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I Believe in YOU!

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 32 of 100 days of blogging

Tomorrow begins a 21 day meditation series with Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. Become What You Believe. If you listen to the daily meditations within a few days of posting each day, the meditations are free. Or you can purchase them and listen to them whenever you want to.

https://chopracentermeditation.com/

I am fascinated about the timing of this topic because Believe is my word for November. I have been seeing it everywhere. Bumper stickers, Books, Songs, Store windows and in random conversations. Okay, Universe, I get it! I am listening and I claimed it as my focus for November.

BELIEVE!

We are all motivated by different things. Positive or negative strokes that give us hope and wake us up. I need the upstrokes and some hurdles to stretch myself and take action. To stretch into the next thing that is calling me to expand who I am.

Believe Definition: to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.

Yes! That’s it.

Here is a running stream of quotes and songs for inspiration as we enter this month of November together:

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, believe in Santa Claus. Believe in others. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. If you don’t, who will? ~Jon Bon Jovi

Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source – a Sower of Dreams – just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it. ~Diane Sawyer

Believe in infinite possibilities.

I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Now for some music.

Enjoy!

I’m a Believer: Monkees

Music: When You Believe Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey

Share your own BELIEVE Inspirations in the Comments!

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Andrea Hylen believes in the power of our voice to usher in a new world. She is the founder of Heal My Voice, an organization that inspires women and men to heal a story, reclaim personal power and step into greater leadership. Andrea discovered her unique gifts while parenting three daughters and learning to live life fully after the deaths of her brother, son and husband. In addition to serving as Heal My Voice’s Executive Director, Andrea is an Orgasmic Meditation Teacher and Sexuality Coach.

She is following her intuition as she collaborates with women and men in organizations and travels around the world speaking, teaching and leading workshops. Her passion is authentically living life and supporting others in doing the same. To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com and www.healmyvoice.org.

Posted in Inspiration

Recess: Taking time to Play

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 31 of 100 days of Blogging

“We all need a little bit of a recess. It’s a necessity and we’ve been treating it like a luxury.” @TempleCLA‘s Hirsh-Pasek to @NBCNews

I cut this quote out of a Temple University Alumni report and it ended up on my co-creative vision board for the month of October. At the beginning of the new year, I create a series of pages to give me some insight into the 12 months of the year. Randomly reaching into a bag of words and expressions cut out of magazines, I close my eyes and ask for guidance for the month of ____________. I do that for every month to create a year of inspiration. It is one of the ways I Daydream with God.

So, here is this random quote during the month of October which has reflected to me a week of play in New York for my birthday and my granddaughter’s birthday, a weekend in Pennsylvania leading a workshop on Tuning into Deeper Listening with an afternoon at the Grotto and now a week of pet sitting with a sweet doggie named Hattie. The messages all month is to stop and PLAY! Play with laughter, community potluck in New York, walking in beautiful, sacred places, playing music and dancing, sweet conversations over pots of coffee. Pausing to look at the moon, the changing seasons, listen to the birds and PLAY!

I think the little doggie, Hattie, was put on the planet to remind us all to play. Hanging out in the backyard, she brings the ball to me over and over with a commanding bark to throw it. Tearing through piles of leaves falling from the trees all week, she skids to a stop to grab the ball with her teeth while quickly turning to make a beeline back to me. Dropping the ball and barking, AGAIN, AGAIN!

Occasionally the sight of a fallen tree branch or the wind blowing the leaves will halt her ball retrieving as she explores the thing that is right in front of her. Running towards me at a full on gallop with ears flapping and a mouth stretched full of a yellow tennis ball. No agenda other than PLAY!

I have been reflecting on how much value we give productivity and how little we value the power of play in our society. The common question of Doing. What are you DOing tonight, this weekend, for the holidays? What do you DO for work? I notice there is still a part of me that feels like I have to have something tangible to prove my worth on the planet. I don’t have the answer for that right now. Just an awareness and keeping it visible as an exploration.

Spending the week with Hattie has me letting go of figuring anything out and just playing. Throwing the ball. Taking walks. Pausing to watch the leaves falling off the trees. Looking at the moon. Sitting in the backyard with a cup of coffee. Filling up with the simple pleasure of being.

And sometimes jumping up on my lap and showering me with wet, juicy dog kisses is more important than throwing the ball.

Hattie reminding me to play also reminds me to love and be loved. Now, shut up and kiss me!

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Posted in Daydreaming with God, Living in Flow

Soul: A Writing Prompt

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 30 of 100 days of blogging

A writing prompt from the 30 days of writing program October 2015

SOUL

The soul is the truth of who we are. ~Marianne Williamson

God does not call the qualified. God qualifies the called. ~Michael Bernard Beckwith

Our soul calls us into the unknown.

The soul calling can feel exhilarating and it can feel terrifying. It brings up our hopes and fears, our longings and our doubts, the yin and yang, the light and the dark. It challenges us to discover and learn more about our essence. The soul’s language is yearning, power, ignition. There is Divine timing when the soul calls.

An example is when you watch a child learning to ride a bicycle, there is a willingness, a desire, a longing. There is an inner and outer motivation to do whatever it takes to learn. A child will practice, try, fall and try again. In that soul calling, maybe the child learns humility or determination. Maybe the child learns a new technique on how to balance on the bicycle. They give up or they keep getting up until they learn find their own rhythm.

Ask yourself some questions:

*What do you long for?

*When you think about writing from your soul, where do you feel that in your body?

*What does my Soul want to experience through me right now?

*What song does your soul want you to sing?

*Go deeper and ask what is under the surface?

Now, take out a journal or go for a walk and give yourself some time to reflect. In the silence, the answers will appear.

A Sacred Sanctuary Writing Space audio as an additional resource.

Replay Page:
http://iTeleseminar.com/73937082

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The next 30 day writing program begins on January 1, 2016.

A Heal My Voice 30-Day Writing Program (With Teleseminar Support)

One group for women. One group for men. On-line program with teleseminars. JOIN US!

http://healmyvoice.org/30-day-writing-program/

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Posted in Andrea Hylen, Heal My Voice, Writing

Deeper Listening: Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 28 of 100 days of blogging

At the Warrior Women’s Empowerment and Wellness Retreat last weekend, we had time for contemplation of questions during a Discovery Walk. The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes devoted to Our Mother Mary in Emmitsburg, Maryland was a short 15 minute drive from the retreat center so it seemed like the perfect time to visit.

The words on the Grotto website: It is a beacon of light, hope, courage and inspiration for those who visit this sacred spot.

http://msmary.edu/grotto/index.html

It was a gorgeous fall day and I spent the afternoon in silence. Deeper Listening. Emptying myself. Reflecting. There were no big AHA’s or revelations. Sometimes in the process of deeper listening, we just need a space to be. To give time and space for digestion and integration of all of the thoughts and signs and input around us. I drank from the Holy Grotto water, walked in silence and reverence with the hundreds of people who were kneeling, praying, and on a pilgrimage for healing and sat in the chapel in silent meditation for 30 minutes.

There is a powerful, sacred energy at the Grotto, a place that honors Mary who has appeared in different apparitions around the world. Different cultures. Different ethnicity. All with the energy of love.

Some of the Shrines:

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of LaVang

Our Lady of Lourdes

Padre Pio

For some reason, you were drawn to this blogpost today. I encourage you to sit with the energy that was captured in the photos. Let the love and healing wash over you today. I invite you to share your personal insights and requests for prayer in the comments.

Blessings to you all.

And a bonus. A song by Rickie Byars Beckwith, Agape Spiritual Center:

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Posted in Daydreaming with God

Warrior Women: Tuning in for Deeper Listening

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 27 of 100 days of blogging

At the Warrior Women Empowerment and Wellness Retreat this past weekend in Pennsylvania, I led a workshop called Tuning into Deeper Listening.

http://warrior-women.net/

Here are a few of the key points from my talk:

*You were born with all of the answers you will ever need inside of you. They are encoded in the cells of your body. Throughout your life, you have experiences that wake up the cells that hold the desire and the information. We live our lives one moment, one hour, one day, one month, one year at a time. When it is time, you will receive the answers and know what to do and be next.

*We gather in groups, read books, listen to speakers, go to conferences and retreats and hire coaches so that we see, hear and feel things that wake up the cells and prepare us for the answers.

*We need the connection with each other to wake up.

*Deeper listening requires a process of emptying out and filling up. An example of how to do that is to take a walk. The first part of the walk you let go of all of the voices, the shoulds, the “to-do’s on your list”. Walk and release. Walk and empty. Let it all go. During the second part of the walk, you fill up. You breathe in the energy from your surroundings; the leaves that are changing on the trees, the sound of birds or in a city, the sounds of the subway, the feel of the wind on your face. Listen, notice, breathe.

*Deeper listening guides you to the people, places and things to create and carve the new pathway.

*Everything is happening at the perfect time. Louise Hay’s book, “You Can Heal Your Life” was published when she was 58 years old and she started Hay House, Inc (also when she was 58 years old.) Every experience leads you on the pathway for each decade. In your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s 90’s, 100’s and beyond…

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A few of the tools I suggested to turn off your brain and access deeper listening:

Tool #1: Coloring books. (Hurrah! They are in style again! So many coloring books to choose from for your pleasure)

This is a perfect activity for a doer, type person. You are “doing” something while turning off your brain. Notice the colors you are drawn to and breathe in the colors.

A few coloring books I love!

1. Coloring Feeds the Soul and Keep Calm and Color

Pati Woodard: https://www.etsy.com/shop/patimakescoolstuff

2. The Big Girls Little Coloring Book

It has 21 Mandalas, each with an Affirmation and medARTation page.

The book is a journey through insights that are about topics like the power of the Mind, the role of Nature for healing and empowerment, how to identify Patterns in out life and many more.

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Girls-Little…/dp/1582706212

3. Coloring My Days by Kristen Webster

http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-My-Days-Kristen-Webster/dp/0996757430/

4. The Mindful Journey: Color~Create~Journal by Zan Packard

http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Journey-Color-Create-Journal/dp/1470077450/

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Tool #2: Oracle Cards or Spirit Cards.

Doreen Virtue has created some of my favorites. Search on-line for a deck that resonates with you.

Randomly pick a card and focus on the photo, the words, the colors. Close your eyes and sit in silence for a few minutes. Let it stir something inside of you. Let go of your thoughts and feel.

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Tool #3: Get a small notebook and write down 5-10 clues and signs that cross your path every day. The things that light you up or bring curiosity and excitement. Some ideas:

1. Books

2. Words

3. A conversation

4. A phone call or Facebook message from an old friend

5. Colors, nature, music

6. A dream

Then, in a few weeks, go back and look at the trends. What topic repeats over and over? What do you feel and notice? Listen for the inspired action.

What helps you to go into deeper listening? Share with us in the comments section.

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Posted in An Evolutionary Woman's Journey Series, Living in Flow

12 Religions: 12 Peace Prayers

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Andrea Hylen One comment

Day 26 of 100 days of blogging

Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace was the 4th Heal My Voice book. When it was published in 2014, I was inspired to post 12 Peace Prayers, one a day and a little bit of the history from an event in 1986 in Assisi, Italy.

Today I am posting all 12 of the Peace Prayers in one blogpost.

Hindu, Buddhist, Jainist, Muslim, Sikh, Bahai’, Shinto, Native African, Native American, Zorastrian, Jewish, and Christian.

The event took place on sacred ground at the Basilica of Saint Francis, and was the occasion for the handing down of the prayers for peace. The Sacred Office of Peace, which these prayers comprise, is the text around which we established and maintain our fellowship as well as pursue our global peacemaking.

1. THE HINDU PRAYER FOR PEACE

Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. Oh God, lead us from darkness to light. Oh God, lead us from death to immortality. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all. Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world. May all things be a source of peace to us. And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all, and may that peace come to me also.

2. THE BUDDHIST PRAYER FOR PEACE
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people think of befriending one another. May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses – the children, the aged, the unprotected – be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

3. THE JAINIST PRAYER FOR PEACE
Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel preached by all the Enlightened Ones. The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma. Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me. Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity. Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world. Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage. “Do not injure any living being.” This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life. A weapon howsoever powerful it may be, can always be superseded by a superior one; but no weapon can, however, be superior to nonviolence and love.

4. THE MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE

In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations, that we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust in God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, Most Gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we say “PEACE.”

5. THE SIKH PRAYER FOR PEACE

“God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. “Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated.”

6. THE BAHAI’ PRAYER FOR PEACE

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

7. THE SHINTO PRAYER FOR PEACE

“Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.”

8. THE NATIVE AFRICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot; the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees: the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rockmass here on Earth. You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of peace.

9. THE NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you. To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect, and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide for us on this Earth.

11. THE JEWISH PRAYER FOR PEACE
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation – neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.

12. THE CHRISTIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE

“Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be known as the Children of God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you, and of those who take away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

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Posted in Peace Prayers

12 Peace Prayers: #12 The Christian Prayer for Peace

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 25 of 100 days of BloggingAs the Authors of Heal My Voice were writing their stories for the next book: Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace, I was inspired to post 12 Peace Prayers and a little bit of the history from an event in 1986 in Assisi, Italy.

12. THE CHRISTIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
“Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be known as the Children of God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you, and of those who take away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

From the website: The Peace Abbey traces its roots to the Day of Prayer for World Peace which took place in Assisi, Italy during the UN International Year of Peace, 1986. For the first time in history, the leaders of the twelve major religions gathered to pray for Peace of Earth.The event took place on sacred ground at the Basilica of Saint Francis, and was the occasion for the handing down of the prayers for peace. The Sacred Office of Peace, which these prayers comprise, is the text around which we established and maintain our fellowship as well as pursue our global peacemaking.The Peace Abbey at Strawberry Fields
Two North Main Street, Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770

Posted in Peace Prayers

12 Peace Prayers: #11 The Jewish Prayer for Peace

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 24 of 100 days of BloggingAs the Authors of Heal My Voice were writing their stories for the book: Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace, I was inspired to post 12 Peace Prayers and a little bit of the history from an event in 1986 in Assisi, Italy.

The Peace Abbey at Strawberry Fields
Two North Main Street, Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770

Posted in Peace Prayers

12 Peace Prayers: #10 The Zorastrian Prayer for Peace

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 23 of 100 days of bloggingAs the Authors of Heal My Voice were writing their stories for the book: Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace, I was inspired to post 12 Peace Prayers and a little bit of the history from an event in 1986 in Assisi, Italy.

10. THE ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world: that understanding triumph over ignorance, that generosity triumph over indifference, that trust triumph over contempt, and that truth triumph over falsehood.
From the website: The Peace Abbey traces its roots to the Day of Prayer for World Peace which took place in Assisi, Italy during the UN International Year of Peace, 1986. For the first time in history, the leaders of the twelve major religions gathered to pray for Peace of Earth.The event took place on sacred ground at the Basilica of Saint Francis, and was the occasion for the handing down of the prayers for peace. The Sacred Office of Peace, which these prayers comprise, is the text around which we established and maintain our fellowship as well as pursue our global peacemaking.

The Peace Abbey at Strawberry Fields
Two North Main Street, Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770

Posted in Peace Prayers

12 Peace Prayers: #9 The Native American Prayer for Peace

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Andrea Hylen Leave a comment

Day 22 of 100 days of BloggingAs the Authors of Heal My Voice were writing their stories for the next book: Harmonic Voices: True Stories by Women on the Path to Peace, I was inspired to post 12 Peace Prayers and a little bit of the history from an event in 1986 in Assisi, Italy.

The Peace Abbey at Strawberry Fields
Two North Main Street, Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770

Posted in Peace Prayers

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