NATHAN'S BLOG

Blessings From Amaterasu - Self Acceptance and Your Inner Flame

7/28/2013

In 2011, we were blessed to be able to visit the Ise Shrine in the Mie prefecture of mainland Japan, which the shrine where the Shinto Sun-goddess, Amaterasu is enshrined. It is there, where the most sacred and holy treasure of the Shinto faith, the holy mirror is kept. When visiting the inner shrine where the mirror was kept, we noticed a veil moving back and forth despite our surroundings not having any wind nearby. Following that experience, I heard a soft, gentle, woman's voice, and was shown an image of a graceful woman in white, red and orange.

After our visit to the Ise Shrine, we have been connecting with Amaterasu for the past few years now, and recently, we were reminded of a very wonderful lesson from her.

Amaterasu spoke to us about the shadows that reside within us. They are a part of us and are parts of ourselves which we need to come to accept. Our shadows are usually the parts of ourselves which we dislike, ignore, and try to hide from, however, the more that we avoid our shadows, the more we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn, grow, and emerge as transformed, enlightened beings.

We were also informed about the light that shines from within us. As we acknowledge the light that is within us, we are reminded about the beautiful truth of our being and nature. We are all light, and when we are all coming from a place of light, we are illuminated in mind, body, and spirit - we transcend what we may feel like holds us back in our shadows, and we overcome everything from a higher perspective of compassion and grace for ourselves and others.

Anything which is in the shadows or darkness will seek out the light, and Amaterasu reminds us today of the joy that resides within us all. It is a calling to accept and embrace all parts of ourselves, and it is a calling to look within. Our self-esteem is like a light that either shines or diminishes. We have full control over this flame and we can either choose to let our internal flame dwindle or flourish.

We have the choice to rise above, and rise above we will.

As a final message for this post, Amaterasu says,
"Look to the sun to be filled with vibrant, vigorous energy and light. Reenergise and recharge, nourish yourselves in every way. Be filled with joy and embrace life. Part of Amaterasu's lesson from her stories involve noticing the beauty and magnificence within yourself, and lighting up the world within you and all around you through accepting yourself. Step into your power and set yourself free. You are blessed and you are a Divine expression of love. You exist because of love. You are love. Shine like the sun and light up the world beloved ones."

Blessings, love and light,
Namaste.
Love from Nathan and Friends.

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Who Is Going To Tell You That They Love You? Your Job? Yourself? Your Family? Make Time For Loving Yourself and Your Loved Ones

7/20/2013

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Hearts are what homes are made of, so make time for loving yourself and your family and friends. Love what you do, do what you love, and give yourself the freedom to all of it!

It sounds simple enough and there needn't be any excuses about it. As you keep in mind making time for the yourself and the ones that you love, consider how balanced your life is in terms of your priorities, responsibilites, and self-care.

In the modern world, many of us are busy, and we have a list of responsibilities that continues to grow. It becomes easy for us to be caught on a treadmill of waking up, getting the kids ready, eating, going to work, eating again, working again, going home, eating, perhaps catching a little bit of time with family, and then sleeping again. The cycle can just seem to go on without end during the week, and only on the weekends do you find the time to retreat and perhaps catch up on rest and relaxation, and spend some time with your family and friends.

Looking at families now, it has become more common these days for both parents in a family to work, and one of the most common excuses that I have heard from family, friends, clients, and students, in relation to spending time self-nurturing or with their loved ones at the end of the day, is "I'm too tired from work".

Make the time, and make the effort, keeping in mind that; your children will grow up and you may miss out on the most wonderful times of your lives together if you take your, you and your partner are together to share a special part of your lives together, and you and your family and friends are there to grow together, learn together, and share together.

With consideration to the needs for rest, we also need to be there for ourselves, our children, our partners, and our family members. You may be wondering how this can be made possible. Here are some things that have worked well for us, and we trust will also work well for you:

- Positive Affirmations
For some, there may be the thinking of working for the weekends or living for the weekends, and we lose sight of where we are in our present days during the working week. One thing to consider is to be in the mindset of loving what you do and doing what you love, and that way, you'll keep a smile on your face and a positive approach to every day of your working week.

You can keep in mind, the things that you are working towards, and use it as your inspiration. Think about how you affirm this. Affirmations are the words we say and the thoughts that we think, that bring to us, all the things that we say we do, have, or want in life.

When you think of the thought "I can't wait for the weekend", the word "can't" itself is negative, and it tells the Universe that you are not being patient for the weekend to come. It is like telling the Universe that you are not grateful for the present moment.
Instead, you could affirm "I look forward to the weekend", as it has been worded positively and it is telling the Universe that you are welcoming in the weekend with a sense of joy in the present. Even though you may not be really feeling like this at the moment, give it a try, anchor these positive thoughts in place and watch as your positivity brings you a delightful working week.

The more conscious you are of your daily thoughts, actions, words, and behaviours, both at home and in the workplace, the more peaceful and enjoyable each moment will become.

- Releasing Your Stress
Each day, we engage with various different people and a range of scenarios and situations are placed before us. These experiences and interactions become a part of our memory and thoughts for the day, and sometimes, the ones that are worried about are the ones that get brought home. I am sure everyone has had these days before, and what we are talking about here is being able to choose to let go of this stress so that we can have an enjoyable time at home.

Be mindful of things such as;
- Breathing deeply as this helps you to release tension.
- Exercising your body to let go of any toxins in your energy from the day.
- Meditation, which can be anything that focuses your mind and makes you present in your thinking and breathing. It can be something that you do when you: walk, commute on public transport or drive your car, commute on public transport, eat your meals, bathe or shower, and so on.
- Taking regular, short breaks from your work during the day to refocus your mind and body
- Your daily intake of food and bevages also has an important part to play in how you manage your stress. Consider what you are taking in, and perhaps if you are craving certain foods, it would be best to consult a book such as "Constant Craving", by Doreen Virtue, to understand the meanings behind your cravings.
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So make the effort for yourself and the ones that you love. Enjoy the time that you spend alone and with others.

At the end of the day, who or what is going to fill your heart?
Is your job going to hug you, kiss you, and tell you how much it loves you?
Or is it you that loves yourself from within and shares this love with the family and friends that adore, appreciate, cherish, enjoy, honour, and love you?

As my Teacher, BelindaGrace has written in her books, "Make sure all of your ducks are flying in the same direction."
Check in with yourselves and bring balance to every area of your lives. Release the need to make the excuses in your life a priority, and make love for yourself, your loved ones and every experience in your life your priority.

Namaste.
Blessings and love,
Nathan and Friends O:)

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Life is Like a Boomerang

7/18/2013

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Life is like a Boomerang. It really is. What you send out is what returns to you.

If you think angry or unpleasant thoughts, your experiences following that will mirror that. If you send out loving, positive thoughts, your experiences will reflect that.

Try to think about how you influence your life through the power of your thinking. The things that we take notice of and pay attention to in our everyday world on the outside, represent things within our own consciousness, our own thinking, being, and experience. When we focus our attention on one thing, perhaps say for example when you are focusing on trying to attract more of something into your life, generally, the first common thing to do is focus on what is not present, rather than what is present.

In saying that, many of us had been taught to form habitual thinking patterns that focus on complaining about something and its absence, rather than focusing attention on the things that are present, in whatever amount.

By giving thanks to what is present and what is available, you are telling the Universe that you are in fact, grateful for what is coming to you in your life and that you would like more of it. What you send out is what you receive, so worrying about lack only pushes things away.

Let's use the example of money for example. In times where it may be short, it may be easy to worry about how much you need and how much you don't have, but rather than doing it this way, think about what you have already and how your bills and expenses are a reflection of the Universe and the associated people in mind, trusting in your ability to meet those demands. By declaring your gratitude for what is available to you, you will certainly feel much better and at ease with your situation.

Life really does work out for you. You need to raise and elevate your thinking and keep focused on bringing your intentions to life. Like an artist with an easel, you are the one painting the canvas. If you make a choice which you are not happy with, then make another decision. The power is yours.

It is not up to a magical book or CD that will automatically do all the work for you. Yes, books and CDs contain wonderful, useful information, that you can learn, however, please remember that words in a book or CD mean nothing unless they are taken in, internalised and applied to your life.

We know that you can do it. Our prayer is that you have found this place within yourself and you are taking control of your thinking and thus the creation of all the wonderful blessings in your life.

Blessed be,
Love from Nathan and Friends O:)

For further reading on the power of thoughts and its influence on your life, we would recommend that you read "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay or "Angel Words" by Doreen Virtue

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$H1Ft Happens

7/3/2013

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www.robertholden.org

You have the power within you to create many amazing things. You can choose how you think, rather than simply reacting to what is in front of you. You can transform your life through your thinking and achieve many great things!

For the past couple of days, I had been around people who had been having 'one of those days'. You know the ones where things are forgotten, things don't work, and plans all fall apart? I am pretty sure we all have those kinds of days, and the best I could do was to remind my friends to be patient with themselves and the things around them.

Today, I had an incident where I felt like it was just "one of those days".

To start off, I was going to the immigration office here in Okinawa, to extend my Visa. I parked my car, got my documents out of my bag, and then I realised that I did not have my passport. "Oh man", I thought. I sat in the car, wondering whether to drive the 25 minute drive home to get my passport or not.

I thought for a moment. In this instance if I let this get to me, I could have reacted to the situation and simply have gotten annoyed with myself for forgetting my passport, which would have lowered my mood for the day, however, instead, I chose to make light of the situation and return tomorrow during my lunch break at work.

Next, I had to post my application to renew my International Driver's permit. I parked the car and started walking towards the post office. I opened my bag and took out my application form. I read through the checklist of additional paperwork that I needed to include, and then it struck me. I did not have a photocopy of my Australian Driver's License.

Double whammy on forgetting the necessary paperwork for the day. In lieu of both incidents, I could have been a reactor to this situation and let these both build up like snowballs rolling down a hill, (you know like in the cartoons, where the snowball starts off small and rolls downhill and gets bigger and bigger?), however, I decided to be a chooser, and to reach for a better feeling thought and to make the most of my situation. Well I can do all this tomorrow and enjoy writing this blog post this afternoon rather than running errands by the clock right before having to go to work.

My Angels and Guides would like to remind us that "life is about cause and effect. The kinds of things that you put into life, are the kinds of things that come back to you. Despite any given situation, there is always another way to see things, and a blessing indeed. Sometimes the blessings are not noticed until the place, timing, and context of things changes. There is another way to see things, that goes beyond the surface. Notice how nice it feels to simply be in the present moment. Sometimes being in one place at the right time opens a new door for you. Make your 'one of those days' into an exceptional day. Blessings to you as we say, Namaste"

Choose to be chooser rather than a reactor. With the swings of the pendulum, stay focused on where you would like to be and what you would like to create in your life. You can do it!
For more information on the power of your thinking and intention, I would really recommend reading any of Louise Hay's work. Very inspirational and uplifting!

With blessings and love,
Nathan and Friends O:)

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Blessings From Amaterasu - Self Acceptance and Your Inner Flame

Who Is Going To Tell You That They Love You? Your Job? Yourself? Your Family? Make Time For Loving Yourself and Your Loved Ones

Life is Like a Boomerang

$H1Ft Happens

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