're not sure what medicine you need,  or want to engage in a deeper intuitive process to gain additional information and guidance, this is a process you can use. People often ask what type of energy medicine I do, and this is a part of it.  I retrieve and channel Medicine for people. I see and feel what's going on in the client's system physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and bring through energy medicine, guidance and suggestions that support.

The process tends to look something like this:
I ask for what would help the client with this certain something that's presented itself. Holding that prayerfully,  I listen, observe, watch, feel, assist with what is coming through for them, and gather intuitive guidance. This has looked like a variety of things, all of which support my intention of benefiting the client's highest well-being on all levels: sacred geometric forms, etheric plant medicines, colors, imagery, psychic surgery, the elements, angels, loved ones on the other side, specific affirmations, and guidance.



Use this process to receive a Medicine for yourself today:

1) What is the issue? What is already known about it?  (ie..you know you tend to get ungrounded and sitting outside by a tree helps.) What is the desired outcome?

2) Can you locate it in a certain area of your body? Are there any body sensations as you think about this issue?

3) Deep Listening- Go into the sensation. What are it's qualities, it's essence? (i.e...constriction?, tension, confusion, scattered, cold, hot, rough, empty, dense, prickly, colorless..etc)

4) Send Love, Prayerfully ask What heals this? What's the antidote? It might help to ask, what's the opposite? Bring your awareness to your higher Self, Source, Spirit, or Guide, and ask again, what would heal this? or What would you suggest or offer as beneficial right now? You can ask more specifically, such as: what color would assist this area of my body? What shape would help me feel more centered? Is there something I need to eliminate from my life, or add? What herb might be beneficial (you can receive that energetically and then research actual physical intake or application)? You can also ask for a Guide, Healer Being, Ascended Master...etc who would be of most assistance and see who comes.

5) Notice what you might feel, see, intuit, know, and instinctually sense. Notice if just your inquiry has brought any shift to what you're giving attention to.

6) Integration- Receive what was given. Breathe it in, feel it in your body and energy field. How can you take what you've received into your life? Are there action steps to take that would integrate this further? How can you bring this into the physical world (i.e....go get that flower essence, wear that color..etc)


Medicine Planet 

Remember that we all also carry Medicine. So honor your particular strengths, abilities and presence! What are your Medicine gifts? Perhaps you bring calm, joy, or comfort to those around you. Maybe you're a kick-ass yoga instructor, gifted artist, wonderful mother, supportive co-worker, or heart centered leader. You have a unique energy signature, and this is also your Medicine...just being you.

As you move through your day today, recognize all the medicines around you. Find it wherever you are. Even if you're in a cubical at a corporate office, the Medicine is there, perhaps in the photo of your loved one on your desk, the plant in the corner, the essential oil in your purse, or a coworkers smile. Notice how it feels to be in the awareness that Medicine is everywhere.


If you'd like to learn more about distance or in-person sessions with me, please visit BethBudesheim.com or contact me at 505-796-4033

The Healing Relationship

I recently read a great post by marketing expert Tad Hargrave reflecting on his experience with a healing practitioner, and I was actually very surprised to hear of someone interacting with their client in this way. 
 
I guess despite best intentions, sometimes practitioners forget what it's like for new clients. I remember 20+ years ago when I received my first energy medicine session, I was nervous! I felt vulnerable. I wondered if she could read my mind, and see everything about me. As I continued receiving sessions, these fears faded, we worked together consistently, and she became my first energy medicine teacher. What also popped up for me during these early years of receiving energy medicine and massage, was a concern that my healing practitioner would be negatively effected by my 'bad energy'.  This seems to be a common concern, as I've had a couple of my own clients express this to me. It's important to trust that your healing practitioner knows how to take care of him/her self. We all have 'stuff'. You or any part of you are not 'bad' and whatever moves, clears or shifts during a session is compassionately felt with, cleared and given a place to go. Sometimes this energy is something picked up from your life experience, that can be learned from, healed and shifted. 

I do my best to remember what it's like to be a new client, entering the unknown. I'm conscientious to meet clients where they are at. If it's not part of their belief system or desire to explore their chakras, the energy realm or multidimensional aspects of Being, I respect that and don't go there. However for the most part, this doesn't come up because people who are drawn to work with me usually very much want to engage this way and already are in their lives to small or great degrees.
 
I remember once I described to an energy medicine client some interesting imagery of 'gold blocks' I was seeing flowing into her solar plexus chakra. I shared some other imagery as well, but mostly had the sense that this particular client just wanted to zone off, sleep and be nurtured. Afterwards, it became clear that the lack of explanation and exploration of what the imagery was conveying, left her feeling that the imagery and the sharing of it was "weird".  I should have at the very least, explained to her that I see clairvoyantly and many times the imagery I see during the energy medicine is like a metaphor and intuitive information about the state of a chakra, the healing energy coming through, or what is needed on some level of her being. Perhaps the gold blocks represented an infusion of her own self worth and empowerment.  This experience reinforced to me, how important it is to communicate more fully with people who are new to this work, so that they might not only feel more comfortable, but also have the opportunity to integrate more depth and meaning from the session. 
 
We have to remember as practitioners, that clients don't always know how or what to ask, and we need to remember not to assume. But don't also assume they know nothing. Learn where they are at and meet them there. I make this a practice with clients, and in my life in general. I ask. I seek to find out where they are at, so that I'm not telling them something they already know, nor assuming they do know. I find it slightly annoying when someone talks to me in a way that clearly shows they have no idea of my competencies, and I try my best to avoid doing that to others. 
 
I'm very lucky that for the most part, I've had good experiences with all the healing practitioners and intuitives I've chosen. I can think of maybe 2 not so good experiences. It sometimes helps to check into someone, get a feel, listen to friend's or trusted practitioners recommendations, read any reviews that may be available and be clear about how they work so you know what to expect. For me, I've mostly trusted my gut, as well as looking at their website to get a feel. I've also found that hearing someone's voice gives me a lot of information about their energy and approach. One other thing that I think is very important: Always trust yourself. Never give your power away to a practitioner or psychic. Honorable practitioners and intuitives will support you in honing your own inner skills, honor your freedom of choice, and desire your well-being of body-mind-emotion-spirit. 
 
Here's my reply and  a link to Tad's very interesting post that I mentioned:
"I agree, it's very important to listen. Practitioners need to understand that if their client doesn't feel 'heard', they will not be as receptive to your information, or whatever your healing modality may be. Part of my practice is bodywork. I AWAYS give attention to the clients primary complaints. When I touch that sore spot or in a sense 'say hello' to those areas early on in the session, their body and psyche immediately relax...the client knows I've heard them, and understand. As practitioners, therapists, coaches, we need to put our 'agenda' aside, and know that healing takes place first with Presence."
 
http://marketingforhippies.com/good/

The Rhythm of the Journey

Some beautiful wise words from my favorite poet philosopher, John O'Donohue:

Guided Message for the week of March 13, 2016

The theme of centeredness comes for us again this week. This time, we are asked to contemplate how flexibility helps sustain everything in our lives, and where centeredness is the dearest companion to flexibility.

from PrayerCards deck by Beth Budesheim

Centeredness is the central axis, the unshakable connection to the core, to our true essence and foundation of who we are. Flexibility is the ability to work with conditions, or circumstances, to bend, to grow, to feel life and like an aikido master adjust body-mind-psyche in such a way that the highest good is maintained. Like a tree in the wind whose branches flex so it remains grounded and unbroken, we are called to incorporate flexibility. 

What area of your life do you need to add a dash of flexibility? Again, the guidance is just to flex a little, not to uproot ourselves and go off center. We are asked to bring flexibility so we can REMAIN centered. So look at what might be pulling you off center right now. Within that, look for where the rigidity is. Is it a rigid unconscious belief (i.e....'I have to work harder', 'I have to close myself off to xyz feelings, it has to be THIS way...) or a pattern that's become too rigid (i.e...working too much, doing the same thing over and over, sending too much time on the computer..etc) ? When you find your rigid area, ask what at the core of your being is truly important, and what flexible action might support your highest good. Be willing to try, to experiment. Flexibility is movement. It explores around the central axis. Our center informs the movement, but the movement also informs our center. ❤️


Current Special: Distance Energy Medicine 

Centering and Inner Balance

I pulled this card for us today, from my PrayerCards deck to accompany the guided energy balancing below. Enjoy and have a beautiful day.

Listen:

Intuitive Message #2 for February 2016

Listen:

Intuitive Message for February 2016

Listen:

What do YOU want to say?

What do YOU want to say?

Ask yourself, 'What do I want to say?'.  This question has the capacity to shift your whole reality because it brings you intimately into the very core of yourself. Take some time away from the internet, away from what everyone else is teaching, advocating, writing about, and creating. Take some time to listen to yourSelf. What do YOU want to say, to express, to create? This question sheds and dissolves any inkling of focus or concern about what you think others might want from you, what might be expected or appreciated or accepted.  It opens a pathway for connection with your own deeper truths, and unique expression, essence, gifts and destiny.

Engaging with Joy for Empowerment, Inner Balance and Well-Being

Engaging with Joy for Empowerment, Inner Balance and Well-Being

One of the most empowering and nourishing experiences possible is the connection with the joy of our Soul. We’ve all experienced the bliss of this connection, but at times when we inevitably find ourselves feeling emotionally out of sorts, facing a difficult situation, or out of balance in some way, just when we need it most, we often forget to engage with what brings joy. What we tend to do, is get in our heads, struggling to revive a sense of well being through ‘figuring it all out’, blocking, freezing, controlling or some other survival strategy. In my experience, (and it’s been a  learning journey!) this simply doesn’t work. What we can do though, is allow, surrender, be with what is present in the moment, and nourish ourselves, to gently encourage an organic unfolding of truth, shift and deeper clarity. We can facilitate this by engaging with what brings us joy. The ‘anxious mind, figure it out, fix it’ space is very linear and structured, and has a tendency to further constriction and limited perception. The practice of engaging with joy, involves being in your body, and being present with a creative act, which opens the flow to the wiser, deeper, and empowered aspects of self. It lifts us into a different energy field, creating fertile ground for heart, mind and Soul to be with our situation from a different space than that in which it was created, allowing movement and shift.

In this practice, we’re not avoiding the depths of our emotions or situational reality, but merely cultivating a tool and resource to have available when we feel stuck. It is very very useful not only personally but also within relationships, including the relationship to your work. It is a heart based way of reconnecting with yourself, your authenticity, of feeding your own essence, and thereby opening space for something to evolve. It can re-empower you when you are feeling depressed, anxious, feeling ‘small’, confused, stuck, or limited in your potential. It will build healthy esteem, lift the emotions, soothe anxiety, provide fertile ground for handling challenges in new soul-esteemed ways, and open possibilities for deeper connection, deeper giving and receiving. I recommend revisiting this practice regularly, even when you are feeling good, in order to refresh, revive, and add more sparkle to your daily sense of self, relationships and life experience.

Make it an experiment for the next month. Try this practice using the steps below as a guideline and see how it works for you. Cut out the image included with this article, as a reminder for your practice.

Daily Practice to Engage with and Cultivate Your Soul’s Joy: 

1. Begin opening a deeper awareness of what your Soul’s joy feels like within your body, mind, and heart. Joy is an energetic signal in the form of a feeling that let’s us know we are in relationship with an essential illuminating part of our Soul, who we truly are. As you refine your self connection and sensitivity to energy, you become more and more aware of what it feels like to be connected to your joy. Practice sensing even the very subtlest sensations of joy, of pleasure, relaxation, well-being and calm. Joy doesn’t have to look like exuberance; it can be a subtle vibration, a gentle bubbling or an inner smile. What brings you joy? Baking a cake? Yoga? Sitting on the porch? Painting? Meditation, dance, writing, gathering with friends? 

2. Recognize when you are stuck and not in flow. This often happens when we are triggered and our defenses arise. As energy healer Barbara Brennan says, when in this state, the essence of who your are is blocked and distorted. When you feel stuck, do something, even one small step, that connects you to your joy.

3. Make time for joy everyday!  Make it a priority and conscious choice. It can be especially effective to choose something that isn’t already within your daily routine. This creates a freshness and stronger shift. Listen to some new music, sign up for that class, go to a concert, walk around the block, look at the stars tonight, take 5 minutes of silence, dress up just for yourself, dance while you’re cleaning house... etc. 

4. Download the image included with this article to remind you of this practice. Place it somewhere you will see it often. This image, as visual energy, supports balance, self connection, self compassion,  joy, connection with the ‘honey of life’, self esteem, playfulness, trust in the organic process, sensuality, vulnerability, inner strength and transformation. Its colors and shapes resonate with the 2nd, 4th and 6th chakras. You can also meditate upon the image, place it over a chakra(s), imagine the image filling your whole energy field, or sleep with it next to your bed to invite healing in your dreamtime. 

As you do this joy cultivation practice, you bring more of your Soul’s essence out into the bubble of your energy field. Notice the effects! Among other things, you might notice feeling greater well-being, heightened intuitive abilities and the ability to relate to life with more freedom and presence. Enjoy, and as always, be compassionate and gentle with yourself. If you wish, please feel free to share your experience with me.

Listen

Come Away With Me

Nothing is Mundane

Bringing your awareness to your solar plexus and heart, 'imprint' yourself here with your own radiance, presence and inner light. 

Feel that fill you, warm you, expand and light you up. Feel the love. Feel the warm strength. Relax. Let go of the thinking. Let this space be your priority at this moment, reconnecting with yourSelf. 

Stay in this space for as long as you need, and come back to it again and again whenever you feel stuck in the muck, are experiencing a challenge, stress, anxiety or overwhelm.

"Precious Child" by Tomasz Kopera

When the heart is warm, it helps birth healthy relating to self & others.

When the heart is constricted, old defensive patterns can dominate & trip us up. When the heart is constricted there is immaturity. When the heart is warm there is wisdom.

Just as physical death brings a transition from this realm to a higher vibrating realm, so does the death of a draining/hindering/stagnating,  belief/pattern/relationship also allow us to enter a new higher vibration of experience and possibility.

The River ~ John O'Donohue

LISTEN:

"A river blends music of movement with an enduring and accompanying depth of stillness. Again its journey is always out of silence, and this silence dwells deep in the river too. If only our lives could achieve, or indeed allow, such grace and elegance. If we could but find a rhythm of being which could balance a contemplative grace, a poetry of motion and an accompanying stillness and silence, our pilgrimage through this world would flow in beauty through the most ragged and forsaken heartlands of confusion and dishevelment. It would continue to hold a clear flow-line between the memory and depth of the earth and the eternal fluency of the ocean and never lose the passion of flowing towards the ever new promise of the future.

Though a river maintains a line of direction, it somehow turns still, fixed space into the embrace of a flowing circle of presence. It gives itself to the urgency of becoming but never at the cost of disowning its origin. It engages the world while belonging always secretly within its memory and still strives forward into the endless flow of emerging possibility. " from Divine Beauty by John O'Donohue

The ability to receive love seems to be a much larger obstacle within many people than has been acknowledged. Most people I've encountered, including myself, don't have real love and intimacy until they are truly open to receiving it. Until that time, they consciously or unconsciously choose partners not capable of intimacy, not available in some way, or they themselves push love away or sabatoge it in some way.

Being able to receive love involves being in good relationship with the love that you are. When this is present, compassion, patience and empathy are available. These are crucial facilitators of love. They help create real pathways from that which might be destructive to love to that which takes those very same pitfalls and alchemizes them into deeper love, real love and intimacy.

There's what people SAY, what they DO, the ENERGY you sense, and the CONGRUENCY between all these.

Life is like a coloring book. How will you fill in the page you are given today?