wisdom

Finding that Meaningful Life

Posted by Barbara Techel

Finding that Meaningful Life

I think it takes courage to live a life that feels meaningful. To not live the status quo, but to live from that inner space within that yearns to trust that inner voice, while at the same time not knowing what that may really look like as we try to move toward it and what we believe it is that will bring us joy.

I feel like I’ve been down this road hundreds of times – and no doubt it will surface time and again as I grow and evolve. Though I am much stronger in my convictions which feels liberating. But isn’t this what being human is all about?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my almost 54 years is that happiness isn’t outside of us, though it can feel like an uphill battle because it is what is in front of us constantly in TV, ads, etc. if we allow it to be.

So when I hear of a breakthrough from someone who I’ve shared the SoulCollage® process with that I facilitate in my studio and online, my heart overflows with ecstatic happiness. To know another person on this planet is learning to accept who they are – well – it is very rewarding. 

Kathryn, who is part of my online SoulCollage® True Essence class is a beautiful example of taking the steps necessary to move toward living a meaningful life. I was so touched by a recent posting she did on our private Facebook group that I asked her if I could share it with you. She graciously agreed. Thank you, Kathryn.

This is a recent SoulCollage® card she created for her altar: 

Kathryn wrote, “It (the card) was created intentionally, the image of the woman had a quote by it and the woman said that she loves who she is just the way she is. The locusts represent my fear of bees and wasps. This is the first summer in many years where I no longer feel afraid of getting stung. The card is about being proud of who I am today, stepping into my power and releasing fears that no longer serve me.”

Kathryn’s insight for herself not only no doubt freed her in many ways and brought deep meaning to her life, but in sharing with the group, she made my life (and likely others in the group) feel even more meaningful. 

Finding a meaningful life takes work and is truly an inside job. And why I continue to do my own inner work too so that I can support others on their path to a meaningful life. This summer I’ve devoting myself to a 22-week online course to help me grow in who I am and expand my workshops online which began this past Monday.

Because truly, it’s moments like this that Kathryn shared with me that are food for my soul – me as facilitator guiding others toward deeper meaning for their lives, in-turn makes for a meaningful life for me. Win-win not only for me and participant, but a big win for the planet!

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If you’d like to learn more about the SoulCollage® True Essence online course details are here.

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Intuitive Guiding Messages

Posted by Barbara Techel
Intuitive Guiding Images
My 2017 SoulCollage card

Last year I was introduced to using twelve images, picked at random, from twelve different magazines to intuitively help create my New Year.

Initially, I was intimidated. While I enjoyed going through the meditation process for each month that led me to choosing twelve different images, when it came time to get all those images onto one 5 x 8 card fear set in. I thought there was no way I’d be able to do it.

In the “normal” process of doing SoulCollage(r) we work with an average of 2-5 images per card. I say “normal” as there is no right or wrong way to do this process, just helpful hints and suggestions. But twelve images on a card? That really did seem impossible.

But I’m happy to report I did it!!…and was quite pleased and ecstatic that I did.

Well, then I was hooked, and repeated the process again this year, which I then also facilitated a workshop at my Joyful Pause studio this past Saturday on this very process which I learned from SoulCollage(r) facilitator, Andrea Thuler who lives in Switzerland.

Above is my card I put together for 2017, which I did a few days before I taught it to seven other wise and wonderful ladies. I have to be honest and humble here…I am in love with my card!  I look at it and I can hear and see my soul with clarity, which is such a beautiful thing.

It speaks to me of my uniqueness in who I am, how I want to continue to dance more fully into who I am, how I find strength and courage from my rituals of meditation, yoga, and listening to my inner voice, how I feel the light inside me burning bright again, how my inner compass is my true guidance, and how I want to live more and more from that wild and wise person that I know I am.

But what lit me up even more was watching the participants in my workshop, half of which were new to SoulCollage(r) as they went through this process…and the revelations that it presented for them.

To watch as many began the process of letting go of what no longer serves them and finding the strength to step into who they really want to be….well, let’s just say, it was magical, priceless, and left my heart with a very good feeling, which still vibrates within me today.

I’ve walked the journey of letting go, and continue to… as like everyone else, I am a work in progress….which is perfectly OKAY…we are unfinished women, with so much more to give, finding our way to shine in this world.

One woman said of the experience, “My soul gained a little serenity today.” I wanted to weep with joy from that statement as this is the calling I’ve felt drawn to for quite some time now…

to help and encourage others to open to their own souls whispers and wisdom.

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Wisdom from My Kitchen Windowsill

Posted by Barbara Techel

Wisdom from My Kitchen Windowsill

Every season I enjoy changing out the decorations on my kitchen windowsill. I must admit that Fall is my favorite season to do this. There’s just something so cozy and comforting about it this time of year, don’t you think?

For months now I’ve been wanting to paint a quote I like from Tasha Tudor on a piece of wood and place it above my stove. But it just never seemed to happen. Then on Sunday morning a friend came over- Rachel, a young woman I’ve known for quite some time, but would like to get to know better. She is just one of those people who has an old soul and I thoroughly enjoy talking with her. Our discussions are deep and meaningful which I really appreciate. She and I are working on offering some future workshops together which I’m really excited about. But I digress…

But it was because of her sharing with me how her favorite spot in her house is her kitchen and looking out her window that I knew my Tasha quote would finally make its way to my kitchen. Her view out her kitchen window is spectacular from some photos she showed me, surrounded by woods and her horses, where she also gets to see deer and other wild animals too. But she told me about a quote she keeps on her windowsill that reminds her to be in the present moment.

And that’s when I knew that I would find a photo of one of my favorite authors, Tasha Tudor (who passed in 2008 – oh, how I wished I could have met her!) and I’d include my favorite quote on it from her – ” I don’t believe in hurry.”  It is perfect sitting on my windowsill where I now see it several times a day.

And it’s a reminder to s-l-o-w down when I find myself trying to rush through life- but a practice of being more in the present and believing that everything will get done and will happen as it is supposed to, that I find this quote helps remind me of that. Every time I read it I immediately feel calm and at peace.

Thank you to Rachel for the idea it inspired and thank you to Tasha Tudor for the quote that I find much comfort in.

fall-photo-and-quote

This quote from another favorite author, now gone, Gladys Taber — as seen in Susan Branch’s (yet another favorite author of mine – and still with us!) book, Autumn from the Heart of the Home.

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