Tag: #lightfromdarkness

Awareness = Alignment

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized
Our frequency creates our reality

Yesterday morning, as I sat in a hotel hot tub with my son, engaged in stimulating conversation about current events with a lovely couple from Portland, we discussed how much fear there is in the world right now. The couple expressed that there were moments when it was hard not to feel hopeless. I understand this feeling, but when we are stuck in a place of fear, it is too easy to lose perspective of the big picture.

It’s true that it feels very much like we are in a downward cycle in many places in the world, but particularly in America right now. Inflation has skyrocketed, causing the cost of living to dramatically increase for most of us.  regardless of our political affiliation, we all know how tenuous things are feeling politically and socially, as well.

Yet it is equally true that in spite of all of this, the vast majority of us here in America live so much better than humans have as a whole perhaps in our entire known history. Most of us have plenty of food to eat, a roof over our heads, community around us, good sanitation and reasonably goods health.

When we are able to keep our focus on the good of our lives rather than becoming a slave to fear, our neurochemistry creates a cycle of well-being and good health in the body and mind.

Beyond that, when we are in a state of appreciation and gratitude, we raise the vibration of our magnetic field and our frequency – just like a radio, projects information that is picked up by those nearest us. According to quantum entanglement, this also extends into the world and the universe beyond, potentially creating greater good in the world, and an increased likelihood of a positive future for all of us.

I realize that it’s not always easy to remain in this state full time, of course. Contrast happens in everyone’s lives, and the thousands of little stressors that each of us experience day-to-day adds up to what can feel overwhelming, at times. But with awareness and practice, we can achieve ease and even joy, the majority of the time.

Personally, though I am naturally inclined to be an optimist, I have certainly had periods in my life where things felt so dark that it was difficult to find the light.

There are times when I have to be acutely conscious of where I am allowing my thoughts and emotions to go, and when I find myself going into that bad place, redirecting to something better to keep myself on that upswing. It feels so much better to stay in the light than to be stuck in a “dark room” of self-pity or victimization.

We are all writing the novels of our own lives each moment, and when I reach the last chapter, I want to know that I played the hero and not the victim or villain of this amazing story.✨

I use meditation, self-hypnosis techniques, music, good, nourishing food, self-care, travel, exercise, especially outdoors, and forms of therapy such as writing, art, dancing, or social time to bring me back to remembrance of how extraordinarily blessed my life is.

These last couple of days have been a poignant example of the joy – and the frustration – that makes this life into such a beautifully complex and flavorful stew. I spent the weekend moving loads between Whatcom County and my new place in Eastern Washington; sometimes driving 14 hours a day with only a few hours of rest between driving and loading/unloading a U-Haul trailer. Monday, I took time to take my dogs on a beautiful walk on the Riverside trail in Ellensburg, then met up with my son in #bellinghamwashington for a little retail therapy, dinner The Bellwether with friends and family (check out this spectacular rainbow!) then a long soak and sauna before bed. The next morning found me happily soaking again, enjoying conversation with new friends, but things got challenging in the afternoon when one of the tires on the U-Haul I rented blew out on a busy stretch of highway.

I had purchased roadside service, thankfully, and called to get assistance immediately. I spent 15 minutes on the phone with an agent who assured me he would reach out shortly to give me an ETA of when someone would arrive to either change the tire or tow the U-Haul to be repaired.

An hour passed in my overly warm vehicle, dogs panting in the back, with no word from the service provider.🫤 needless to say, after the first hour, I was feeling more than a little cranky.

Finally, I called the company again to learn that somehow, the agent had neglected to submit the report. A new agent got a report submitted and an hour later help arrived. Excell Commercial Tire Service was quick to get the tire changed courteous, and professional despite the fact that there was only about 2 inches between said tire and the right hand lane of the highway.

I got back on the road, later than I had hoped but safely rolling. In Cle Elum, I picked up a Thai iced tea from a charming little Thai restaurant owned by an Irishman and his Thai wife. Once more on the road, I was finally feeling back to my usual happy place when I managed to dump the entire 24 ounces of tea all over my car when the lid popped off as i was lifting it from the cup holder.

I admit there was a major WTAF to the Universe/Unified Field. I pulled over, cleaned up the tea, and took a moment to re-center, reminding myself that life is complex. Sometimes, we can hold pain in one hand and still have joy in the other.

It can be true that big picture, the vast majority of us are incredibly blessed and fortunate to have the life that we do, but it doesn’t mean we are not going to experience contrast or even hardship.

This is part of what makes those blessings so very sweet. I have experienced plenty of contrast and over the course of my life. I have suffered abuse, great losses, and financial hardship, just like many others.

But I believe that my ability to come back to a state of optimism and appreciation of for the beauty of this life is the reason that I have also had so many extraordinary blessings – extensive travel, satisfying businesses/career, economic comfort, most of the time. Opportunities for education, expansion, and most importantly, beautiful connections with amazing humans in my family, friendships, and kinships I have found with people around the world.

I am not unique or special in this. Every single human shares the ability to create happiness, whatever that looks like to each individual – through these basic practices of awareness and intention of where we allow our thoughts and emotions to reside, the majority of the time.

The late Dr. David Hawkins; clinician, author, and researcher, theorized that the closer to “enlightenment“ we as individuals become, the greater our impact on the evolution of all:

👉 One human, who vibrates at the energy of optimism and non-judgmentalism can counter balance, the negativity of 90,000 individuals who are on lower, weaker vibrational frequencies.

👉 One human who vibrates at the energy of pure love and reverence for all of life can counterbalance the negativity of 750,000 lower vibrations.

👉 One human who vibrates at the energy of illumination, bliss, and peace, will counterbalance the negativity of 10 million people who are calibrated to a lower vibration.

👉 One human who vibrates to the energy of grace, spirit beyond the body and non-duality/oneness will counterbalance the negativity of 70 million people calibrated to a lower vibration.

👉 One human who lives in vibrates as an avatar of highest consciousness – such as Christ, Krishna, or the Buddha – well, counterbalance the collective negativity of all mankind in today’s world.

Wow, right?🤯

This is the way that we can change the world, regardless of what is happening economically, socially, in our political arenas, or beyond.

One intentional thought pattern at a time – until happiness becomes habitual.🥰

Big love.💖

Healing a Broken Heart

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized
Grief is hard, but healing doesn’t have to be.

Grief can be such a hard thing to get past.  I understand this implicitly, from the loss of close family members and friends, beloved pets, divorce, and the heartbreak of losing someone I was deeply in love with.  

 It is vitally important that we honor our feelings when life brings us these painful experiences, but it is equally important that we learn to heal from that heartbreak rather than allowing it to consume our lives. 

It has been shown that an estimated 40% of people who experience the emotional event of heartbreak also suffer clinical heartbreak.  The physical organ of the heart is damaged as a result of the psychological trauma.  

As if that is not enough, grief temporarily lowers our IQ levels; lessening our ability to navigate the challenges of life.  When we are in a state of grief, our innate programming tends to shift our neurological processes to focus upon the person, event, or circumstance that caused the trauma to begin with; the experience of grief acts on the same neurological network as the motivation network.  This means we feel an incentive to “fix” the “problem” of the loss of our loved one.  

This is compounded by the fact that when it comes to relationships, the withdrawal of or from love catalyzes the same chemical processes as addicts withdrawing from Heroin.  The hanging on, or inability to let go of the grief we are experiencing, is the methadone in the addictive process.   If we are going to completely break the addictive cycle, we have to realize that we can not trust our hearts if we are hanging on to an idea of reconciliation.  Our minds will feed on that hope and create stories to perpetuate the idea that the fairy tale will have a happy ending, idealizing and romaticizing our partner’s wonderful traits.  We will spin all sorts of scenarios and stories that create a positive outcome.  This is called “Limerence”. 

But in order to heal and move on, we have to accept our loss.  Let go of those stories, fantasies, hopes, and also, the pain that we guard so closely to our hearts.  When we let go, we can move forward to a happier future.

Easier said than done, right?  

 As you may gather from the below poem, I experienced this at one time, too.  I fell deeply in love with someone; harder than I had ever fallen.  I had not experienced the level of emotional connection and vulnerability with another human as I had with him.  I didn’t even have a framework to understand that intense of a connection.

When the relationship ended, I wasn’t just heartbroken, I was eviscerated.  I had been through heartbreak before, but not like this; probably compounded by several years of really terrible loss in other areas of my life.   The grief I experienced became a feedback loop, trying to convince me that he was in love with me, that he wanted to be in a relationship with me – in spite of every piece of contrary evidence.  Being a logic-minded person, even this “loop” f#cked me up in a major way.  I would have arguments with myself that looked something like this:

 “You have to stop this.  He is not in love with you.  He has no desire to be with you.  He isn’t going to write.  Or Text.  Or call.  He’s not thinking about you.  There is absolutely no physical evidence of anything else being true.  The “connection” you think you still feel is created; likely a result of unresolved childhood trauma pertaining to your father and stepfather.  Can we please just let this go now?  

(Limerence). “ I don’t believe that.  How could two people have shared what we did and it not be love?  It doesn’t make sense that I would still feel this level of connection to him if he wasn’t also missing me.  It’s quantum entanglement!  I have faith that everything is working out.  We just have to be patient and wait for the right timing.”  

Cue the eye rolling from my logical mind.  You can see the Limerence in action, right?  The separation of the two parts of my mind was absolutely terrible.  Honestly, there are still moments when that voice pops up to say “what if?”, but I’ve gotten better at using some of the tools that can help us to heal from any type of grief or heartbreak.  Here are a few that may help with your own process:

  1. Don’t deny the heartbreak.  Spend some time honoring your grief.  It’s important to say “I see you” to those parts of yourself that are hurting.
  2. Self-care for the win.  When it feels especially difficult, give yourself extra love and care in the way that feels best for you.  
  3. After you have moved through the natural states of grieving and are ready to move on, practice “This, not That”.  In hypnotherapy, we use it as a form of re-coding neurological circuits that may not be serving us well.  If you lost someone close such as a dear friend or family member, each time you feel sad, thinking about what you have lost, replace that thought with a happy memory of time you spent together.  Feel the joy of that moment.  If it is a lost love, substitute the thought of something or someone else that brings you pleasure.
  4. Identify the voids in your life that the grief or heartbreak left, and fill those voids with other things.  For example, if you lost someone you loved and were close to, spend time with others you are close with to fill that empty space of loneliness or disconnection you may be experiencing.  
  5. If you are experiencing Limmerance pertaining to heartbreak or the loss of a relationship, write a list of all of the reasons it was not healthy to begin with.  Write the outcome that you may be hoping for and the evidence that it is not real.  Keep this list somewhere close as a visual reminder and way of re-coding the loop that creates those expectations.
  6. Create a more compelling future.  Another Hypnotherapy technique is called “Future Pacing”.  When you are in a relaxed state, envision in your mind a future a year out that feels amazing.  A future that you would like to see for yourself – that does not include the person you are grieving.  When you can clearly see where you are, and what you are doing, and feel yourself in that place, “see” yourself three months back, then six months, then nine months, then back to your “present” self.  What are the steps you needed to take to get to that place in a year?  Write it down and try to follow that timeline in real time.  Practicing this visualization before bed and when you first wake (Your mind is in a theta/highly suggestible state) can help train your brain to create this reality, too.  
  7. Take time for awe and wonder.  Whatever this may look like to you, taking time to tap into these states of appreciation and gratitude for beauty can powerfully heal the mind and body.  
  1. Spend time with good people.  It can be too easy to isolate. Build a support system.  Find community that feels good.  
You are the medicine.

Limerence

I learned a term,

Not so long ago.

Limerence.  

Limerence is defined as 

“A state of being emotionally attached to 

or obsessed with

Another person whose 

feelings toward the person

Are typically unclear.”

I thought that we were in love

with each other.

But it couldn’t be limerence.

I was so sure. 

Sure you were the one;

that you were as in love with me

As I was with you.

I was so sure 

That we were important.

Meant.  

It was not just in the way 

I fell in love with your mind

and your protective, expansive heart

As we walked 

And talked; 

Exchanging information 

in a thousand different ways.

In our words.

In small touches.

In the way our eyes held

over a glass of wine,

In the way you held me

in your big arms;

Embraced at the park

Or in front of a store

Or next to my car.

Strong and fierce;

Like you never wanted to let go.

I believed it 

When you told that old man

That you were lucky.

It wasn’t just in the way

I fell in love with your body.

With your graceful hands

and expressive eyes, 

And the expanse of your chest

As my hands searched out

the slow rhythm of your heart.

It was also in the 

thoughtful little gifts.

Gold for my sensitive ears.

Tiny Buddhas 

To add to my collection.

The bag I took with me to Europe; 

Perfect for keeping

My passport and valuables

Close to my body.

Close.

Like the way you felt

When we touched.

The ignited passion 

In every kiss.

The way our energies 

Collided and melded 

When we were together. 

When we moved together.

As lovers do.

All of these things

And more

Aided my faith

That you loved me

That you wanted to share

My beautiful

Heart-shaped life.

In spite of the challenges

The complications

The difficulties.

I was so sure

Everything would work out.

As it always has for me, 

In the past.  

But it didn’t.

You didn’t.  

Work out.

Love me. 

Not Enough.

Not enough to be important, 

Not enough to communicate.

Not enough to show me 

That you valued me

When we were apart.

You didn’t love me enough

To talk to me.

To fight for me.

To write back.

To choose me.  

To choose Us.  

I have tried to understand why.

To see things from your perspective.

I forgave it all long ago.

But in spite of my forgiveness,

I am stil left here,

Unable to forget.

Unable to let go.

Still trying to 

Cut those ties.

Break those binds.

Bring those parts of my 

Soul back from where they still linger

With you.

Close to you.

I’m still here

Trying to convince myself

That you don’t love me

That we didn’t share 

The depth of what I felt.

What I still feel;

Unable to let it go. 

Of course,

I’m so very grateful

To be living this beautiful life.

I am, as ever, acutely aware 

That it is such a gift

And a blessing 

To be living my best life.  

I love every minute –

Though I could do without

The brooding,

Near- constant Companion 

That you left in your stead.  

Grief won’t take his leave, 

Though I beg each day. 

He shares my heart-shaped home 

With all of my other friends

and companions now.

Grief accompanies me 

Along with Joy

And Curiosity

And Interest

And occasionally frustration

As I take my classes

And build my career

Grief spends time

With me at parties and events,

Turning my rose-colored glasses

A deeper shade of lilac.  

Grief sits in vigil 

Through conversations

With friends, family,

And those I meet randomly;

Striking up conversations

Because in spite of his presence,

I still want to be friends

With the whole world.

Grief accompanies

Me on spa days, 

Travel days,

Adventures great and small.

Grief is there as I care for 

Those around me. 

Grief whispers softly to my heart

Holding conversations with Love

and occasionally, Passion,

As I continue to make my life 

Into something beautiful.

Something meaningful. 

Most of the time, 

I have learned to live with Grief.  

I keep conversations with him

To a whisper

Or push his presence 

to the back of my mind.

I practice This, not That;

Substituting the memories

And thoughts of you 

With myriad distractions

And interests.  

But there are times;

So many months later 

When the loss of this 

Still feels so acute 

That I cannot breathe. 

There are days 

When I want to cry out 

To the Universe;

To the Unified Field

To whoever may 

Or may not be listening.

There are days  

When I want to know why. 

Why it is that I fell so very hard 

So very deeply 

That I still can not let go?

I want to ask 

Why am I still picking up 

The fallen pieces 

Of my shattered heart;

Trying to understand 

Just how easily it all fell apart.

Just how easily we fell apart.

I guess that’s the answer 

And the clue. 

It wasn’t real

It wasn’t true.

So the circles in my brain

Lead me back to 

This unavoidable refrain

That it could not have been Love.

That we were never meant to be.

That I must accept I was wrong

About how you felt for me.

It was Limmerance, 

All along.  

Reincarnation Reevaluation

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

It is estimated that just over half the world believes in reincarnation. Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jainists all believe that our souls are eternal and keep incarnating in new bodies after we shed the previous skin of a lifetime.  In fact, up to 25% of Christians believe it, as well.  I found it interesting to learn that many philosophers, such as Pythagoras, Plato, and Socrates, also believed in the continued rebirth of the soul.  

From a quantum physics standpoint, energy cannot “die”, but must be transferred or transformed.  A tree becomes a log that is put into a fire to become a flame, to become ash, to become earth, to once again become a tree…

In spite of my own very traditional Christian upbringing, I’ve had a few experiences that have led me to believe that I’ve been around the proverbial block a few times now, too.  I like to think of each lifetime as a school. When we’re a young soul, we get to go to kindergarten and life is pretty easy. We don’t think terribly deeply, and we’re mostly here for a good time, even though we are still learning simple lessons.  

 As we progress through lifetimes/grade levels, things get a little harder, but I think that’s by choice. That maybe before we are born, we choose the classes that we are going to take to best help us grow; to evolve and become Creators in our own right. By the time we’re in “university”, many of us are choosing some really f#cking hard life lessons so that we can achieve exponential growth.  

I don’t know that we all pass every class that we take. Sometimes, we get stuck in victim mentality, or we get drawn into materialism, or those hard lessons cause us to become embittered rather than more compassionate.  Sometimes when we are given the opportunity for growth we allow fear to rule us and we stay stuck rather than advancing.  

Eventually, we shed our mortal coil and we get to go again, perhaps with some encoded memory that we’ve been here before, and hopefully do it a little better next time.  

But over the past couple of years, I’ve started to think that maybe I should be a little more global in my belief system when it comes to reincarnation.  I’m not so sure that it always has to mean that we literally die, go to some other place for reassignment and then come back as another person. 

I think maybe we also reincarnate many times, in one lifetime.  The death may be more metaphoric than literal, but we’ve all been through many experiences where we felt like some part of us died, as with the death of or separation from someone or something (such as a career) we love, or perhaps it is the “death” of some aspect of our identity or ego that we have carried from childhood. In fact, it is said that when someone consider suicide, it is not the whole self that wants to die, but rather some aspect of the ego that long ago stopped serving us.

When we go through these “little deaths”, we may feel that we are in purgatory for a time, and it can be months, or even years before we begin to crawl out of the protective cocoon we have built for ourselves, to learn to fly again. To be reborn, each time a little – or a lot –  of a different person.  

I’ve had a number of such experiences throughout my life; usually following some really frickin’ hard lessons.  I have been through some of these over the past three years or so, but recently found myself in a situation that caused acute emotional pain; asking the question – “WTAF Universe (Unified Field/Source/God/Jah/whatever works for you); this totally sucks.  Why am I getting this lesson AGAIN?  

To be immediately followed with “oh.”  

Because I didn’t learn the first time.  If we fail a test in a particular class in school, if we are lucky and our instructor/teacher/professor takes mercy on us, we can re-take that test. I believe the Universe is infinitely merciful and so we get to take the test over. And sometimes, over, and over…and hopefully, eventually we figure it out. We have our “oh” or “aha” moment.

So the question, when we find ourselves in the same lesson, must be:  “What did I need to learn here?”  Sometimes, with those BIG lessons, it takes a bit of deep work to figure it out.  We have to look at and work through the source of the thought processes that are creating or drawing to us these challenging experiences.  But  as soon as we realize what the lesson was all along, there is this amazing feeling of “aha”, and a knowledge that we just moved up a level.  We shed the heaviness that was connected to what we were holding, and remember that we have wings again.  We re-incarnate, lighter, happier, and excited for the future.  

Of course, there will always be many other lessons to learn, but that particular class is passed, and past.  

What’s especially exciting about the idea of multiple reincarnations within each lifetime; whether they are related to relationships, lack/poverty thinking, victim mentality, low self-value/self love or any other issue or program that has been carried from a flawed or traumatic childhood, is that just like being born into a new body with a new family, many of the old, unhealthy habits and people that were an aspect of that life and vibrational resonance drop away and healthier, happier habits and communities are formed. 

 We learn to set healthy boundaries and care for ourselves better.  New opportunities show up.  We become more deliberate in the creation of our personal reality.  As an additional bonus, being a little further along the path enables us to guide and help others create a happier reality for themselves, too.  We are ripples on a pond, contributing in our own way to the evolution of humanity.  

How cool is that?😎

Have you had this experience?  Have you felt like you have lived many lives in this lifetime?  I’d love to see your stories!

Big love.💖

– Terah

Honoring the Pain in the Process – self growth is f#cking hard!

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized
Evolution ain’t easy…🥶

Let’s start this conversation. Growth is f#cking hard. Painful, in ways.

It can be depressing and overwhelming, initially.  

It may lead to rainbows and unicorns, but know this to be true – we often have to leave the familiar, the Known, and even those people and places that we still love in order to find our path towards peace and freedom.  

That path isn’t easy, either.  I read recently that it is estimated that only 2% of the population choose growth.  This is largely because our primitive brain has not evolved to understand the positive aspects of growth.  

The primitive, or downstairs brain (limbic region and amygdala) has not really evolved in thousands of years, and keeps us “safe” from anything that could potentially be harmful. To the amydala, the unfamiliar is unsafe. The primitive brain tells us to stick to the familiar. The safe. It tells us that we should stay in the cave, and tries to override change by creating neurochemicals that make us feel deeply uncomfortable and even fearful of anything that seems unfamiliar.

It is understandable to want to stay in a place of perceived safety, even if that safety makes us deeply unhappy.

Because sometimes, the path to peace downright sucks. Before we can find joy, the path winds through dark forests and up steep mountains. There will be times when we feel lost. There will be times that we feel we are in darkness, and all that we can see is the step directly in front of us.

We will have to confront those dark parts of ourselves – the skeletons in our closets and monsters under the bed – past trauma, dysfunctional patterns and programs – that we may have avoided our entire lives before. We may endure times of aloneness and even loneliness as we make our way on our very individual path.

We will lose people along the way; those that can not accept the new version of ourselves; or just can’t make the journey.  

It’s hard, and sad, even heartbreaking, sometimes.  

But we also gain new friends and family that more accurately reflect the reality that we consciously choose to live, rather than one that was chosen for us.  Our vibe finds our tribe.🥰

Most importantly, we gain peace in knowing that we have chosen our own path.

Time to fly, babe…

Eventually, that decision will become the best decision we have ever made for ourselves. Our journey through those dark paths leads to bright sunshine and warm seashores. The dense woods become charming paths leading through bright glades and mirror-still pools as our mind’s new programs learn to create new realities.

Even in this upgraded reality, there will still be days that clouds move across the path and feel hard or sad. We may mourn for that which we left behind.

But it is 💯 worth it. I can not overstate that enough.

It is worth every drop of discomfort, every leap into loneliness, every disconcerting, uncomfortable or downright scary experience with those lost parts of ourselves and the hard process of stripping away of old, outdated was of thinking and being.

It is worth the pain. The “fertilizer”, to live a life of freedom as a conscious creator rather than as a slave to the programs and patterns instilled upon us by our parents, caregivers, peers and societal expectations.

If you need evidence of this, look to any human who has begun to live by this new shift in paradigm.  I challenge you to find one person who would go back to the Matrix of our own implanted b.s. 

But it’s still f#king hard. 😖

Did you know that when a caterpillar creates its cocoon, it doesn’t just sprout wings and fly away – it completely dissolves into a black miasma within that cocoon before Re-forming as the beautiful symbol of transformation we all recognize and most of us love? Growth and evolution is much like this.🥶🦋

It may feel like we go through our own period of hibernation and re-forming as we spend more time in “being” and self-examination and less time in “doing”.  

This is also a necessary part of the process.  Just as the caterpillar must quietly dissolve in its cocoon to become something more, we also have to become still and go inside of ourselves in order to dismantle all those faulty and outgrown belief systems.  It may feel like winter.  

There was a study done in which scientists injected Redwood trees with a chemical similar to adrenaline in order to prevent the trees from hibernating over winter.  Every single one of these normally long-living trees died within the year.   

Humans have times when we must metaphorically hibernate, as well, if we are to grow into a new season of flowers and warmth.  

Even having that big-picture understanding that the short term, hard changes will eventually lead to long-term happiness, the process is still hard. So it is important to acknowledge and honor the discomfort and sometimes even pain that happens when we start this journey towards peace.

If you are on this journey, I honor you. I acknowledge the pain you may be going through as those old egoic patterns begin to fall away. As you deconstruct.

If you need support or a shoulder on your journey, know that you are surrounded by love and there are others that will find you on the path.❤️. I am one of them, and am sending huge hugs, care and encouragement along the way.

Big love.💖

– Terah

Perceptions, Presets, and Personal Relationships

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

The human brain is an organic computer; a recognition machine that every moment is creating stories and constructs to fill in the blanks of the world around us, largely based upon our individual sets of life experiences and preset patterns.

Put into scientific terms, the reticular activating system; the brain’s “reality filter” sorts through the roughly 6,000,000,000 bits of information we take in per second through our primary senses and magnetic field, and translates that information into 4000 or so usable bits of information that we then view the world through. This filter is essentially created through our unique early childhood programming.

This is why confirmation bias happens. Why we so often end up exactly like our parents or caregivers; for better or worse. This is also why learning and incorporating new experiences into our adult lives is so vitally important if we are to continue evolving as individuals and as a species.

But that is a big and multi-faceted subject. For now, let’s look at how it applies to our self-perception and the way that we create relationships with others.

Our relationship with others can only be a reflection of some aspect of the relationship we have with ourselves.

“The world is looking glass and gives back to every man their reflection of his own face.” – William Make-Peace Thackeray

Because of this, It is nearly impossible for any individual to fully understand who another human is. But we can learn to know ourselves better through how we respond and relate to others and the world around us, and in turn broaden our ability to have a greater scope of understanding of who someone is.

When we meet another person, we create an image of them based upon what our own previous life experiences have been. We build assumptions based on our own identity; an identity that is often an egoic construct based on those childhood patterns of survival and “safety”, or lack thereof that we have continued living well into adulthood.

It is estimated that 98% of our thoughts and actions are habitual (and largely based upon this early programming) before we turn 40, unless we are actively working on neuroplasticity – altering that circuitry and growing a better brain.

What we see in the person we are interacting with at any given moment is an amalgamation of recognized aspects of these preset programs and patterns; often having very little to do with who they truly are as an individual.

Unfortunately, in the same way that we often cannot smell our own bad breath, we are usually unaware of the background programs that are controlling our real-time thoughts, words, and behaviors. It is difficult to see our own dysfunctional patterns until something happens that forces us to confront those damaging subconscious belief systems. We can not know that we are in a dark room until someone opens a window and sunlight pours in.

We can only understand another based upon our own identity patterns.

I have seen this pattern in myself plenty of times. I meet someone and I have this “Wow!” moment in which I see their gorgeous inner child or something especially fabulous in their manner; in their incredible potential, and the beauty of their soul, and I fall a little bit in love. Or sometimes a lotta bit.

When I say that we can not truly know another soul for who they are, I am not negating what I see in that person – I know that when I see that beauty and potential, it is absolutely there. But my own preset patterns of recognition don’t always allow me to see all the other aspects of their nature that might not be as compatible with my own. (Reticular Activating System…). What I also don’t always see is how my own dys-functional pre-sets from childhood might be playing into accepting partners or friendships who do not treat me with value.

Often, the recognition of those things I might not see, whether it is in those relationships or in myself, comes months or even years down the road when I have an “aha” moment or realization that I have been accepting sub-par treatment or that the vastly different, difficult, challenging, or impossible aspects of who they are will not change. I have to either accept the whole person rather than the “potential” that I see, or I need to reframe the relationship that I have with that person.

I very recently had one such epiphany; realizing that an unhealthy situation I had gotten myself thoroughly entrenched in was connected to unresolved (unbeknownst to me at the time) patterns that traced back to my very first relationship. This realization hit me like a ton of “holy sh#t” bricks and made my shadow side do a happy dance, feeling significantly lighter for the understanding and letting go of that heaviness.

Haven’t we all experienced this at one time or another?

I really appreciate the Pollyanna aspect of my nature and her ability to want to be besties with the wise, beautiful, Divinely -connected Starseed inner children she sees in others. I like to think that that sparkly, Rainbow-Brite aspect of my nature is my essential nature. The one I was born with, rather than the one that I learned through a complicated childhood.

But that other, darker side; based upon learned behaviors and belief systems from that oftentimes difficult childhood is not nearly as sweet, and has negatively influenced my personal relationships and the way I have viewed the world.

I grew up in a home where there was a tremendous amount of volatility and instability. I could not trust the adults in my life to care for me, protect me, or keep their word to me. Because of this, I learned to be fiercely independent and would not allow myself to trust or be truly vulnerable in my closest relationships. Or if I did, at the first sign of any kind of “betrayal”, I shut down and shut them out. I created self-fulfilling prophecies of being treated with less-than love and value in my closest relationships, based on faulty belief systems. I couldn’t even recognize that they were there or how much they were hurting me until I began to observe myself from the outside.

For me, learning to recognize the patterns of both my inner “Pollyanna” and my darker, less-than-trusting side, and look deeply into my own reactions and behavioral patterns with others has allowed me to cultivate healthier relationships.  As an added bonus, it has also helped me to recognize that humans are complex, and sometimes we fuck up.  I can be okay with those that I love (myself included) being less than perfect, and loving them through their own bullsh#t while maintaining some healthy boundaries for myself, when necessary.   

This is not to say that I am willing to be treated as less than the beautiful soul and gorgeously complex creation that I am, (nor should you) but it does give me a greater ability to have grace for the patterns and presets of those that I choose to surround myself with.

God knows, I am still working on all of this every single day, (#growthmindset) but awareness of my own presets and choosing to see the light in myself, others, and the world around me, rather than the mistrust I was taught, has been huge in altering every single aspect of my life from personal relationships to how I allow myself to see and create reality. 

So if we find ourselves feeling cynical, critical, and judgemental of others, we can learn to recognize that it is our own self-identity that is cynical, critical, and judgemental. We just project onto others what we feel critical of in ourselves.

If we are convinced that humanity is destined for destruction, hell, or just a life half-lived; a life of “settling”; if our view of the world is cynical or fear-based; this is all based upon our own internal belief systems and dialogue.  

But the opposite is also true. If we can learn to see ourselves as essentially good; of being capable of beauty, growth and evolution, we will see that reflected in the people and the world around us. The mind is always listening in on our self-talk, and if we begin to shift the way we speak to and about ourselves, those neurological patterns can begin to reshape themselves, too. I get bonafide nerded out just thinking about how amazing the human brain (and body) is…😉

If we can see the possibility and potential, the magic and miraculously Divine nature of our own beautiful Self,  we will believe others to also be miraculous, magical, Divine beings of infinite potential.  

If this resonates, maybe it’s time to step out of the shadow of a faulty and untrue belief system that was instilled by people who didn’t know a better way, and step into the bright, shiny, fabulously Divine being that you are. Maybe it’s time to unravel from the collective cocoon and way of being taught to us by our parents, society, religion, educational system, and political figures, and start embracing your own unique beauty, capability, and intelligence.

Because that is where your power is, babe. That is where your joy is. Where your magic and freedom and fun are – In the fullness of who you are, and the wisdom of what is right for you.

Through your own awareness, growth, and evolution, your relationships will improve.  You will attract others of a similar mindset who wish the same for themselves.  Through choosing to create your best possible life, and fully loving the Who that you are, you give those around you the permission to do the same. 

Ripples on a pond, babe. 🌊. How cool is that?

Big Love. ✨💖✨

  • Terah 

Keep Going

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

My love.  

I wish I could tell you that every day will be easy.  

Fun.  Magical.  

I wish each day would feel like warm sand in your toes;

The endless blue ocean stretched before you;

A cool drink in your hand and someone you love close by.

But as we all know, 

That isn’t the case.  

Life brings Contrast.  

Challenge.  Loneliness.  

Moments of grief.

Days that will feel nearly impossible. 

Times when you will wonder if living 

Is worth the effort.

I know.  I have been there.  

I have known nearly every despair

I have loved deeply 

And lost deeply

I have wept oceans of sorrow.

But even in the moments of grief

Of uncertainty

Of aloneness

I know that to keep going

Is absolutely F#cking worth it.

Because those moments are just that.  

Moments.  

Even when they stretch to hours, days,

Or weeks.

Even when there are months of your life 

That may feel like “WTF, God?”

They pass. 

If you can just keep going; 

Keep moving forward, 

One slow step at a time,

Those days will pass.

The dark nights become 

A glorious dawn

Illumined by the beauty 

Of a sun so bright 

The heart sings 

And weeps at the same time. 

Life becomes beautiful again.

We find joy again.

We fall in Love.  

Sometimes with another soul.  

Sometimes with ourselves.

Sometimes with Nature, 

With God, 

With All That Is.

We learn to surf.

We learn to paint, 

To sing, 

To garden,

To travel,

Or a thousand other 

new skills that

Crack us open

To Possibility. To Expansion. To Wonder. 

We find ourselves dancing at a street festival,

Surrounded by friends 

And neighbors.

Or eating Ice-cream 

On a wharf

In the summer sun

With a beloved.

We experience the miracle 

Of childbirth

The magic of holding

And welcoming into the world

A new life.

We become parents

And sometimes Grandparents.

We learn the joy 

Of “spoiling” a grandchild. 

We connect
Or re-connect 

with loved ones.

We find our communities.

We find ourselves. 

We grow.  We expand.  We evolve.

And in between all of these beautiful miracles

That we call “life”,

We continue to experience Contrast.  

But we know

That even in those

Dark nights of the Soul

Those times of Disconnection 

From Source and All That Is,

Dawn is coming.

And it is amazing.

So please, Dear one;

Hold On.

Keep Going.

Don’t stop

In this moment

Because it is hard.

It will get better. Easier.  More fun.  Magical, even.

I promise.

Much Love, today and always. 💖

  • Terah 🌈

Rainbow Warriors/Love Vs. Fear in creating a better world.

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Have you heard of the “Rainbow People” prophecy held by many Native American cultures?  

“There will come a day when people of all races, colors, and creeds will put aside their differences. They will come together in love, joining hands in unification, to heal the earth and all its children. They will move over the earth like a great Whirling Rainbow, bringing peace, understanding and healing everywhere they go. Many creatures thought to be extinct or mythical will resurface at this time; the great trees that perished will return almost overnight. All living things will flourish, drawing sustenance from the breast of our Mother, the Earth.”

The Navajo-Hopi Prophecy is not only similar to this but also very similar to the Christian belief of the “New Earth”:

“The great spiritual Teachers who walked the Earth and taught the basics of the truths of the Whirling Rainbow Prophecy will return and walk amongst us once more, sharing their power and understanding with all. We will learn how to see and hear in a sacred manner. Men and women will be equals in the way the Creator intended them to be; all children will be safe anywhere they want to go. Elders will be respected and valued for their contributions to life. Their wisdom will be sought out. The whole Human race will be called The People and there will be no more war, sickness or hunger forever.”

There are many Versions of this legend, but most speak of a time of darkness in which greed and division would prevail.  The earth would become sick and many creatures would die, fish going belly-up and birds dropping from the sky. (we have seen this happen many times in recent years)  This excerpt from Steven McFadden’s book Legend of the Rainbow Warriors is another example:

“The Native People would be all but helpless, but then Light would come from the East, and the natives would begin to find their strength, their pride, and their wisdom… I see this happening now with the tribe of People in my area, the dear to my heart Lummi. … At the same time, many brothers and sisters of the other nations – white, yellow, and black – who would feel strongly the calling of Spirit. (This is certainly happening right now. Never before has there been such a vast call of Spirit for people to teach their wisdom, thanks largely to the internet and social media) They would understand the basic fact that it is the Earth which gives us the water, food, clothing, shelter and beauty necessary for the circle of life. These awakened souls would find each other, and together they would teach all the people of the world to have respect for the Earth Mother, of whose very stuff human beings are made. Respect would prevail.

Under the symbol of the rainbow, all the races and religions would band together to spread the great wisdom of living in harmony with each other and with all the creations of the world – and thereby restore the Sacred Hoop. Those who teach this way would be the Warriors of the Rainbow, but they would do no harm. Using peaceful means alone, and by becoming examples of right living, after a great struggle they would bring an end to the destruction and desecration of the Earth.

The tasks of Rainbow Warriors would be many and great. There would be mountains of ignorance to conquer and they would meet prejudice and hatred. THey must be dedicated, unwavering in their strength, and strong of heart. They would find willing hearts and minds that would follow them on this road of healing. Peace and plenty would then reign through a long and joyous Golden Age. “

It sometimes feels like the earth is, indeed, doomed to destruction.  I see so many people – intentionally or inadvertently – bringing darkness into this world through fear and anger.  I occasionally find myself feeling frustrated or unhappy by the choices people choose to perpetuate when I know for a fact that we all have the potential to choose better.  To live well.  To be happy. 

From media negativity to social media algorithms pushing hate in our face, everyone joins in the shouting and stick-rattling on government control, vaccines, guns, rampant violence and shootings here in the US and abroad.  Then there’s the war with Ukraine, potential war with China and Russia, oh, and let’s not forget the sh#t show of the Grammys.   

This and a thousand different topics of current events keep us surrounded by darkness and angst.  

But here is an essential truth: 

We can not be in the light and hold another person or thing in darkness. 

We can not spread good and light while expressing darkness.  

We cannot hold and have light in our hands or in our hearts if what we are feeling and sharing is darkness.  

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about these things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice.  And the God of Peace will be with you.  – Phillipians 4:8-9

For those who are of a religious or spiritual bent, is not God the Light?  

Is it not written that God is Love? ✨❤️

So how can we be in the Spirit of God if our thoughts, words, and actions spread anger, anxiety and fear?  

Here is something to consider:

Our thoughts are energy; molecules vibrating that become things – just as much a tangible aspect of reality as the roadways that we drive each day to work, the trees that purify our air, and the molecules that dance within our own body.   If our thoughts are continuously creating our reality, what reality are we putting out there when we continuously project darkness? We can incorporate brain biology to this concept – the more we invest in negative thinking, the more our neurochemistry and eventually, the neural networks of the brain will reflect this and become who we are rather than a passing dive into fear and anxiety.  

What reality are we creating not only for ourselves but for everyone else, when we, as a society, collectively dwell in fear, angst, and anger?  Certainly not a happy, healthy place to live, to grow, to raise children and evolve as a species.😑

So here’s a proposition.  

What if, instead of dwelling on all of this end of the world bullsh#t, we instead kept our focus on those things that were noble, pure, light, and beautiful; as Paul said to the Philippians?  

What if we stopped throwing sticks at our hearts and God and recognized our grace and ability to change the doctrines and dogmas we have been holding to create something good in the world?  To see that, as Hafiz said nearly eight hundred years ago, that everything is sacred.  

If God is in every molecule, then all is God, right?  Even those things, circumstances or people that we may not approve of.  

It’s also important to remember and acknowledge that we all have times when we lose our way.  

All of us – whether we are a celebrity or a stonemason.  So what if, instead of casting stones, we held ourselves and others in love, in grace; in Light, and started creating the heaven on earth that I – and many others – believe we were meant to live?  Not only would we be happier and healthier as individuals, but the world just might become a beautiful reflection of who we are rather than a mirror of the darkness we hold for and within ourselves.  

Just a thought. 🙄

There are those who DO step forward, every day to bring light into the darkness.  To create a better reality.  To wake up and not only smell the coffee but share that motherfxcing goodness.  To all the other Rainbow Warriors out there, Thank you.  I love you.  I honor you. I appreciate you.  

To those that keep sowing those seeds of discord, anger and angst, babe, I see you.  I understand that you are expressing yourself from a place of fear rather than love, but believe me when I tell you – it does not have to be so.  Fear is an illusion that we create or accept, largely because our primitive brain functioning wants us to stay safe in the cave rather than step into the light of what may feel unknown.  

But when you come to the light side, you will see some of the joy we hold over here.  Some of the healing.  Some of the grace.  And yes, we, too, have cookies. 😉

Much love, big hugs and many blessings for this and every day.💖

– Terah

Contrasts and the big picture

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

The last months have brought more challenges and difficulties to my life than in the many years before. 

I separated from my husband of nearly 14 years early last spring and moved out and onto a boat this fall.  Boatlife is awesome in so many ways but also very challenging in others, especially living on a 1969 wooden yacht in the winter.  

I still own my farm in the country and we’ve been through two rounds of major flooding now. 

Watching your life float away as your property is under a foot or more of water is a surreal experience.  Digging out the mountains of mud after the first round of flooding only to have even heavier flooding the following week was in some ways highly charged emotionally, but at the same time, knowing that there is nothing I can do about it at the moment makes it easier to let go of the anxiety and grief that I experienced the first time, standing in my garage up to my ankles in water and mud as my stored possessions and tokens of my children’s life floated around me.

One of my “most important people” passed away last summer.  My aunt Sandra was one of the three women in my life who showed me unconditional love growing up.  She took me in when I was a teenager headed in the wrong direction and gave me a new start, likely altering the entire course of my life for the better.  Her death was earth-shattering for a few weeks.  

I also had an ending to one of my dearest friendships of many years, which is so, so hard as I still hold much love her, but I know that the toxic elements that have been in the relationship for many years are always going to be there, and I have to release those things and relationships that cause ongoing strife and pain in order to move into the place that I know I want to be.  

My daughter has just gotten married and is moving to Okinawa, Japan in January.  I am beyond excited for her (and a little jealous, lol) but it is difficult knowing she will be so far away.  She has been living in Tempe for the last year and a half and it’s pretty easy for me to jump on a plane or plan a road trip to go see her, or fly her up for a family visit.  Not as much when it is a 20-plus hour flight.  

I often get messages from friends and loved ones like “I am so sorry for what you are going through” or “Are you ok?  You must really be struggling right now”.  But the truth is, I am happy the vast majority of the time.  I have an amazing life – and really am not struggling.  For the most part. 

I have times when I have to deal with the literal and metaphoric mud that is in my life.  I’ve got a few dumpster fires for sure.  But here’s how I process the “Contrasts” that we all experience in life and manage to remain happy and grounded 85-90% of the time:

I fully acknowledge and really allow myself to feel the shiznit when it happens.  I yell a little, or cry alot.  In the moment.  I take an honest look at what is happening and what my emotional experience is.   And then I step back and ask myself two questions:  Is this a problem I can solve right now?  And – Is it going to serve me to hold these negative emotions?  

Sometimes, very occasionally, using a so-called negative emotion such as anger to be a catalyst to get off our ass and make some positive change or to drop the toxic elements of our life that are causing the anger can be a good thing.  But more often than not, we allow our negative emotions to hold us as captive as those situations or people that are at the root of our emotional state do.  

So for me, I usually make the decision to let that sh#t go.  

If there is a problem I can solve, I look at the steps to fix it.  One of the biggest challenges to living on an old boat in winter is power usage.  I can’t cook and have my heat on at the same time.  I can’t have my hot water heater on and anything else besides the lights going.  It is an exercise in frustration and I am constantly tripping the circuit breakers.  I’ve had a few times when everything has gone out and it takes some time to trace the problem to its source.  But by addressing each element of the problem in turn, I can usually get things going again.  

With my currently flooding property, there is absolutely nothing I can do to fix the situation.  At the moment.  So I say “fuck it” and set aside the emotional aspects of that problem until I can begin taking steps to dig everything out of the mud again.  

Self-care is absolutely crucial in maintaining a healthy sense of balance and happiness, even in the middle of the shiznit.  Taking time to get some healthy exercise, eat well, spend time with friends and family, take some long, hot baths or whatever mode of self-care feels best for you can make a huge difference in holding onto your happy state.

Right now, I am overlooking a spectacular view of the Pacific ocean and Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  I have good coffee beside me as I write, and a fabulous, oversized bathtub in the room to soak away all of the residual stress of life.  I’ve been walking the beach, wandering quaint shops and of course, hitting the bookstores.  

Tomorrow I head back to reality but taking some time – whether it’s just a few hours or a few days –  to step away from it all keeps the bigger picture in perspective.  

Ultimately, the contrasts are there to remind us of the good.  When we are in the middle of life’s challenges – especially the big ones – it can be hard to see the big picture.  We get stuck in that tiny bit of black paint that seems our only reality.  But with practice, we can learn to step back and “see” the portrait of our life, recognizing that that bit of black paint is just one small spot of darkness in an otherwise bright and beautiful composition. 

 More importantly, that black “paint” is vital in bringing forward those lights and brights.  It may suck for a bit while you are in it, but beautiful, when you see the whole picture, you will be astounded by the brilliance and beauty of your life.  Truly.  

What are some of the contrasts that you have been experiencing lately – and how do you keep your happy space forward in your mind and heart amidst the challenges life may bring?  

If you are going through some of your own dark spots right now, I hope you know that you are not alone.  I am here with you, and you’ve so got this – but if you need a little extra love and support, I’ve got you back.  You are amazing.  You are worthy.  You are capable, and so very loved.  

Always;

  • Terah

Mud to mountains 2 – Fake it until you make it!

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Hello gorgeous;

We’ve all heard the adage “Fake it until you make it”.  

This advice can help us to get to the place that we want to be – or cause an emotional trainwreck if we aren’t being honest about where we currently are at the same time.  

Does this sound like a bit of a contradiction? 🤔

In simple terms, we are creatures of habit.  Our brains are vast fields of neurological pathways, and these pathways are the tracks for our physiological, emotional and psychological patterns, conscious and subconscious.  

The route we take to go to work each day is a pathway.  The apple oatmeal and black coffee that we enjoy for breakfast each morning.  The way we respond to our partner, parents or friends when we are joyful and excited – or feeling criticized and devalued.  Our habits of industriousness or sloth.  Our temperament, routines and rituals, tendency to isolate or our extroverted qualities, the way we value others – or ourselves.  

All of these and every other thing we do and think are pathways through the dense field that is our mind and brain matter.  

This is good news because it means when it comes to pulling ourselves out of the mud to begin the trek to the top of the mountain – that place of expansive views, joy, connection and the deliberate creation of our best possible life – it is, more than anything, just an action that we continue practicing until it becomes a habit.  

In the same way that we learn and improve when we practice the piano, painting, a new profession or study habit, picking ourselves up out of the mud to move on to something better after a period of grief, depression, anger or inertia is essentially the same mental action as picking up that paintbrush, textbook or laptop to prune old programs and replace them with new habits and neurological subroutines.  

It might feel uncomfortable, difficult or challenging to begin, but once we practice envisioning a new reality for ourselves – or maybe a new identity would be more appropriate – and we begin to act upon what it is that we wish to see and become, eventually, that vision becomes our new way of being – our new reality.

Imagine • Practice • Do • Become

So what is it, ultimately, that you would like your life to look like in six months?  A year?  Three years?  Five years?  

How would you like to see your personal reality unfold? What would your close relationships look like?

Where would you like to live?  Do you see yourself in a villa by the ocean, living in an urban setting – or maybe a tiny cabin in the woods?

What would you see yourself doing for a living – what do you think or feel that your purpose is?  

What would your income be?

What would you imagine your daily habits being?  Do you go to the gym or run each morning, do you meditate, or sleep in until 10?

How will you change your life?  Whatever you can envision, you can achieve.✨😎

Let me give you an example from a friend/client of mine:

“Rebecca” grew up in a dysfunctional home.  She was taught that her value was in what she did rather than who she was and it was best if she was “seen and not heard”.  

So of course, Rebecca grew up to behave in ways that reflected this value system.  

She neglected her own well being.  She put all of her energy into caring for others.  She withdrew when there was conflict or when she was emotionally uncomfortable.  

She topically believed she had successful relationships, all the while avoiding real intimacy.  

Eventually Rebecca found herself depressed.  She assumed it was just the “pressures of life” and took antidepressants – but while it seemed like she wasn’t really depressed and unable to function anymore, she still didn’t feel emotionally connected to her life. 😓

In fact, she didn’t feel very emotionally connected to anything other than a growing sense of desperation and anger, emotions that she desperately tried to suppress.  

Can you relate to Rebecca’s story so far?  

Eventually, Rebecca began to see a counselor 🥰 who helped her look at childhood patterns that were causing huge blocks in her ability to experience joy, to value herself, to adapt and evolve – and how those patterns were reflected in her current relationships. 

She spent some time grieving for the many years she had neglected to care for the physical and emotional needs and wellness of herself and her inner child as a result of those patterns.  

She learned to reset her vibrational field to allow good to come to her rather than repelling her wishes and dreams due to her subset programs of scarcity and lack of value.

She discovered that she had to learn to self-care and nurture her personal growth, set healthy boundaries with others, and began to prune some of the toxic people who couldn’t accept her boundaries, growth and the radical responsibility for the shaping of her personal reality.  This was a process that was deeply painful but also deeply cathartic.  

Fast forward three years.  Rebecca is living the life that she hadn’t realized she was missing.  She has a truly successful relationship with a partner who enjoys healthy dialogue and honest communication.  This honesty also means intimacy and she understands what real vulnerability and intimacy means.  

She has taken up several hobbies that had interested her in childhood and although she reports that it is sometimes frustrating to not be “better” than she is, she loves the process of learning and slowly gaining skill.  

She had quit her corporate job a couple of years back,  and now works largely from home contracting her skills to large companies.  She loves the freedom this gives her.

She also makes it a point to spend time with friends and family each week to recreate and build personal relationships.  

In short, she has radically turned her life around.  

Rebecca still has occasional days when she feels a little blue.  But knowing that feeling connected, happy and deliberately creating her life is just so much better, she gives herself some grace and space to deeply feel on those days, but also keeps envisioning an ever-expanding future – and joyfully continues to expand into that future.

And you know what?  Rebecca’s blue days will become less and less the more she practices bliss, curating and cultivating the life of her dreams, healthy communication and community with others and most importantly, loving herself into wholeness.   How cool is that?

If Rebecca’s story resonates with you, I’d love to hear your story, too.  How do you lift yourself from the mud after those days that you need to give yourself a little more grace and space to feel deeply and acknowledge those past parts of yourself that might still feel a little broken?  

What habits do you practice that keep your vision clear and ever-expanding and your vibrational field humming at a frequency that allows good to come to you – rather than repelling it with hidden subconscious programs?  

Drop me a comment below!⬇️☺️

And just in case you needed to be reminded today, you are amazing.  You are valuable.   You are a magnificent creation and capable of achieving anything you can dream of, and babe, you are so very loved.🥰

Healing, hugs and much love;

  • Terah💖

Mud to Mountaintops

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Hello Beautiful;

How are you feeling today? Are you feeling fabulous and shining bright? If you are on-task and feeling amazing, I see you – you glow, girl!

But maybe today is a little rough. Maybe you are going through an especially difficult period and even the idea of getting out of bed to face the day is a struggle.

If this is where you are today, I also see you. I feel the pain you are going through. I have been there myself, more than a few times – and am sending you so much healing and love.

We all go through times like this. We all experience days that are challenging; days when we feel blue, irritable, or under the weather. Days when we don’t want to adult, and coping is a challenge. Frankly, these days suck – but are a necessary aspect of the human experience and can help us to grow.

There will be times when we come up against challenges, grief, new or unresolved trauma, or sometimes we just hit a wall because we are tired.

But here is a secret that modern society tends to ignore or overlook – if we are to get back to feeling fabulous and creating a joyful, connected life, it is vitally important that we acknowledge and honor our honest feelings on those days when we are struggling with keeping our “spirits up”.

 In the same way that in healthy relationships with others, we validate another’s truth and emotional state, we need to do the same with ourselves in order to move forward and move on to a higher resonance and better vibrational state.

So babe, if you are in the mud today, it’s ok.  Give yourself permission to squish your toes in that gooey mess a little.  Talk to yourself or someone you trust about where you are at and why you are there.  

Allow yourself to cry – tears release stored cortisol in the body, which is why we almost always feel better and lighter after we let go of the negative feelings we may have been holding or hiding, sometimes without even realizing it. 👀

Once you have validated your experience and given yourself time and permission to access and acknowledge the sh#ty aspects of your emotional or physical reality, start looking up again.  

It’s ok and even healthy to be in the mud for a little while but babe, don’t stay there too long.  Remember that our emotional states are neurological pathways that can become trenches and even personality traits when we dwell in them over-long, and ultimately, we go through the shiznit in our present to get to a healthier, happier place in our future, right? 😎🥳✨💫

Stay tuned next post for some tools on finding our way out of the mud once we are ready to start climbing that hill again.  🏔🏔🌄

The views up here are spectacular and beautiful, I can’t wait to give you a hug and a hand up.  You’re going to love it here.🥰

Just in case you had forgotten – you are amazing.  You are worthy.  You are capable, beautiful, valued and so very loved.💖💖💖

  • Terah