I have heard from so many people asking how do they handle the energy and circumstances of life lately. I have waited and thought about whether to respond in a public way and then decided that I have to or I would be doing a disservice since so many are asking.

 I am asking. I have asked myself what the heck is going on on an almost daily basis. It normally takes A LOT for me to be upset, cranky or mad but these last couple of weeks I have felt like I needed to be the groundhog and go back under to protect those around me from what could be a fascinating spew of words. Perhaps you have felt this way too.

No doubt we are being asked to practice the skills we have in place and to develop even more of them. Mostly patience, tolerance and love, I believe. While I can not say to the whole reason we have conflict or challenges in our lives, I do know for a fact they are there as a way to help us rise up and see what we care capable of. Not everyone is going to take that challenge as one of growth. They may react rather than respond. They may lash out and accuse and they may show a side of themselves you have never seen before. Maybe you are that person. Maybe you are seeing aspects of yourself you haven't realized were there. Maybe you don't like it. Fantastic! We can only change when we realize there is something there to be changed!

I am not only referring to the political landscape, because I will NOT get into that, but the energy of the universe and the request that we, as humans, need to keep growing and asking more of ourselves. That is the process of the soul and there is no getting around it. Each being is sending out a signal of growth and while they may not like it, or want to respond to it, it happens. It makes people downright miserable sometimes.

What I can suggest in this experience is to remind yourself that you are not responsible for how someone else acts, behaves or speaks. You are responsible for you and how you are in the world. The world is going to change. It is not always going to be of your liking. It is not the worlds job to make sure you are ok with it. It just isn't. Get over that if that is your thinking.

 Our response to the world and the actions of it's people IS up to us. Holding any kind of fear, hate, resentment or accusatory energy will effect the world sure, but it will completely effect your life first. When we hold this energy it not only changes the cells within our body, it emanates and then creates more conflict in the world. We all get mad. I think that is great. Emotions matter. What we do with the emotions may matter even more because it then becomes the example of who we are.

How many times have you lashed out in anger or in hurt and then thought about it after and realized that is NOT who you are but how you were feeling at the time? If you do it a lot; you need to look within and get clear on why this is who you want to be and if there is anything you can do about it.

I have a theory that people who are lashing out are doing so because they are mad about who they are inside. Remember, each person is the only one who really knows what is going on inside and can speak with authority on themselves. So often unresolved issues are just below the surface ready to come out but we are afraid to look at it or ask ourselves what the heck we are doing. Then when someone cuts us off in traffic, disagrees with who we like or what we believe, the match is lit and the powder keg goes off. It is so much easier to point the finger out and not realize there are three pointing back at oneself. So much easier to say, they are wrong, or dumb or misinformed than to say, wait a minute; maybe that is my sh*t.

There are going to be issues in life. There are going to be problems and disappointments. There are going to be arguments and there are going to be people you don't like. That is fine. That is life. How you respond to these circumstances are a good indication of how peaceful you feel on the inside. The problems aren't the issue. The way they get addressed are.

Feel passionate about your life. Feel what is in alignment and what isn't. Feel how you would like your life to be and who you would like in it. But for goodness sake, do not think for a moment that it is miserable because of someone else's doing. If it is miserable, realize that and do something to change it. Once you get that, and really get it, then step forward and create change. Then use your voice to communicate how life could be different. Then educate.

So many people are yelling at the top of their lungs lately that they can't even hear the voice within. I get being ticked off. I understand frustration and anger. I do not understand being mean to another and I certainly do not understand how when we all have a soul and heart we can't be accepting of
ourselves and others.

Yes, the energy is freaking nuts right now. Yes, people are not happy with their lives (please see above on what to do about that) and yes, it is still winter in many places (I'd like to point out that it IS February. Of course it's winter!) but external circumstances only effect your life if you let them. Get clear on what you are really upset about and then address that. I promise you, when you do that, the ups and down in energy will be something you realize is there, but not something that takes you out of enjoying the beautiful life we are blessed to have on this planet.

I heard a quote today on a podcast I was listening to with Dr. Jordan Metzi. He said "if you aren't actively building it; you are losing it." While he was talking about supportive muscle fibers, I heard it as a more internal process of if we aren't practicing self care, kindness, love or acceptance, we are going to lose it. I believe in our ability to create a world where these muscles get flexed on a regular basis. I believe in our hearts and souls and I believe in you.

Be the change you wish to see in the world is not only a quote often used in the spiritual world; it is a credo we can all aspire to.

Be that change, please.

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

People are amazing. The expressions of caring I have received over the last four months has been beyond my comprehension at times. I am truly blessed by the relationships I have cultivated even when I wasn't aware I was doing it.

Someone, well-meaning I am sure, said to me "It must be so hard to go through this and be upright every day."  Maybe my matter of fact energy was working overtime that day or I was simply tired of the sympathetic responses, but I came back with "No, not really. This is life and life is different now, but that is part of the discovery, isn't it?"

I appreciated her concern but if you've ever gone through an experience where people have to process their own emotions, i.e. someone passing, job loss, diagnosis, house on fire, dog died, etc., you know how tiring it can be to process that over and over again with the people in your life. Sympathy, to me, always comes from someone working through their stuff and usually has an "oh, that's so sad, heartbreaking, troubling, etc.", whereas empathy comes from "Hey, I've been there, I understand and I support your process."

This is life people. Change happens; every day. Get used to it and stop taking it so personally. See the adventure in it and what you could discover about yourself and how you handle change. That is a good indication of where your emotional health is. Go to sympathy or anger with news and you may have a lot of self-work to do, also called discovery.  If you are able to be in empathy and realize whatever is going on isn't happening to you but you can help and support if you want to, good for you.

If it is happening to you, pay attention to how you walk through the experience. All emotions are valid but we have a choice of how long we remain in each.

This part of my life is hard, it is very freaking hard, but being reminded it MUST be hard does not help. My choice is to recognize it is, and to honor those feelings, then move on because....this is life. Perhaps I have said that before.

Guess what else is changing? The year. We are heading into 2016 where as I have stated before, it is a time to fly. Whatever flight means to you, at whatever height, and whatever speed. Let's stop comparing ourselves to others this year as well. Wouldn't that be refreshing?  Wouldn't it be nice to be you in whatever form that is and appreciate yourself for it? If there is one thing I have learned emphatically this year it is that there is no time for the pretending to be other than who I am. I choose to be me and see how high I can fly.

Care to join me?

Up, up and away,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

This week was get those corporate taxes in people, week. I am so grateful to my accountant (the amazing Barry Clairmont) for the sense of ease I have around my yearly taxes. For some this can be a really stressful time but if you surround yourself with the best, it takes the pressure off. I don't have to know all the ins and outs, I simply have to do my part and make sure I am documenting my income and expenses and pay my taxes like the responsible business owner I am.

As I was walking back from my appointment yesterday I thought, wow, I am really proud of myself. I managed to create a year of profit in my business (still not sure why it isn't in my savings account but that is a class for another day I guess.), pull a paycheck (woo hoo), become certified in a wonderful technique, while continuing to pay off the store and finding some sort of balance within myself physically and emotionally. Dude! That's a lot!

I am patting myself on the back. I am doing that because I don't think we do it enough. Oh, we will brag about what we have acquired and what new technology we are using but not about what we've learned about ourselves. Why is that? Fear? Vulnerability? Not sure what you would speak about? How about the shear resiliency we have as beings? When I look back at the last few decades of my life I think, how the hell did I make it through that without losing my marbles? I don't ask that in a woe is me way, I ask it in a wow, that's amazing way. It is also a way to support myself as I move through the inevitable changes that will happen this year.

One thing is for certain for all of us, change will happen. How you respond to that change determines if you enjoy the process or if you get all twisted up in it. One of my favorite sayings is change is inevitable, struggle is an option. I opt not to struggle. Sometimes this may look like I am not engaging or that I am allowing others to have their way but who cares? Ultimately how great my life is is determined by how I feel while in the life and am I really going to benefit by getting upset about how someone else is acting or living their life?

How resilient are you? Do you bounce back wash after wash? Do you move forward with each challenge or do you sit in your issues and allow them to absorb into your tissues? Being resilient isn't about looking for drama or challenges. It is about realizing you can depend on you and in many ways, you rock!

What have you done lately that you can use as an anchor to affirm to yourself that you do rock? All actions that are supportive count. Be willing to pat yourself on the back. Most of us are not going to get a head so big it won't fit through the door. A little belief in self goes a long way. If you have a hard time with this, call me, I will help.

So, as you see the shoots of grass coming up this year or the flowers pushing through the winters edge to bring spring around or the summer turning to winter if you are in another hemisphere than I, acknowledge that resilience too. It is a reminder of what you have inside too.

Springing forward into this life of mine,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

I have heard some self help educators refer to humans as onions. We learn and then there is another layer or depth to the lesson in which we must learn some more. Oh good grief. Onions make me cry, why would I want to be compared to an onion? Why, when there are so many good vegetables out there, would I pick one, that admittedly I love to eat, as the metaphor to inspire me to grow? It doesn't. They smell. I don't want to smell.  I feel this is another way to make sure we feel crappy about self awareness and to take the joy out of discovery of what makes us complex, amazing human beings.

What if we go with the pomegranate instead? Have you had them? They are amazing little fruits. A beautiful color, fascinating design and producer of so many delicious seeds. I like that they are a little complex themselves. Without a YouTube video or culinary school training, how the heck do you get to those seeds? Well, you have to want to first of all. If you don't want to do the work to get the seeds out, you will probably leave them in the bin and go for the ready to eat apple. This is more like life than the onion, I believe. If one doesn't want to know what they have inside, they will continue to take the seemingly easier road until such time that they become bored or have an experience that knocks them on the head to pay attention. Hello....Sir Isaac Newton is a great example of this!

The pomegranate can be peeled, sectioned or cut and placed in a bowl of water to get to those seeds of yumminess. It isn't a one size fits all fruit, just like people. We all have a different experience that helps us be who we are today so one way of looking at a situation is not going to work for everyone. Who knew fruit was so smart?

Do you ever feel like you are constantly working on yourself but don't feel like you get anywhere? Peeling back those layers that the onion metaphor refers to? There have been times where I will become aware of a discord in my system and feel it to be familiar, like something I have worked on over and over and over again. I want to smack myself in the head when this happens, I don't, but I want to. Seeing it show up when you thought you learned whatever it was can be frustrating or it can be liberating. It can be painful and make you cry sad tears or it can be so beautiful and full of wonder, it has you crying happy, relief filled tears. I believe if we are willing to look inside the shell of our own fruit filled selves, we would be amazed at what a beautiful pattern is there.

As part of my certification with Belief Re-patterning, I have to use the technique in my own life and when necessary connect with those that are qualified as well to do additional sessions. It is important to know how it feels to do re-patterning and it is important to me to keep growing. Plus, this stuff works!

This week I ran into a familiar block and I was ready to thump myself on the head! Luckily, I had a session scheduled with the woman who created the technique and she, with humor, helped me realize I could continue to feel the old way or I could shift it and feel free of old patterns and create a new one. Guess which one I chose? Correct! Let's live life from the supportive side of the line shall we?

I could have lamented about how I was seeing this pattern again in my life or I could choose to be complete and not be interested in creating yet another story around how it must be part of my journey to suffer this again in Onion world. I don't know about you but I would rather onions adorn my burger than my psyche!

My point in all of this is if you would like to change the patterns in your life and reduce the thumping of yourself on the head, there are ways to do it if you are willing. If you are open to reducing the struggle,you can give yourself permission to take the fruit that may require a bit of work upfront and yield the largest benefit.

I will be doing a complimentary Belief Re-patterning event on Wednesday, February 18th at my office if you are interested in seeing it in action.

Whatever you choose to help you get off the treadmill of repetitive patterns is great. You deserve to feel like you have a supportive self that can plant the seeds of growth. You deserve it because you are a soul that came here to learn through love and support. How cool is that? Let's leave the layers of suffering to the past and move through this year with courage, fun and new patterns, shall we?

Off to get some seeds of my own,

Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

Energy, Energy, it is all Energy and boy is it flying lately!

 

Isn't it? Are you feeling like something wound you up and is creating havoc in your electrical field? Are you crankier than usual, yet hopeful at the same time? Yup, we call that energy and I call it an energy upgrade. So, hang on to your shorts, or long pants and rain coat, if you are in the Northeast, as it is getting better and better and better.

 

I waited until today to mention this as I wanted people to not wind it up any further. It is all about me you know and the energy I perceive. HA!  So, the really cool thing about June 10th, besides my niece's birthday, is it is an opening or energy boost. We have these several times a year and they are getting closer and closer together. You can feel the momentum building if you are willing to step out of the perception that it is all about you. :) It will last for another few days and then balance out at this higher frequency. Cool huh?

 

Whenever there is an energy surge or opening, it amplifies what we are already looking at or working through, BUT, it also helps us to move forward. It is up to us if we use the energy in our greatest interest or if we use it to go further into our stuff. It is always a choice how we respond. We all have old tapes in our heads and they can be quite effective but eventually realizing the technology has moved us to digital and a faster medium is amazing and very freeing.

 

This energy is also bringing a great deal of change to people's lives. There are houses selling galore, people moving, businesses changing, relationships moving to new levels, getting clean, spiritual changes to the max and an amazing amount of letting go happening. GO YOU!

 

Take these next few days to be especially aware of your words and your mood. If it isn't forward moving or positive, please don't share it. If you have a hard time getting to a higher vibration of energy, take a walk, look at nature and it's amazing ability to be flexible and malleable. The energy will be intense for the next two days especially but your words will live on beyond that and so will anything you create in this time.

 

Also take these few days to really get clear about what you would like in life, or maybe your are like myself and would like to create a life! Get creative, get moving and allow the gift of possibility to be in your life.

 

With you on the roller coaster of energy life with my hands high in the air,

Vicki

 



Ever have one of those experiences presented to you that you KNOW is in your best interest but your gut tells you that it is going to be BIG and maybe a little scary to show up to? Kind of like a root canal or committing to a degree program, yeah that is what this week had felt like to me so far. Actually the degree program would probably be less stressful and I would get to buy school supplies, who doesn't love that?

A couple of months ago I had agreed to speak at an event where I would be challenged to encourage change, teamwork and a can do attitude. I thought, oh that's easy, I can do that, I do that every day in my work and LOVE it. So I readily agreed. Did I mention that this would be at the place where I had spent a lot of time and did a ton of growing, not always in a loving way and sometimes in a contortionist ouch that hurts way? No? Well, yes it was. I still thought, oh good, full circle, this is good too Vicki, just do it, kind of like Nike!  Get in there, do your talk, we all know I can talk, and be grateful for the experience. So I did.

Let me preface this by saying I am VERY grateful for the experience and truly believe in the place still. So, here come the hard part...IT WAS HARD! It was difficult to go in and not be a part of the organization but as my former favorite roommate at this place would say, the red headed step child. I never really got that statement until this week. I have had times, like all of us, where I didn't feel like I fit and most of the time I can just roll with it and ask what am I supposed to learn here and be done with it, yeah, a little harder here. It was harder because the rules had changed. I wasn't an employee, I was the hired help (well, technically the not hired help as I waived my fee because if you are going to be in pain, you may as well do it for free, right? Oy.). I was the one that was questioned when I first got there what service could I possibly provide (yes, this was said out loud to me and not an ego thing, although it could become one if I let it, I didn't.) and they hoped my talk was interesting. No pressure right?

So, long story short, I did my talk and I didn't like it. You know why I didn't like what I said, which was the same things I had written out and loved? I didn't like it because I bailed on me. I conformed to what they wanted. I gave the talk some did not want to hear, as was evident by some hand gestures in the audience. Here is a clue to those of you attending talks, WE CAN SEE YOU doing those faces and gestures and I can only assume the subject made them uncomfortable and send compassion. Later I could have a melt down but in front of people, no way.

I allowed a situation to dictate who I was and pull me out of the alignment I work so hard to maintain. I allowed someone to say to me, it is ok you are an intuitive but don't use any of that here. Deja vu I gotta tell ya, daja vu. So in that very moment when I was driving away from the venue I made a commitment to myself that I would only do events that were in alignment with who and what I am and the others can hire those that will give speeches that align with their desire to repeat past patterns. I was not the chick for the job. That was so clarifying and freeing because if I'm not me, no one else will be so I gotta rock this intuitive Vicki thing.

The reason I share this besides the fact I am an open book, is that you may have had similar situations and not known what to do with the emotions or the reactions that come up. Well, you look at them, you examine your part and you let it go if someone else doesn't like what you have to say. You show up for YOU and you embrace all your wonderful qualities and allow those that want to point fingers to do so, but don't agree to be on the firing range.

As the quote says, your vision will become clear when you look inside of you. I'm here to ask you to do that BEFORE you walk into a situation no matter how much you want to believe people change and are accepting. Some just aren't, bottom line. How you feel about you is the most important and perceptions of others, well, they just aren't that important. Should you find yourself in the situation, don't panic, just take a breathe and line back up with what you know to be true.

I will take this experience and still be grateful for it for I truly believe there is a message in any situation. Then I will be thankful to myself that I have been willing to change and am excited for any opportunity that can help me do it some more. I know I will be less likely to do the contortionist thing again because I will see it so much quicker next time. The beauty of life experience.

Here is to learning how to navigate this spiritual experience in a human body one glorious lesson at a time.

Viewing life with just a little bit more awe,
Vicki

www.vickibaird.com

Change really is a good thing. It doesn't always feel that way when you are right in the middle of it but one of the gifts of life is that there is always change. The secret is getting good with it and realizing if it is always going to be there, it may be in your best interest to embrace it.

Now, you can embrace it with the wimpy hug some people give, you can go in with gusto and squeeze the stuffing out of it, or you can greet it like a dear friend, a good squeeze with an honest to goodness happy to see you feel.

I choose the last one for the most part. I feel that if nothing is stagnant then I better be good at going with the flow and recognizing what is in front of me so I can use it to my best interest. I have learned over the years that if I go in wimpy, I freak myself out. I will over analyze, I will be in my head way too much and I will inevitably create an outcome that I really don't want. It is best to see it as an opportunity to grow and to assess where it is I still require some patience.

Recently, I decided if my business was going to grow in the direction I would like it to, I had to start making some decisions and changing how I do business. Basically, it had to grow up. It had to become a business with an intention of moving forward and it needed me to be decisive and not so go with the flow. So there is constantly tweaking in this change process I am realizing for myself.

I also had to stop worrying about how others would be when my business changes and instead be the example of that loving change with grace and humor. My current task is in hiring an assistant. Someone who could be independent in their thinking but get that when I say there is a deadline on something, I'm not kidding and I'm probably not going to hug you when it isn't met. Someone who loved what they do as much as I love what I do and would be willing to grow as my business grows. People say they want to but a lot of the time that is a platitude they are offering because they think that is what I want to hear rather than what they really want.

So, this time the change is being methodical, business oriented and clear about what I am expecting and not being willing to settle because the person is a good soul and just needs a chance. This has been my pattern in the past and it doesn't work, does it? Have you ever giving someone a job, or hung out with them or kept them in your circle because they were a good person but you didn't really align with them? I realized how condescending that was the other day. Like I was the only one that could help them? Please. They have to help themselves and want to and no amount of me wanting them to is going to get anyone anywhere.....and often the job didn't get completed so there was the universe with my cosmic 2x4 telling me, Vicki, seriously, do you want someone to do a job or do you want to offer a safe haven. Ummmmm, option number one please!

I bring this up because often our change involves others around us and the tendency is to hold back on our expectations for desires for a fantastic life while we wait for others to join us. This waiting can lead to frustration, resentment or a really nasty attitude and then who wants to hang with a person like that..except others that know you are really a good soul and they are waiting for you to show up....what a cycle we get into.

I know the person I end up working with will be a good soul, because we all are inherently, but I also know that because I looked at an old pattern and decided to change it that we will match well and not only be productive, but FUN!

Where is there a place in your life that requires some change? What could use a little cleaning up, changing up, fluffing up to where you feel like you have seen change, met change and been excited about it? If you feel some resistance to change chances are you have already grown past it and just don't want to admit it. We have a class this weekend that would help with that...if you are ready for some change.

Take one small step today to address the area you feel could use some change and then celebrate yourself for taking action. It really will feel good to do something about it instead of sitting in the what ifs of it all. THEN you can start creating the life you really want to have.

So, as I sit on my couch typing this is occurs to me I will want to have something written up as I meet with all of the applicants to remind me that I've changed....and it is for the better. :)

Viewing life with new eyes and intention,
Vicki