How is Your Heart Doing? How to Hold More Love

Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR from Pexels

Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR from Pexels

How is your heart doing one year into Covid-19, masks, isolation, separations, work/school from home, changed routines, etc.? Are your relationships more difficult, or more comforting?

Does your recognition of Valentine’s Day include loving yourself?

Last year looking forward, this year looked elusive and uncertain. Now here we are in February 2021, the month of Imbolc, Valentine’s Day. It’s also the month of Groundhog Day, which always makes me think of the movie where the day plays over and over and over. What is percolating for you?

This month we also have Mercury in retrograde (think RE words like REview, REvisit, REnew, REnovate, REflect, etc.). Old patterns can be seen in a new light, or from a different perspective during retrogrades. Like the movie. You get to do it all again! The planet Mercury governs communication, so it is about how we see and hear ourselves, as well as the communications with others.

Lots is percolating for me, which leads me to share a variety of reflections for you. Take your time soaking in the questions below. Think of it as a mini self-care retreat to take measure of your life in this season. Then join me online Tuesday, February 16 when we can talk about all this in more detail. At the end of this blog is an activity for your heart to help you hold more love.

Life is a treasure
Holding love beyond words
And blessings beyond measure

—Janna Moll

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THE DARK?

Winter is a time to look within, as in the darkness of winter we turn to our comforts to deal with the short, cold days. (If you are in the southern hemisphere you are MID-summer and also have the opportunity to review communications—just more outwardly.)

CAN YOU FEEL THE TURN TOWARD SPRING IN THE DARK?

Mid-winter in the northern hemisphere is a time of dreams, hidden new life. With the stirrings of the spring to come, what also arrives is the opportunity to slough off the old and to practice self-nourishment.

REFLECT ON THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Anais Nin said, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

  • Where have you been courageous in the last year?

  • Have you faced down fear?

  • Taken risks?

  • Learned something new?

  • Unlearned an old behavior or belief?

  • Stood up for what you believe?

WHAT IS YOUR HEART TELLING YOU?

Energetically our hearts serve as the bridge between our physical life expression and our spiritual life. Our physical lives are concerned with survival, comforts, and actions: steps taken, and choices made. Our spiritual lives (generally less obvious on the outside) are concerned with assigning MEANING to our physical lives. To get to there, we must pass our actions and ideas through our heart.

The heart gives our lives meaning when we pass actions through the filters of Truth, Passion and Purpose. Consider:

  • In assessing your life’s MEANING at this point in time, where is your heart?

  • Is there a deeper truth you need to allow?

  • How have you embraced, or sidelined your passion?

  • What would you say is your purpose and contribution to the greater good? This can be internal and doesn’t have to appear in the world at large.

A song comes to my contemplation. Here are some of the lyrics:

DAYS LIKE THESE by Janis Ian

Its years like these
That makes a young man old
Bend his back against the promises
That life should hold
They make him wise
They can drive him to his knees
Nothing comes for free
On days like these

But you can’t reap what you don’t sow
And you can’t plant in fallow ground
So let us fill this empty earth with hope
Until the rains come down

In lives like these
Where every moment counts
I add up all the things
That I can live without
When the one thing left
Is the blessing of my dreams?
I can make my peace
With days like these

Janis Ian’s song makes me wonder, how can you loosen the soil of your compacted heart?

When we do our personal introspective work, we loosen the compacted soil of our lived days, our patterns and history.

Over time and throughout our lives, I think we die for love, little by little. What if we could change that?

Perhaps we need to see ourselves differently. It is said that nothing makes you more beautiful than believing you are beautiful! For the next month, how can you commit to see yourself in a better light?

  • How can you loosen up and make room for more life/love?

  • What if instead of dying for love we were to live for love?

  • What risks can you take to love yourself more?

  • What steps are needed to release self-doubt or fear?

  • How can you see yourself as your most loving friends and family do?

Wishing you each a very HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY filled with LOVE, both on the inside and out!

Janna

An Activity to Help You Hold More Love

SELF-FORGIVENESS EXERCISE from Energy Medicine Specialists (EMS)

Practice self-forgiveness whenever you find you are self-critiquing or self-judging over the next month.

Say, “I forgive myself for __________________________”

Fill in the blank until you can think of nothing else. You say what comes to mind as quickly and continuously as you can until you can think of nothing more. When you are finished put it aside until it is needed again.

For example, you can say:

I FORGIVE MYSELF FOR:

* blaming myself for ___________

* thinking it is my fault that ___________

* being ___________

* taking responsibility for ___________

* treating myself like ___________

You can repeat this exercise as often as needed, although with practice you shouldn’t keep needing it as the self-critique behavior will fade quickly.

In Case You Missed It...

You can see the recorded video of the February 16th live event with Janna on our YouTube channel (video also below).

Energy Medicine Specialists