Did you know you have a built in compass? It has been there all along. As a matter of fact, it was connected to the mother ship when you first landed. Well, the tether was, the compass itself in an internal force. Your compass is your gut knowing. It is conveniently located near the belly button, I believe so we never misplace it!

When we first get here physically, the umbilical cord is cut, releasing us from a physical connection to another and the joining of soul and physical self begins in earnest. It is a very auspicious time as well as precious. Some would say a baby is not knowing of where they are and what is going on. I disagree. I believe when we come in is when we are the most wise. We have just left our non-physical experience and bring all of that source knowledge in, if adults were just willing to listen.

This compass is fully in tact at this time and if nurtured by the community, a fantastic resource and guidance system. Often times though, the compass is reprogrammed by those around us who believe that they know best for us. I am not speaking of the, don't touch that it's hot thing, or the eat your veggies, those are important, I am talking about the be who we want you to be and not what you would like to be programmers. It is not always in a forceful way. Sometimes the messages are so subtle we don't recognize them until we are older and go, hey, that's not how I feel. Not how I feel at all!

This re-birthing, so to speak, of our selves is a great time to get back in touch with that compass and figure out what it is that you really do feel, think, know, want, etc. Sometimes the compass needs cleaning or tweaking a bit, as it's been sitting in a box for however many years since you packed it away when it was easier to follow what you were being told than to forge your own path. Be nice to that compass, sometimes much like the GPS in your car, it has to recalculate!

It can also be a little daunting to ask oneself, what do I really know? What do I want and is it ok to want? Do it anyway, no one else can tell you how you feel or what direction to take any longer....you found out you have a compass...BUILT IN! This doesn't mean you can't ask directions, but you get to decide what you will do with those directions.

The best way I know to connect with this compass is to ask yourself what you feel. If you ask what do I think, your brain is going to jump in with the collective answer. Anyone whom you have ever had an interaction with is going to get a vote in that brain, even if it was a passive one such as watching the news. Asking how do I feel brings it home. It brings it back to that belly button and it allows the answer to be what is in your best interest. Sure, it takes practice being able to hear it, but it is so worth the effort.

By knowing you have this available, you will also turn down the monkey head. The over thinking, over analyzing, over everything processing head. Think of it as giving that monkey head a banana. It will be happy and hopefully take a nap after it eats! Each time you connect with the feeling part of you, you will feel awakened and you will get better and better at recognizing a hungry monkey that just wants a story and not necessarily what is in your best interest. I don't know about you, but I am done with the story of anything. What is happening now and what, if anything, can I do about it? How can I feel the best in my own space and contribute to the world this feeling of greatness?

This shifting from thinking everything to allowing the body to feel and answer you will allow integration of all the systems. Mind, body and soul will be on board and you can make executive decisions from there. It isn't about negating the mind at all, it is about them all playing nicely with each other and to do so, this connection to feeling has to exist.

What does your compass look like? It is an older version with really cool brass on it? It is modern with it's GPS ability and can literally talk to you? Is it very organic and made up of the directions of the Earth? Whatever it is comprised of, start utilizing it more and doing your own navigation. Paying attention to others compasses is only going to get you lost and searching for home base again.

There is a great part of a poem by J.R. R. Tolkien that says "Not all those who wander are lost." Although to my future son in law's dismay, I have not read or seen the Lord of the Ring stories, it is a fantastic line and I have used it often. One of the great things about knowing you have a compass is knowing you are never lost, you are simply where you are until you decide to move in a new direction. Refreshing isn't it?  You can almost feel your thinking head going ahhhhhhhh, that is nice, a break from that ticker tape of confusion.

Give yourself the gift of reconnecting with your compass today. If it needs rebooting, come see me, we will do it together.

Heading due North,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

Holy macaroni this week has been emotional hasn't it? Anyone else feeling like they've been tossed around in a salad spinner? I have had the most challenging time finding my equilibrium this week. It started last Friday and seems to still be a bit heightened.

I was describing it to a friend of mine and said it feels like the last few years have been a long continuous earthquake and there was a pause for a month or so and now here comes the Tsunami. The beauty of being aware that a Tsunami is coming is you can get your surf board ready.

The energy of these next few days will be sort of like having had a caffeine IV placed and running at full open volume. Regardless if you are a caffeine person or not, the feeling is going to be similar. Now, I personally love my coffee in the morning but the feeling of antsy energy of more than one cup is not a favorite one. What to do with this energy? Well, get active. Give yourself the gift of a conscious list of what you could get done if you had a bunch of inspiration (read: energy!). A Ta Da list.  A to do list is so last century. A ta da list allows you to celebrate what could be done rather than what should be done! Fun right? 

This energy is simply the ushering in of some WONDERFUL supportive energy in the universe. Are you ready? I know I am very ready to feel supported and encouraged. Of course, it is up to each person to be willing to feel good. I know it doesn't make sense, but some want to sit in their story and what has happened to them. The new energy is not supportive of our old wounds but rather the strength we have created in having gone through them. Each will have to make the choice of wanting to be present and being willing to move forward.

It is much like the surfer learning how to be on top of the water. It happens over time as you find your balance. Begin balancing. Begin practicing. No worries, the surf boards have those little ties so you don't lose them in the water should you fall off the wave. Those boards are really your skills you have built in this lifetime and the connective rope is the community and support you have created. If you feel isolated and without community then move those buns again. You are the only one who can create that, stop waiting for someone or a magic pill to do it for you. There is no magic pill, there is you! You can be magical, I know you can.

Be smart, use this influx of energy to start a manifesting of what you would like to see happen in the next few years of your life. Dream big please, like the great big waves that are happening.

It will calm a bit after a few days and then we will be in a higher frequency and in a space of showing up for our lives. There isn't a script, you get to show up on your stage however you would like to but no more hiding behind the curtains. The universe needs your light to become a more loving, supportive, fun place to be. Don't be stingy with your gifts and for goodness sake, stop hiding.

As we assimilate to the higher energies we will have the opportunity to become clear about the people we connect with, that community, and those that are no longer resonating. So many relationships are shifting because of this energy that is coming in and to be clear, we asked for this clarity so don't go blaming it on some unseen force called the universe. You are part of the collective universe so what we experienced has been placed in order by us. Responsibility will be the energy that is called in, as well as, accountability. It is so much fun to be accountable for your stuff. I hope more people realize this over the next few months of the gentle push so they can feel free of their baggage. Feelings are valid, excuses are not.

So, be good to you and others. Drink lots of water, ground yourself and wiggle out any anxious feelings. Energy is neither good nor bad, it simply is, how you work with it is up to you.

I'm going to go spin around like a top now because it feels like I have had a six pack of cola with no food to absorb the sugar. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So stinking excited for this energy to be here,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

As many of you are aware, through my request for donations to Gould Farm, I ran a 5k this weekend. This wasn't the first one I have done, but it is the first one I ran the most on. I had done this course last year with no training or even a clue to the path. I pushed through and with determination, made it to the finish line. I didn't enjoy it. I was proud of myself for showing up and doing it but fun, yeah, that was not on the list.

This year I was determined to do things differently. I had a time in mind and had set a soft achievement point (my word for goal as it sounds so much more friendly.) of consistency and less than 13 minute miles. That was all well and good but my main point was to have fun doing it. I was going to remember my breathing and I was going to laugh at the cows who moo'd their pride at our achievements. I was going to smell the leaves that had begun to fall and I was going to honor those that have tried to run through their challenges with mental illness. Sensitive souls who maybe Earth isn't their favorite home!

I was intending to have a joyful experience and I did! Did it hurt at times, you betcha. Was it a sweaty, not really attractive process, oh yeah but that is the fun part too. Learning to accept that life has these moments allows all of the challenges to be joyful in some respect. While I jokingly grumbled about the hills, I was validating to myself that no matter what comes up in my life, I will be able to climb it, run it, roll down it and land in the finish line and I will be smiling as I do it. Not in a fake, cheese it up way, but in a "hell yes I just did that" way.

One of the gifts we have available to us is how we see a situation. I am no Pollyanna, but I just don't get why you would want to focus on what is the hard part of things. So often I hear people say, but he hurt me, or she lied or that boss is a jerk. So? That's their story. What is yours? Where are you going to put your attention? To the things that didn't go well or to the things that did?

One other 5k I did there was an ambulance driver right on my butt. Yes, I was the last person in line. Yes, I was lapped by a seventy something year old who was late starting because he was in the bathroom and yes, that course had hills too. We are in the Berkshires after all. The ambulance pulls up next to me during one of my walk times and the driver says "you are doing exactly zero miles an hour." My first thought was, yeah buddy, on my feet, you are on your choochieboomie doing zero, but I caught myself because I wanted my run to be inspiring to me so I said, "YES I AM!" and turned to face the way I was heading and kept on going. They rode behind me the whole way. The fumes were impressive. I learned a lot that day because it took all I had to talk myself to the finish in a joyous way. I literally re-patterned my thinking along the route which was good because it made me forget about some of those hills and the driver!

I could have let his attitude and judgment bother me but I decided that day that even if I was the last one in, I wasn't, but if I was, I was going to be stinking proud of myself for deciding to be in life in a joyous way. Really, what is the point if you aren't going to do that. What is the point if you are going to allow others limited thinking bother you?

We are all entered into races in our lives. We do them at our pace and we do them to best of our ability, I really believe that. I also believe that our ability can increase and we need to do all we can to get to the loving life place and be contagious about it when we get there! Some race days will be tougher than others, but if you are dressed and ready to go, how you run it is determined by you and no one else.

I wish you all the fun of cows and hills and those oh so sexy headbands to keep the sweat out of your eyes on your journey!

Perhaps a 10k is next......

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

This last week has been very light filled for me. I started it with Lasik surgery, THAT is very bright, did fifteen sessions and finished it with a retreat of amazing women who were all very bright lights in their own beings. I had a thought while we were in meditation during the retreat that we all have this light within us and often turn it down to not blind others and in doing so get a little light constipated. Yes, this is the brilliance you can have too if you meditate. It's been said that everything in life comes back to poo, I'm starting to believe that it's true, even meditation!

We all have a light body, it is the essence that is our very soul. It is always present, yet often people are hesitant to show it. Perhaps it is because they are just unaware they have a light body to utilize. I feel like one of my roles here on this Earth is to bring that awareness to everyone, helping them realize that they do indeed have a beautiful light within and once it shines out, begins to demonstrate what the real purpose of being here is, love.

The vibration of love is different for everyone and I do believe is without explanation. It is something that just is. We can try to describe it with all of the cards, songs, poems, graffiti written on city walls, and still never really come up with words to eloquently describe it. How do you describe something that is so light filled and resonates at such a level, that it can take your breath away?

This vibration comes in many different frequencies. The light that is love can be the love for self, a partner, a pet, humanity as a whole, or an interest that comes from your very soul. It is as different as each of us are. Each refraction of the light that we have inside of us is a mirror of the love and the potential that we have to shine outside of us. How many lights do you have? Do you know? Do you allow yourself to feel that light and love for whatever it is you are witnessing?

Sometimes this isn't easy. I know I have held myself back for many decades because the depth of the feeling that is there can be overwhelming at times. I have learned to shift that overwhelming to a gratitude. Yes, it may still catch me off guard, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm just discovering how many lights I possess. And let me tell you, it is fun!

Today when I stopped by to see my grandchildren, Gavin asked me to wait while he ran inside because he had something to show me. Now he didn't know I was writing this blog, nor would he have cared if he did know. Gavin is his own man. He lives to impress no one. After all he is five! What does he come out with? What was so important that he showed me, was a light sword. The sword was impressive on it's own. But then he touched the button and it became lit up with this wonderful green color. As the sword lit up, so did Gavin. He was so proud of it and as an extension he was allowing his light to beam everywhere. It was truly wonderful to see. Perhaps because I was willing to wait to see the light he had inside the home, I was gifted to see the light he had within. He also gave me a fist bump.

Do you have a magic sword? Do you need to find yourself a magic sword? What if this week you took the time to see how many different lights you have in your life? What if you gave yourself the gift to see your light and then you allowed that light to shine from within, blasted from your heart center out around you?  Imagine how wonderful that would feel.

Gavin didn't need to be taught how to shine his light today. He didn't need me to point it out. He knew on some level that if he connected with what his heart found joy in, he could shine his light brilliantly. I'm simply suggesting if a five-year-old is brave enough, aren't you?

I know I'm going to follow his example, take inventory and appreciate every light beam that I am privileged to have shown to me this weekend. Another benefit to this is as soon as you start to see the brightness around you, more brightness shows up. Is that cool?

I wish you a week of discovery, light, love and all the lights swords you can muster up.

Living brilliantly, 

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

Today's blog is short and sweet!  As many of you may know, I had LASIK surgery recently and I am being mindful not to over use my eyes so quickly after the procedure.  

Today's daily affirmation from my Hay House calendar "reminded" me how important it is to respect and protect our bodies.  I am taking this time to allow my body to heal.  What does your body need?  What is it telling you?  Are you listening?  If not, why not?  I enjoy helping others explore just such questions!

Here is to "seeing" you soon!

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

One of the things I find fascinating about people is their tendency to believe that their power or happiness comes from another. I'll admit this took me a long time to learn but I am so grateful to whatever cosmic two by four that allowed it to sink into my gray matter.

I hear almost daily about how someone else has ruined my client's life. How someone else has betrayed them either through infidelity, business dealings, the other persons own emotional baggage, or that they've changed seemingly without notice.  I am sure there are a bunch more reasons that someone would feel betrayed but I wonder if it truly is betrayal.

Perhaps, it isn't betrayal but rather the other person needing to do what is best for them or what they feel, in that moment, is best for them. Granted not everyone acts in an upfront manner, so occasionally this could look like it was devious behavior.  For example, when a relationship is not in alignment with one member and rather than having a conversation with the other member they start seeing someone else. While this looks like a classic case of betrayal, I believe it is the first person's inability to communicate what they really want that has them acting out in the first place.

I had a recent experience where I had to grapple with this one myself. A former friend stop communication very abruptly and while I am not one to chase another relationship, I still had to wonder had I done anything? What was my part in the lack of communication? Should I reach out and ask is there anything that can be done? Or do I leave it alone and be thankful for the great conversations we've had and learn from this experience as once again, I am not in charge of everyone else.

Go ahead, guess which one I did?

You're correct if you said leave it alone and be thankful. I won't deny the fact that I felt hurt. I know I'm responsible for those emotions if I feel hurt. No one else can hurt my feelings. That one is on me. Besides, it wasn't the person that I was hurt about it was the abrupt end to communication. I took the opportunity to look at my relationships and what I bring to them. I know above all I am honest in my interactions with people. If someone is not getting something from a relationship with me, I feel it is their responsibility to speak up. After all, I don't read minds.

I could call it betrayal and the other person was being disloyal to me, but that would keep me trapped in the poor me place and I only allow that in small increments of five minutes tops! In the above case, I know that it has to do with the others that are in my friend's life. I honor that, respect it, and I'm grateful for everything I learned as it was not a long relationship, but it was fun while it lasted.

Another meaning of the word betrayal is to reveal or exhibit. Perhaps the persons in our lives we feel are being disloyal are really showing us what they are capable of when in a relationship? What if, this person who was in my life was really showing me what opportunistic looks like and to be aware of that in the future. What a great teacher wouldn't you agree? Great teachers don't always know they are teachers so please be aware you are ALWAYS a student.

Perhaps if you experience this in your life, you will take the time to ask yourself "what is there for me to learn?" If you are the one that is revealing to others, be willing to look at that as well and learn to communicate what you would like rather than waiting until your behavior reveals itself.

I wish you a life of easy lessons but if they aren't, please pay attention so you can shorten the time frame!

Blessings,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

I have seen people in some of the most vulnerable places in their lives. They are hurting and seeking the miracle cure for the pain. This is sometimes physical, but most often it is emotional. To me, they are one and the same. When the emotional self is hurting, the body tends to follow suit very quickly. There is an energy pattern that shows up as a small vibration and if the situation is not addressed and released, it becomes a physical manifestation. Louise Hay wrote the pioneer book on this in her, You Can Heal Your Life. I love this book and have given dozens of copies away when someone is experiencing a diagnosis and interested in shifting the energy.

My first inclination used to be to solve the situation for them. I have come to realize that is not possible, nor is it helpful to them. My role is to point out the discord and hopefully, help bring things into alignment so healing can happen on all levels be it emotional, physical, spiritual or mental. We all have the ability to solve our own pain. First, we have to be willing to see we are not the pain. Yes, we may be experiencing a message from our brains that there is pain, but we are not the pain. If we can become the observer of that pain, we can then take the next step in relieving it. Of course, if something is bleeding, get medical help!

People close to me used to say I was not feeling or didn't care when someone was in pain when the opposite is true. I was feeling it at levels often deeper than the person themselves were, I just was not the one who could make the decision to do anything about it. We can't change someone else and we can't heal someone else. We can be the bringer of information and we can be the hugger, but the healing is up to the person themselves. This takes an incredible amount of strength to stand back and allow the other to find their direction and their own clarity. Do you have that strength? Are you developing it? I recommend a lot of deep breaths and reminders that it is their path to help you learn to observe.

I decided a few years back that I wasn't going to be afraid of pain any longer. I was going to be inquisitive and I was going to delve into what was hurting so I could release it and be lighter, in energy and body. Most often it is a story anyway, and not the truth at the time, but rather something we have learned to carry around. Even asking what is the pain here to teach me, can relieve it a bit.

How often have you looked at your own stuff through a filter or fingers over your eyes? I know I have and still do on occasion. This isn't about being perfect and without pain. This is about recognizing I can make a choice about the level of pain I am experiencing. Knowledge is power and the more I know about me, with all my nooks and crannies, the better life I will create.

Do you want a better life? Would you like to be able to face whatever comes up in your internal closet and decide whether to keep it, donate or chuck it in the garbage? I'll be posting classes to help you on this journey and to build that tool kit soon. In the meantime, start observing the space that separates you from the pain. Become conscious that there is even a space to be had. No, it isn't easy, but it is so worth the effort.

Learning this life thing a bit at at time,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

This last weekend I felt pushed to challenge myself physically and boy did I.  Not all intentionally either. I had a full weekend planned. On Saturday I had a time set to run the course for the 5k for Gould Farm, a path I refer to as Mt Everest. If you are looking for a challenging course, this is your best bet in Berkshire County. If you don't want to walk/run it, I will gladly accept support for the organization. I did it last year as my first 5k, so you can too!

Saturday evening I met with friends to see Josh Groban in concert. Trust me, go if you can. It was so good and filled the well of energy. Sunday I said to Donna, hey, I'm going to go for a hike with Tank, do you want to go. Silly woman that she is, she said yes. Donna is crazily up for most anything I suggest including being the administrative awesomeness behind my business.

So, we take a trail she has done, albeit, years ago and one I had never done. We did fantastic for the first mile that was steep but certainly manageable. Then we decided to head back to the car as really, we had done a tough course the day before. Yeah, that's where the fun comes in. We lost the trail markers. We did end up in someone's back yard but this gal didn't want to trespass. Again, Donna was up for backtracking. I don't know, but I am thinking someone should check her mental status about agreeing with me so often. This should confirm it...we decided to just cut across the forest to meet up with the original trail. Now, we are intelligent women, you would think one of us would say, nah, let's go back the way we came and see where we messed up. But, we didn't. Tank didn't say anything either.

Nope, we went the hard way. Sound familiar in your own life? Do you take the long way around? Do you create the mountain out of the proverbial mole hill? We did. We ended up climbing down, then up, then straight up in the air. The dog literally jumped vertically on some of the places. It was impressive and terrifying. Not only to us, but to the gentleman who was smart enough to stay on the trail when he saw two crazy ladies coming up the side of the mountain with a barking dog. His face was priceless. We did make it to the trail and calmly walked out of the trial head. We figured that after that process, Gould was nothing. ha! It's all about perspective.

The next day I had off and decided a bike ride would be great. The weather was perfect and I hadn't been all week. I went to the trail because texting drivers scare me. I won't lie, the first few miles HURT. Holy hip flexors. Climbing had used muscles I've used in the gym but not in life and boy were they letting me know I was using them. As usual, after some use it got easier. So easy that at mile nine I thought, this is easy I can keep going, even knowing I had to peddle the whole way back. I was going to do the whole trail. Why not? I climbed a mountain yesterday. A small one, but I did it. Imagine my surprise that when I got to mile eleven and turned around (bless the people who volunteer on a holiday to have a visitor center and their bathrooms open!) to realize mile nine was so easy because it was DOWN HILL! So if you are going back, you have to go UP HILL! What is wrong with my head is what I was asking myself at the time. "Why do you have to push the envelope? Why take the hard way Vicki? I'll be damned if I am pushing this bike up a hill. I am riding it. Then some part of my head said, stop fighting Vic, just enjoy the ride. No testing, no timing, no competition, just ride and enjoy it."   So I did.

It got easier. I joked with the people on the trail about where did these hills come from? Could I get a lift up to the top? The more I smiled at others, the easier it got. Drop the resistance and time passes pretty quickly. Pretty soon I was at mile 21.9. Somewhere is that extra tenth of a mile and it's ok, I'll find it another day. I did six miles more than I ever had and I learned to let go somewhere along mile thirteen. I found ease in the process and an enjoyment of accomplishment. (And numb buns, but that is a post for another day.)

I don't tell you this to say look at me and what I did. I am telling you because today I met with someone that showed me that mountains and challenges come in different packages. I had met him before and had certainly been aware of his process but didn't realize the level of courage his mountain was taking him through. He is experiencing the diagnosis of cancer and is the epitome of strength. I felt compelled to help in some way and he was silly enough to be willing to have an energy session with me. During this session I came to realize that he was giving me the gift of a lifetime. He was showing me what we really are here for. We are here to love our crazy families. We are here to squeeze as much joy out of this life as we can and we are here to show those mountains and miles, when we take them bit by bit, it is all manageable and even surmountable.

He would say he is just doing what he has to do, I am sure. This is his mountain and he is smart enough to stay on a trail that is marked. We all have mountains and challenges. Each person has their perception of what is difficult. We can't ever really know what someone is climbing unless we are willing to ask and offer assistance. In offering, we are given a gift of awareness that perhaps our mountains aren't all that high but rather we are making them seem that way. I realize it is all relative, after all, I chose my mountains this weekend, but they seem much smaller now. I'm proud of my climb and humbled by the guy who trusted me to run some energy through his system to perhaps give him a power pack over the next hump.

Look at what you consider a challenge in your life and see if you aren't able to lessen the perception of the climb. Take it one step at a time. Look for markers and if there aren't any, forge a path. Just don't scare the guy on the trail!

See you on the trail!

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com