Make room for the new

“Do not move on to 2017 without letting go of something significant from 2016, an old idea, label, habit, fear, concern of ego. Let go to free up the white space for something new to enter.” Brendon Burchard.

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum, and that as we let go of worn out conditions, situations, attitudes and even clothing, that we create space for something new to be born.

What will you be letting go of this year as we wind down 2016 and what would you like to be born in its place as we enter this next cycle?

This is a question that we can all contemplate as we begin a new year of growth, service and enjoyment.

It is on this note, that I thought I’d share a poem that I wrote a while back, as I was working on letting go of a friendship in order to make room for something new.

Make room for the new.

And for a long time, it hurt when I bumped into a mutual friend of ours and she ignored me, or worse yet, glared.

And for a long time, I felt pain when I was not invited to that movie or that party.

What had you said about me that caused such hostility and rejection, I would wonder.

And for a long time, I wanted so badly to be included in that group that now shuns me.

And for a long time, I thought of you and felt pain.

And for a long time, I suffered.

I suffered until a friend said: Who cares?

Who cares that they reject you?
Who cares that you are not included?
Who cares that this friend left your life?

Let her go. Let them go.

Don’t hold such scarcity in your relationships or in your life.

There are true friend for you out there.
There are people who value and cherish you.
There are people who will see the true you and feel bonded and connected to you.

Trust this.

Let go and make room in your heart for the new.

Clear out the old.

Clear it out.
Let it go.

Make room for new friends.
Make room for new love.
Make room for new abundance.
Make room for all the glory that is meant for you.

Let what wants to go, go.
Chase no more.

Open now to the new.

Open to new life.
Open to new friendship.
Open to new love.

And, open to new opportunity.

New life is coming to you.

Make room.
Make room.

~Hayley Mermelstein

Confidence is your key.

A while back, when I was taking meditation classes with my teacher Ellen Tadd, we had a class on finding our key. Ellen explained we each had a key to unlocking our full potential. The key might be self love, or confidence, or full expression, or patience, or emotional balance. The key was that one elevated state or emotion that was most essential for you to work on in this life time. The key is different for each one of us, depending on what we have come to earth to learn and to contribute.

For example: Perhaps for someone who struggles deeply with impatience, then patience might be their key. It is through mastering patience that all other aspects of their life begin to fall into place (i.e. relationships improve, appropriate opportunities begin to fall into place, and more alignment with timing and flow begin to transpire.)

Perhaps for someone who is very shy about speaking up, then full expression becomes their key to fulfillment and contribution. As they learn to express themselves, all aspects of their life begin to come into better alignment.

Today, while I was meditating, I heard the message that confidence is my key. It’s been years since i had that class with Ellen, but I instantly realized that this was the answer to the question that was asked so long ago.

And so today, you might want to ask yourself: What is your key? What is it that you need to cultivate in order to unlock your full potential? What quality is wanting to come forward in you at this time?

You may know your answer instantly, or perhaps, the answer may come to you at some time in the future. Keep asking, and stay open. When the time is right, your key will be revealed.

For now, I’ll leave you with the message that I received in my meditation. Because developing confidence is something that can benefit us all.

Confidence is your key.

Confidence is your key. When you believe that you can do this. You will do it.

You have not, as of yet, truly believed that you were capable of accomplishing that which you came here to accomplish.

As you change and evolve this, and as you begin to truly embody confidence,the opportunities set before you will begin to show up.

Embody confidence now. Feel confident. Fill every cell of your body with confidence.

Know that you can do what you’ve come here to do.

Give thanks for your growing confidence and belief in yourself.

Work daily to cultivate a greater confidence. It is your key to success.

Embody confidence though you have no proof.
Embody confidence and see what shows up.
Embody confidence and seek to emanate confidence.

See yourself as capable and your capacities will grow.
See yourself as able to learn that which you came here to learn.
See yourself as able to contribute that which you came here to contribute.

Go forward with confidence now.

Let this be your experiment.
Let this be your test.

What happens as you begin to hold the energy of confidence more and more?

What clarity arises in you?
What opportunities naturally come your way?
What new actions flow from you effortlessly?

Make today, this week, this month, this new year an experiement with confidence.

Learn to face your challenges with confidence.

Know that there is a force of life working with you to manifest what you need.
Know that you yourself are far more capable than you give yourself credit for.
Know that you are more powerful than you currently realize.
Know that you have more wisdom than your currently acknowledge.
Know that confidence is your key.

Cultivate confidence now and the way forward will be revealed.

Be confident in your own inherent wisdom, strength, clarity, and life purpose. And know, that powerful energies are all around you, just waiting for you to step into your confidence and power.

We wait patiently.

The ball is in your court.

Cultivate your confidence and doors will start to open.

A Plate of Compassion All Around

Who am I to judge you?
Things aren’t always what they appear.

For today, I am filled with humility.
For today, I acknowledge that I too have made mistakes.

Some days I am embarrassed by these mistakes.
Some days I cringe when I think of something I did or said.

But these mistakes have given me a deep compassion for the human condition.

We are all flawed.
And at the same time we all have greatness within us.

And when I am tempted to judge another, I quietly reflect on all the times I’ve been out of balance too, all the times I’ve misread the energy, and instead of judgement I offer compassion.

I offer a plate of compassion all around.

Everyone is learning.
Everyone is growing.

No one is exempt.

I am filled with humility and
I offer a plate of compassion all around.

Everyone is suffering.
Everyone has some burden they are carrying.

And so when I can find this place within me,
I offer compassion.

Some days this comes easy and other days its a challenge.
But for today, this compassion bubbles up within me.

We are all learning.
We are all growing.

No one is exempt.

I am filled with humility, and
I offer a plate of compassion all around.

I am filled with humility, and
I offer a place of compassion all around.

Hayley Mermelstein
c.2015

Sincerely,

Hayley Mermelstein

I am a being of great compassion.

I am a being of great compassion.
I am a being of great light.
I am a being of great wisdom.
I am a being of great love.

I am a beacon of compassion.
I am a beacon of light.
I am a beacon of wisdom.
I am a beacon of love.

I am a pillar of compassion.
I am a pillar of light.
I am a pillar of wisdom.
I am a pillar of love.

I am a being of great compassion.
I am a being of great compassion.
I am a being of great compassion.

There is a place of great compassion that lies within.  Your spirit your true self is filled with compassion, filled with wisdom, light and love.  Aspire to connect with this place of compassion that lies within.  Feel the deep compassion of your spirit.  Connect with your true nature now.  Experience the compassion of your spirit.  See yourself as a beacon of compassion.  See yourself as a pillar of compassion.  Recognize that you have come to bring compassion to the earth.  Recognize that you have come to be a way shower.  Recognize that you have come to be an anchor for compassion, for love, for light and for wisdom.  This is a sacred duty.  You must learn to hold yourself to a higher standard.  You must learn to be comfortable leading the way.  Seek to embody as much compassion as you can.  Seek to be an anchor for love, for wisdom, for light and for compassion, for the world needs those who can hold the spiritual principles.  The world needs those who can lead the way.  The planet needs a shift in consciousness.  See yourself as someone who has come to help facilitate this shift.  The shift lies within you.  The shift happens when you begin to hold these principles more and more. Do not worry about what others are doing or not doing.  Instead place your full attention upon yourself.  As you are better able to hold these principles your world will change.  Make this your project now.  Make this part of the work that you came to do.  Focus on your own transformation and your world will transform.  Focus on your own healing and you will contribute to the healing of the planet.  Be willing to go this alone. Be willing to be the one who can hold compassion.   Be willing to be the one who can love despite not being loved.  Do not confuse this with being nice or a push over or being weak.  There is great power in compassion.   There is great power in love and in light and in wisdom.  When you are in a state of true compassion you will aspire to do that which best serves the oneness.  Sometime what serves is to say yes and sometimes what serves is to say no.  When in a deep compassion you will naturally know what is needed.  When in a deep compassion you will see the kindness in saying no to something that doesn’t serve.  When in a deep compassion you will see yourself as part of the oneness and will aspire to include yourself in the circle of compassion.  And so embody a deeper compassion today.  Know that everyone has a story.  Know that everyone has a reason why they behave the way they do..  Seek to embody this compassion today and seek to go forward in love and light and wisdom.  Seek to be the best that you can be today.  Make this your daily aspiration.

 

 

 

The 15 minute rule

When I was in acupuncture school my friend and I made up “the 15 minute rule.” Actually, I’m not even sure if we made it up or simply heard about it somewhere. Anyway, our version of the rule was that we had to spend at least 15 minutes per day studying. Now, I realize this sounds like a very short period of time. But the trick was that it was every single day and that it …got me to sit down and begin. I found that if I just started, if I just sat down, I’d often get into it. In fact, it seemed that the hardest thing to do about studying was starting. Once I began I would sometimes stick to my 15 minutes but more often than not, I would study for longer periods of time. The key to my success as a student came from my 15 minute rule. I rarely crammed for an exam because I was such a regular studier, even if it was only for 15 minutes. Just recently I came across this same concept for house cleaning. The article suggested that you devote 15 minutes per day to house cleaning. Now once again, one could yell out, but this isn’t enough. And while it may not be enough, 15 minutes per day adds up to almost 2 hours of house cleaning per week which is a lot more than zero!

Recently, I decided to apply this same rule to the “marketing” of my business. I’m a healer. I like to focus on healing, writing, creating, sharing. I do well at these things but am not as good about going out into the world and letting people know about Tong Ren Chakra Balancing, about my acupuncture practice, about my energy healing practice, about my cd’s and my books. In fact, I have resisted it terribly. Just recently I had someone suggest that I make one call or take one action per day in relation to the promotion of my various projects. This instantly reminded me of my 15 minutes per day rule. Of course, 15 minutes per day. Spend a minimum of 15 minutes per day promoting your business. Seems like such a simple concept and again seems like not enough time. But one action per day times 365 days per year adds up! So, I’m just embarking on this endeavor. Its been a whole 5 days now(which of course, gives me total license to write about it!) In that time, I’ve promoted this page, called two md’s, and written an article for a magazine. Of course, some of these actions took more than 15 minutes but the point is that breaking it down to devoting 15 minutes per day towards the sharing of my work with the world has suddenly made a daunting task feel more manageable. Some days my action step is a quick phone call, other days it’s the writing of an article. In the past I would stare blankly out into the vast world of options and become paralyzed. Since starting my 15 minutes per day project, it suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting. Just one action step a day. Even I can handle that!

The beauty of the 15 minute a day rule is that it can help get us going in any area of our life where we feel blocked. If your not exercising create a 15 minute rule for yourself. Walk for 15 minutes a day. Do something. Do anything. Just get the energy moving. If your home or office is a mess challenge yourself to spending 15 minutes per day restoring order. 15 minutes times 365 days per year adds up.

I think we, myself included, can get overwhelmed by the many tasks that we have in a day and can overwhelmed by the projects before us. I suggest that you take an area of your life that needs more attention and start by devoting just 15 minutes per day to it. This will help the task feel less daunting and allow you to break it up into doable steps. If you aren’t sure what to do, well just do something, it will help move the energy. Day by day, week by week, change will occur.

As I’m writing I hear this message:

“Too many are looking for the big moves, the big steps, the big action, when so much of life is made up of the little things: the writing of the letter, the 15 minutes of straightening up, the quick phone call. Do not over look these seemingly small action steps for one by one, little by little, they add up and before long you have mastered an art, built a business, gotten in shape, lost the weight, or saved the money. It’s the little things done on a daily basis that create the basis for our lives. Do not overlook the little things. Do not overlook the small steps and changes. Break down your task into small steps and they will seem more doable. If you haven’t exercised in years start with a 10-15 minute walk everyday. If you understood the power of walking 15 minutes per day and how it could transform your health you would for sure begin to day.”

And so again, pick some area of your life where you feel blocked and commit to working on it for 15 minutes a day.
Know that at first you will resist. You won’t want to. Be brave. Be courageous. If you can push through this initial resistance you will find yourself looking forward to your 15 minutes a day and your 15 minutes may become 20 or 25 or longer. But start small and be consistent.

“Too many overestimate what can happen in a short period of time and underestimate what can happen over a longer period of time. And so begin today by devoting 15 minutes to some area of your life that feels blocked. Let this be your commitment to yourself, to your body, to your home, to your business, to your studies, or to whatever area in your life needs it. Begin today and see how this transforms the quality of your life. Remember slow and steady wins the race.”

~Hayley Mermelstein

Cultivating Positive Expectancy

I am filled with positive expectancy

I am filled with positivity.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I expect the best possible outcome.
I expect things to change in my favor.
I expect the goodness of the universe.
I expect new opportunities.
I expect something wonderful to happen.
I expect to be at the right place at the right time.
I expect divine intervention.
I expect divine synchronicity.
I expect healing.
I expect learning.
I expect growth.
I expect the silver lining.
I expect divine love.
I expect supernatural abundance.
I expect miracles.

What I focus on grows.
What I focus on comes forward.
I aim my focus wisely.

I expect divine favor.
I expect divine good fortune.
I expect the best possible outcome for all concerned.
I couple my expectancy with wisdom and wise decision-making.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positivity.

I wrote this affirmation after listening to a talk on positive expectancy.  It is easy, I realized, to think about the worst possible scenario or to dwell in fear or negativity or worry.  These states seem to come naturally to most of us and don’t require much vigilance.   Staying in positivity and positive expectancy that is more of a discipline and cultivation.  What would it be like to start the day looking for the good?  What would it be like to look for miracles?  To look for possibilities?   What would it be like to really embrace the idea that there are spiritual forces of life that are working with us to assist us in our life’s journey?

During last nights meditation class we explored some of these themes.  I thought I’d share some of that exploration with all of you.

Lets begin today’s meditation with the affirmation:

I am filled with positive expectancy
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.

Positive expectancy resides in the crown chakra, the center for trust, devotion, inspiration, positivity, spontaneity and connection to spirit.

Allow yourself to sit in this energy now.  Feel the open and expanded feeling at the top of your head.  Feel your connection and unity and oneness with all of life.  Remember that you are not alone.  Remember that powerful beings of light are all around you assisting you in your life’s path.  Remember that these forces of life want you to be successful, want you to bring your work out into the world, want you to actualize your best self and offer your full contribution.  We are here on earth to learn, to grow, to contribute and to enjoy. Sometimes difficult experiences are needed for growth and learning.  Know that your challenges have come to help you grow.  Learn to embrace your challenges and learn to look for the learning.  Any situation can be filled with positivity when you know what you are learning.

I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.

Take an area of your life where you feel discouraged, bring this part of your life to mind and then fill yourself with positive expectancy.

I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.

Sit in this feeling of positive expectancy now.  When you are in this open state ideas will come to you.  Creative solutions will fill your mind. When you are in this open state you will be able to hear the whispers of spirit that are guiding you in your path of fulfillment.

I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.

Now this time, I would like you to bring your awareness to your third eye, located in the center of your forehead.  This is the center for wisdom and clarity.  We always want to couple our deep trust in life with wisdom and clarity.  Children trust.  There crowns are wide open but trust alone can be dangerous.  A young child will get into a car with almost any stranger.  As adults we want to couple our trust in life with wisdom and discernment and wise decision-making.  And so this time sit in positive expectancy, sit in the knowledge that powerful forces of light are working with you.  Sit in the awareness that all of life is conspiring in your favor, wishing you growth and learning and actualization.  And at the same time bring your awareness to the center of your forehead.  I would like you to activate your third eye by holding a vision of a triangle in your minds eye (focus and concentration help to strengthen the third eye).  Hold this vision of a triangle for 30 seconds.  Now let go of the image of the triangle and imagine a round window in the center of your forehead. Look at the area of your life that you have brought to mind.  It can be a relationship, your finances, your work, your health and wellness.  Look at this situation and ask, what can I do to improve this situation?  What action do I need to take?  Gently peer out of your third eye and see what you see.  Allow the third eye to guide you in appropriate action.  Sometimes you will be guided to take steps forward and sometimes you will be guided to be patient and simply sit in positive expectancy.

I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positive expectancy.

And so, once again, we want to remember to couple our positive expectancy with wisdom and clarity and wise decision-making.  We want to couple our deep trust in life with discernment and awareness.  What we focus on grows.  What we focus on comes forward.  Learn to aim your focus wisely.  Learn to look for the learning.  Learn to look for the growth.  Begin your day with the question, What miracles will come my way today?  What good fortune will unfold today?  Couple this optimism with wisdom and clarity.  Learn to go through your day with your crown chakra open and couple this openness with the wisdom and clarity of the third eye.  My meditation teacher says go through your day looking through the center of your forehead.

And so stay in positive expectancy today and at the same time  stay focused in the third eye.  You can do this by imagining a round window in the center of your forehead and peering out of this window as your go through your day.  In this way your crown will be open and you will have access to your guides and you will be centered in wisdom and clarity and have access to the your own deep inner wisdom.  Be trusting, have faith and couple this trust and faith with great wisdom and discernment.

And so affirm one last time:

I am filled with positivity.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I expect the best possible outcome.
I expect things to change in my favor.
I expect the goodness of the universe.
I expect new opportunities.
I expect something wonderful to happen.
I expect to be at the right place at the right time.
I expect divine intervention.
I expect divine synchronicity.
I expect healing.
I expect learning.
I expect growth.
I expect the silver lining.
I expect divine love.
I expect supernatural abundance.
I expect miracles.

What I focus on grows.
What I focus on comes forward.
I aim my focus wisely.

I expect divine favor.
I expect divine good fortune.
I expect the best possible outcome for all concerned.
I couple my expectancy with wisdom and wise decision-making.
I am filled with positive expectancy.
I am filled with positivity.

~Affirmation from Advanced TRCB- The Book of Affirmations
(coming this fall!)