Tag: #thisblessedsacredlife

Meditation, Visualization, Feeling into the Space of New Creation

by Terah Drake, posted in self development, self-growth, confidence, self worth

Hello, beautiful;

What is the emotion you currently experience most right now?  

If you are feeling stuck in old patterns of being that you can see but can’t seem to change, this one question can lead you to the answer as to why you may be in the mud instead of on the mountaintop.

If your answer is that the primary emotional state you experience is in any negative emotion such as anger, resentment, anxiety, sadness or frustration, this is exactly what is keeping you where you are rather than where you want to be.

We can not create a positive life from a negative state of mind.  This isn’t just a cute saying – this is science.  Here are a few of the negative consequences to the body and mind when we are habituated to negativity:

  1. The brain signals the body to produce neurochemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline. These are 💯 necessary for short-term flight-or-fight situations, but when they are circulating in our system long term, they can wreak havoc on our immune system, cardiovascular and neurological function. Long term stress can also trigger DNA markers for genetic disease and shorten telomeres; markers for aging and health, making us old far before our time.
  2. Stress hormones and chemicals can literally become an addiction . When we allow stress to become habitual we learn to depend on the hit of adrenaline and cortisol every time we create drama or stress for ourselves.
  3. Our magnetic field becomes smaller as we draw from it to sustain the increase in stress on our physical functions, decreasing our energy and vitality.
  4. We carry information on our physical and emotional state in our bodies, minds and magnetic field. This information is transmitted to those around us as well as into the quantum field, and remember that what we transmit, we also receive, creating a cycle of lack and unhappiness.

Obviously, none of us want to be creating more unhappiness for ourselves, right?  Though our subconscious programming might be preventing it, ultimately, most of us want to be happy.  

We were born to be creators. And who wouldn’t rather create a life of vitality, beauty and meaning versus one of dis-ease, unhappiness and lack?

If you can recognize that you are in a chronically negative state, you should be able to begin pruning those neural networks that are no longer serving your highest self to begin creating new networks and neurological programs that reflect the reality you wish to see.

An essential aspect of pruning old neural networks and building a new, healthier mindset is training your body’s biology to reflect the emotional reality you want to create.  Our bodies are capable of creating thousands of chemicals that can be used for healing and happiness – or for sickness, anxiety and depression. 

You are capable of moving mountains and creating any reality you can imagine, but in order to get there you must first overcome those pre-set blocks that might be keeping you from living your best life.  

What are you trying to manifest in your life right now? Greater abundance?  A limitless mind? Healing of sickness – or just an optimally functioning body?  An amazing relationship? The career of your dreams? 

Here is the #1 key to training the mind and body to move past those barriers, build new neural networks and step into greater abundance, health, relationship – into living a life of beauty and meaning:  

You have to feel it.

Now your first response to this might be “well duh, genius. We’ve talked about this before. Obviously we need to feel good to create good, right?” 🤔

But the truth is, it’s easier said than done.

 It requires us to look within to find those blocks that we might not even realize are there, keeping us from the life that we desire.  

It requires us taking accountability for the life we have created to this point, which can be deeply painful – and then we have to begin rebuilding ourselves to reflect something new. Which can also be difficult – but also incredibly rewarding.

If you are unsure of what blocks might be holding you back, here is a tool that will help you on your journey: a Visualization/Feeling meditation.

Sit comfortably with your back straight. Allow your mind to become quiet. Breathe deeply into your diaphragm. Try to keep your mind’s focus on your breath, at first. Take as long as you need to quiet the mind’s chatter. When you have found that place where it feels like floating in space – being nowhere, nothing; formless, ask yourself to feel the following:

  1. Abundance. What does it feel like to be abundant, to have all of your needs met, all the time? What might abundance look like in your life? Can you feel a sense of abundance not only in your mind but in your body?
  2. Fearless. Can you imagine – and feel the experience of being completely without fear – of having faith that you can achieve anything and Source/Spirit will have your back? What might you do or try that fear has held you from up to this point? Riding a motorcycle? Pursuing a new career or a newly single high school crush? Try to envision whatever it is fully, making it a sensory experience…. For me, cliff jumping is one of those experiences I can easily bring up to feel fearlessness – the adrenaline rush of looking down to the water far below and the weightlessness of space as I jump and begin falling. The cold water as it hits my feet then my whole body as I am submerged before swimming to the surface, exhilarated and refreshed….
  3. Limitless. This should feel similar to fearlessness but try to come into the feeling state of your own limitless ability. How would it change you if you could do anything, be anyone, think like a genius?
  4. Wealthy. What does this feel like to you? Can you envision having unlimited resources to go anywhere, do anything, help any number of people? Where would you go? What would you do? How would you be different than you are right now? Can you feel what it would be like to be truly wealthy – to have zero lack?
  5. Joy. Can you put yourself in the feeling state of bliss? Can you feel happy not only in your mind, but in every cell of your body? Can you feel joy in your heart?
  6. Perfect health. Try to feel vibrant health resonating in your entire body and mind.
  7. Relationship/love. What type of relationships do you most desire to create? What does having a wonderful relationship with and being deeply valued by a lover, spouse, partner, children, friends, family members – or your community – feel like? Can you see yourself in your ideal situation? What might it look like? Try to be as detailed as you can as you create possibilities in your mind, allowing yourself to feel the wonderful emotions of these relationships and scenarios. This is vitally important, which I will touch on shortly.
  8. Career/job. What would you be doing if you could do anything? Would you be a doctor, lawyer, corporate executive, spy, teacher, guru, or entrepreneur? What did you wish to be when you were a child? Can you feel into that state?

How did this meditation go? Did you get through all of these questions? Did you experience blocks or difficulty on any of them? Most of us have blocks In several of these areas. We are often trained from an early age by our parental figures to be limited or that we lack ability and value.

This is a false bill of goods and deeply unfortunate.  We will never create an ideal world as long as we continue to teach our children that they are flawed and limited.😤

The good news is, these blocks show you the first part of your roadmap to a better reality.  If you experienced a block when you asked yourself to be wealthy, or fearless, or have the relationship of your dreams, you know what programs need to be overlayed with new programs and patterns.  

Which takes us back to visualization and feeling the way that we want to be.  When we put our minds and bodies into a cohesive feeling state, we are not only creating greater health, but we are training ourselves to live in the future reality that we want to see rather than the past reality that has been holding us back.   

We are also creating a magnetic and vibrational field that resonates to those around us and the quantum field, where Source can most readily bring us those components that we need to create the reality of our dreams.  

If you experienced blocks in your ability to come into a feeling state from the exercise above, let’s go back and take each trait or emotion individually.  

When you are ready, find your comfortable seated position. Begin with the first question you experienced difficulty with. Let’s say it was relationship – a hard one for most of us. Likely because of their own issues, our parents taught us that we were not valuable.

As a result, often without even realizing it, we behave in ways that perpetuate this belief in our adult relationships: 

We don’t keep our word to those around us. 

We let ourselves and others down or don’t always behave with honesty and integrity.  

We speak to our loved ones in ways that are harmful.  

We may find ourselves drawn to cheating on our partners – though we don’t want our primary relationship to end.  

We shut down when it comes to communication.

And a host of other dysfunctional behaviors that keep us – and our loved ones -unhappy and perpetuating the belief that we lack value.

Ouch, right?🥵. 

But here’s where we can transform those dysfunctional past subconscious programs into something so much greater and begin building the life and personality/personal reality that we wish to see rather than hating the person that we think we are.  

Let’s say in our personal relationships we have a tendency to be short tempered and resentful, and our communication skills are lacking.  

From your place of meditation, visualize a loving relationship with a partner in which you sit across from them, holding hands as you easily talk about those issues in your relationship that need work.  Feel your heart center completely open, radiating light and warmth in this visualization.  

(In a post a couple of weeks back, I spoke of heart coherence. This visualization will create coherence in your heart and mind not only in this moment, but in future moments as you experience this in reality.).  

Feel the love and acceptance of your partner as you create a greater reality together.  Hold yourself in this space for as long as you are able.  The longer you are able to sustain coherence in meditation, the more you will experience it in everyday life.

Use this basic formula for each quality you wish to embody.   

This may feel difficult at first. Remember that you are overlaying programs that have been there for many years and it will not feel comfortable the first time or even the first few times you practice, but you will notice that the more often you practice this meditation and visualization, the easier it will become. 

From there, you will begin to see what may feel like miracles unfolding as these new neural networks draw into your reality exactly what you wish for.   

This seemingly miraculous creation of new realities is a combination of new neural wiring and firing causing a release of A)different chemical messengers into the brain and body, B)accessing new possibilities in the quantum field, and C) our RAS (remember the Reticular Activating System; the brain’s “reality filter”? Someone mentions a red Fiat and suddenly we see five red Fiats on the freeway that we wouldn’t have noticed before) beginning to allow us to observe and draw to us new aspects of our everyday reality that we wouldn’t have seen with our old wiring and programs. Amazing stuff, right?🤩

Wherever you are, beloved, I hope you will read this and be inspired to become a conscious creator and reality shaper rather than a victim of past neurological programming.  You deserve to be happy.  You deserve to be fulfilled.  You deserve to have your deepest desires and greatest wishes achieved.  I believe in you, and I love you, always. 💖

  • Terah

Honoring individuality or disempowering the whole?

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Hello, beautiful;

We are all looking to feel greater empowerment in our lives. Greater authenticity. Greater individuality.

This is a beautiful thing.

But when individuality becomes separation, this can also disempower us.

When we create labels – or allow others to create labels for us – that create greater separation between us as a society; as a whole, we are also disempowered as a whole. 

When birds in a flock fly united in a certain pattern, or a school of fish swims together, they do this in part to appear larger to or escape as a group from predators.   This idea translates to humans, as well – as our forefathers understood well: United we stand, Divided we fall.  

When we are divided and disempowered as a group, we are also more fear-based and dependent upon the large-scale “parent” institutions such as government, religion, and corporations.  

Maybe it’s time that we recognize the damage we are doing to ourselves and our society with these labels and ways to create greater separation and less unity. 

Maybe it’s time that we looked at the possibility that all of the labels we are putting so much emphasis on might just be instigated by the parent institutions that benefit the most from our lack of unity.  

Maybe it’s time to see the labels that we once used to identify our individuality – “Black.” White”. “Brown.” “Yellow.” “Straight.” “Gay”. “Trans” “Asian-American” African-American” “Native American” have become tools to create greater division between groups of people.  

 Maybe it’s time to consider that the thousand and one other labels that are used to separate and create damage to our psyche such as “Karen.” “Ken.” “Snowflake” “Boomer”. “Young” “Old” “Vaccinated.” “Unvaccinated” – might just be being used against us rather than for us.

Maybe it’s time to stop looking at those things that separate us and start focusing on those things that unite us.  We are one people.  One Planet.  

I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate our uniqueness.  Not even slightly. 

I geek out hard on things that many wouldn’t such as brain/body biology, quantum physics, spirituality.  I also love travel, writing, reading, dancing, cooking, eating, animals, family/framily, coffee, style and a hundred other things that make Me uniquely Me – and I honor and celebrate those traits and qualities that you geek out about and make You uniquely You.  

You are magnificent!😍

It’s amazing and beautiful that we each are this incredible amalgamation of genes and environmental factors.  Truly.  

But when we focus on division between us of those larger aspects such as race, sexual orientation, political division, religious affiliation, age, health preferences or whatever seems to be the current trend dictated by the media and social media – we no longer have ownership of our individual identity and uniqueness.  

Rather, we lose sight of honoring and celebrating our own and others individuality in favor of the corporate mentality of a select few.  

Here’s a visual to better explain what I’m trying to portray:

Imagine being at a huge music festival.  There is a stellar lineup of bands and musicians.  The music is just phenomenal.  (Kind of like our planet and Source.)

At first, everyone is having an amazing time.  It’s a pinnacle experience.

But soon after the festival begins, instead of the thousands of quirky, fun, funny, music-living folks attending being united in enjoying the incredible vibe of the festival, people divide into small groups of forty or fifty people.  

Let’s say there are the Boho style groups, the “hippie” groups, the Dave Matthews Band groups, the classical music groups, the rock and rollers, the cowboy boot groups, the beanie hat groups and the floppy hat groups – all huddled up, feeling self-righteous about their group – but also fearful, insecure and angry because everyone else isn’t in their group.  

Pretty soon, this insecurity causes a few in each group to start shouting about their way being best because such and such government entities, religious organizations, style experts or health groups said it was the right way.  Before you know it, all the groups are screaming at each other, the music and the vibe completely forgotten. 😣

How long do you think it would be before the shouting turns to violence?  How long before the musicians stop playing and walk offstage?  

How many of us have forgotten the music and the vibe that created us and this amazing planet – as a result of buying into the labels and separation?

But we can bring the music back when we stop using those labels to separate us and begin to celebrate our uniqueness while also honoring  those things that unite us.  One tribe, one vibe.  

United we stand, friends.  Divided we fall.  

Much love!

  • Terah

Reality Formula – Creating Alignment with the Life of your Dreams

by Terah Drake, posted in self-development

“I think, therefore I am”  – Descartes

Hello, Beautiful;

In this final part of this series, I’m going to give you the formula – and the practices that will take you from Woe to Wow.  From dis-ease to ease.  

To begin, let’s go back to our core belief systems for a moment to discuss how it relates to Personality = Personal Reality.  Our Personality is created largely through our Personal Belief System, and our Personal Belief System creates our reality.  

 Here’s the basic formula for how we create our reality each day:

CBS + T + E/F +B + H = E/R  

Core Belief System (CBS) = Thoughts = Emotions/Feelings/Frequencies = 

Behaviors = Habits = Experience (Results)

Let’s break that down:  

Our Core Belief System, those neurological patterns and programs that began to be established in early childhood, tend to keep us running in a subconscious loop that are based upon our past experience.  

If as children we lived in a home where lack was the norm, it will be difficult to move past the idea that we live in a reality of lack. 

Our Beliefs will perpetuate the thoughts and emotions of lack. (How many times do parents say “we can’t afford this.  We are broke”  Or “we will buy you the cheaper version of what you really want.”  These words create our reality and personal sense of value as children.)  

Those thoughts and emotions of lack will create behaviors that reflect our beliefs. The emotions/feelings of our Core Beliefs cause our brain and body to create neurochemicals.  These can either create physical dis-ease and dysfunction, lowered immune system and a host of other symptoms or greater health, or increased immune function and energy and well-being, depending on whether our thoughts and emotions are positive or negative.    

They also create our behaviors and habits – I have a little extra cash in our pocket.  Because I believe I live in a state of lack, I spend it on some trinket – rather than saving and eventually investing in a healthy future.  The results of these habits of course just reinforce our initial belief – I spent all of my money and I am in lack again. I will always be in lack. And so we are…

Or another example – My parents taught me that I am clumsy.  As an adult, I am constantly falling on stairs, dropping dishes, etc. because I believe I am clumsy.   Falling on the stairs or dropping dishes confirms that Core Belief, putting us into vibrational alignment, which creates more similar experiences.

If we grew up in an environment where our personal reality was abundance, our pre-set programming for continuing to thrive in an environment of abundance is greater.  We will never feel a sense of lack and our behaviors and habits will reflect that.  

Of course, there are different types of lack and abundance beyond the material.  If our family was wealthy but lacked emotional intelligence or love, we will still be more likely to live a life of lack as adults.  Conversely, if we had parents that were financially lacking but loving and supportive emotionally, our capacity for thriving in an environment of abundance as adults is much greater.  

It is important to note that if we experienced childhood or adolescent trauma, our ability to create a life that reflects high personal value will be less, as well.  

This being said, we have to look at a new formula for creating the life we wish to see:

Access/Acknowledge CBS + Reprogram thoughts/Shift emotions + Alignment (Establish behaviors & habits to reflect new reality)+ Behaviors/Habits = Results/Reality

  • In order to create a new reality for ourselves, we have to access and acknowledge the source of our limiting beliefs.  What lines have you drawn in the sand without realizing it – where are those boundaries of belief and what is the origin/source?  What are the thoughts and feelings that accompany these beliefs?

Once we have accessed those beliefs and memories that are perpetuating our subconscious programming, we can begin to reprogram the mind. 

  •  Ask yourself how you would like to expand the boundaries you had previously created for yourself, likely without even realizing you had drawn those lines in the sand?  Visualize wiping those lines away.  
  • Write it down! What do you want to see in your future reality?  Vision boards are a great way to create greater clarity in visualization.  

A vital aspect of beginning to move into that future reality is the emotional vibration of it.  Can you imagine yourself there?  How does it feel? 

For example – If you have a dream of living in the Caribbean, see yourself on the beach.

Feel the warmth of the sand between your toes, cool trade breezes dancing off your skin.  See the crystal-clear turquoise of the water before you.  Imagine your beautiful plantation-style home behind you, surrounded by tall palms and lush greenery. 

I love the feeling of being on a motorcycle.  While I don’t currently own one, I often go back to the feeling visualization of racing through long country roads, green trees rushing past.  Or the wind buffeting my face as I cruise along the California coastline, tall madronas on towering cliffs above the wild Pacific ocean.  

What future reality would you like to see for yourself? It works, believe me. I’ve easily manifested sports cars, homes, amazing vacations around the world, vintage campers… and as just a few examples.  Remove your limits and start visualizing!

Clear your mind.  Get quiet.  Imagine the version of you/reality you wish to see at a distance of say, half a mile away.  Now begin to move in a straight line towards that point. Feel into that space.  Feel the joy there.  Feel the possibility there.  Feel the excitement in that space.   

Try to remain in this mindstate for as long as possible.  The longer and more often we can sustain this higher frequency state, the faster we will notice the fulfillment and manifestation of that reality.  But if you can’t quite get there all the time, give yourself love and grace.  Go back to that one happy thought that can get you closer to that future self.  

Next we need to create habits and behaviors that reflect the personality – personal reality – we want to see.  

  • A habit of presence and gratitude is an essential component in creating a better reality.  Remember that heart coherence creates a healthier body and mind and a vibrational resonance that we send out into the world around us and the quantum realm/Source frequency.  
  • Desire/Ask/Believe/Receive – But what is the vibration in which you are asking?  Tuning in to where our mind is frequently and keeping a daily gratitude journal will help keep our energetic frequencies and neurochemicals vital, healthy and happy.  
  • Create a daily habit of movement and nourishment. How you move is up to you, but daily exercise keeps both mind and body healthier and in a higher vibrational state.  

Find those other habits and behaviors that reflect the reality you are creating.  

Do you want to become an artist?  Paint!  Take classes.  Experiment with different forms of media and components. 

A writer?  Write every damned day, even if it’s only for a few minutes.  

Do you want to open a small (or big) business?  Look into an LLC and a business plan.  

Whatever your dream, try to come back to the state of being that future self (personality) holds as much as possible.  Remember that we are looking for alignment with that ideal reality/personal reality.  A good mantra is simply the question: Am I aligned?

From this place of alignment and coherence, watch the miracles begin to unfold.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you, beautiful one.  You deserve every good thing your imagination can hold, and more!

Much love;

  • Terah💖

Heart Coherence – Creating Alignment with the Life You Love

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Hello, Beautiful;

We talked yesterday about the importance of finding a sense of gratitude in the present moment – in order to become more aligned with the future we wish to see.  The more often we can hold ourselves in this state of gratitude and presence, the closer we become to accessing the quantum field of possibility and achieving resonance with Source – putting power behind our prayers.  

Another of the beautiful aspects of coming into alignment with our highest selves is that we obtain a sense of peace and gratitude in the moment that causes heart coherence – our heart beats with a steady rhythm.  There is no irregularity or arrhythmia; only too common occurrences these days.  

As I mentioned in an earlier post, heart coherence reduces cortisol and adrenaline and increases output of Immunoglobulin A which increases immune function by up to 50% (!) and creates greater access to available energy.  

Studies have been done on measurable photons in the energy field surrounding the body while in a state of heart coherence. The increase in these light waves – accessible energy – is typically more than doubled. 

Wow, right?

But here’s what’s extra cool about achieving heart coherence:  When we achieve this state, our bodies produce a chemical hormone called Oxytocin.  Oxytocin is the “love hormone” that puts us in a state of bliss and connection.  This release of Oxytocin causes the heart to release a chemical called Endofillial Derived Relaxing Factor.(EDRF) 

EDRF causes the vessels of the heart to expand, not only creating greater oxygenation and blood flow, but also acting as an amplifier for all of those positive hormones and neurochemicals.  

The amplification of these hormones not only causes intense feelings of bliss but can also reset the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for processing fear and holding past trauma.  This means achieving heart resonance can literally rewire the brain.  Now that is just pretty frickin’ AMAZING.  

Stay with me, because here’s where we begin to learn the practice behind all that we have been learning about so far.  

It’s important to recognize that we can’t always immediately get into this blissful state when we have been stuck in negative thought patterns – but we can get closer to it.  

And just practicing being closer today means eventually, Bingo!  You will find yourself heart-centered, healthier, and amazed by the feeling of joy that your brain and body produce.  

When we are in this space, we begin to arrange our values, thoughts, habits, and energetic vibration (vibrational frequency) to reflect the person and reality that we want to be and see.  

We become a vibrational match for that wonderful reality that we have dreamed of. 

So how do we begin to get closer to alignment and coherence when we feel stuck?  

We start by leaning into the feeling of any thought that is better than where we currently are. 

Here’s an example – If you, like me, are someone that has suffered from Insomnia, you know that when you wake in the middle of the night, the mind tends to start racing.  

Often the thought patterns that keep us awake for hours on end aren’t necessarily happy ones.  Many years ago, I would find myself awake most nights from midnight to 4 or 5 am.  This went on for months. 

At first, I called it “doing the work” as I processed through trauma of the past for hours on end, but eventually I realized that I was no longer processing through but was instead stuck in that past pain.  

So, on the advice of Wayne Dyer, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Bruce Lipton and other experts and self-development gurus, I began to shift my thoughts to one thing that felt better in my life.  

Walking the beach with my beautiful children and happy dogs.  

Chatting with my dad over coffee on religion, mechanics, and co-creation.  

The brief but meaningful exchange I had with a beautiful stranger at the grocery store or the park that morning.  

Time spent with friends.

Teaching classes.

A beautiful bouquet of peonies or Stargazer lilies

Or whatever else I may have recently experienced that made me feel good. 

Before I knew it, a sense of peace and gratitude lulled my mind back into relaxation and I was fast asleep.  

What is vitally important here is that we don’t just think about those things that make us feel a little better but we feel or lean into the positive emotion of those memories.  This changes our neuralchemical output and begins to re-structure the brain.   

We don’t have to suffer from insomnia to practice this.  

The best time to start this feel-good meditation is in the morning, before any obstacles of the day can influence how easily we are able to access the feeling of gratitude, (I highly recommend beginning a gratitude journal each morning) but we can reach for that next good feeling any time of the day or night, bringing us closer to that place of alignment with our future selves and blissful heart coherence.  

Practice:

  • Find someplace quiet to sit or lie down in a comfortable position.  Close your eyes and take your focus to your breath, breathing deeply into your abdomen from your nose.  
  • Allow your mind to quiet, bringing the focus back to the breath each time your mind becomes busy.  
  • Observe thoughts without engaging, like watching clouds float across the sky.  
  • Think of one positive thing from the day, or the day before if you are practicing in the morning – or even something you are excited about that is upcoming.  Feel into the gratitude of that thought and space. 
  • Try to notice if that feeling is in your heart center.  If not, see if you can bring it closer to the center of the chest, just behind the sternum.  Try to stay in that place of feeling good for at least five minutes, or longer if possible.  

Each time you feel yourself beginning to cycle downward during the day in your thoughts or emotions, try to come back to that place. Practice makes perfect.😎

Tomorrow – Part 5 in the Anxiety to Alignment series:  

Personality = Personal Reality…

Creating a New You to establish a New Reality. 

Much love!💖

Connection or Identification?

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Big breath on today’s post, babe.  I’m going to get deep on one of the key barriers to self-acceptance, authenticity, freedom and happiness.  I’m talking about those things that hold us and keep us trapped in stagnation, unable to move forward – our attachments.  

This might hurt a little as we rip off some band-aids, but it will be so worth the healing if you read to the end.  Of course, implementation is a necessary step in growth, but you’ve got this and I’m right here with you every step of the way.   

Forming attachments is a necessary and vital aspect of human existence.  If we didn’t have a connection with our friends, partners, children, and communities we would be isolated and depressed.  This is science – it has been demonstrated in numerous studies that humans are happiest when they have social support.   (http://ccare.stanford.edu/press_posts/good-social-relationships-are-the-most-consistent-predictor-of-a-happy-life/)  

We form connections and attachments to our homes, schools, pets, professions and jobs, sports teams, sense of style and a hundred other things that we identify with on the daily. 

But that is where it can get tricky.  

We need connections, but our self-worth can get so very wrapped up in those things that we identify with.

We become attached first to a thing or person, but at some point, that thing or person becomes part of who we believe ourselves to be. It is only too easy from there to lose sight of ourselves as we wrap our sense of identity up in a person, place or thing.

Connection is spirit-based. Identification is ego-based. Here’s an example many can relate to: I really love my morning cuppa joe. I would even go so far as to say I have an attachment to it. The ritual of preparation, the aroma of the freshly ground beans, the rich, cinnamon-laced chocolatey goodness as it pours into my special mug each morning is one of the things that starts my day out right. I do drink organic coffee because unfortunately, coffee is one of the least regulated food products on the planet and tends to be contaminated with mold, pesticides and a variety of other yuck that we really should never put into our bodies. Just sayin’.

But enjoying my early morning deliciousness because it makes me feel amazing vs. considering myself a “coffee snob” who only drinks XYZ coffee at XYZ time of the day with XYZ people, who of course are the best kind of people moves me from healthy connection and mentality to ego-based identification.  

I use coffee because it’s an easy example for me, but we can insert whatever attachment rings true to you – sports teams (are you obsessed with the Seahawks/Redskins/Greenbay/etc., or do you watch for the enjoyment of the sport?) to relationships (I couldn’t possibly live a happy, healthy life without my Spouse/Partner/BFF/Hookup/etc.)

Are you still with me? Here’s where we get to the real meat of the subject.

If we come to a place where that something or someone becomes so intrinsically attached to our value that we lose who we truly are, what happens when we no longer have that thing or person?  What happens when the relationship or attachment becomes toxic or no longer truly serves who we are or who we wish to be? 

When this happens, it is time to step back in order to come to an awareness of how those attachments might be holding us back from freedom, from being who we are – and who we were meant to be.  

Here’s where we rip off the band-aid and let go of those things that are familiar to us when they no longer serve or have become toxic.  Let’s be frank – it is so hard.  We humans like routine.  We like the familiar.

Or maybe better to say that we are most comfortable with the familiar.  

Stepping out of a long-held comfort zone feels – uncomfortable.  Hard.  If you are in a place where you are being forced to let go of something – or someone – deeply familiar and are overwhelmed by negative emotion, don’t beat yourself up for struggling to “let that shit go” because babe, you are not alone and there is a reason it’s hard.   

The pain of this emotional withdrawal  is a combination of our biology and our ego.  Our ego likes to create identity.  It makes us feel like we belong somewhere, that whatever we are makes us valuable –  “My name is Terah.  I’m an empath.  I’m also a mother, writer, artist, martial arts and yoga teacher and intuitive healer.”  And there you have it, right?  All that I am summed up in one sentence and wrapped up in a tidy little package.  We do the same thing to nearly everything in our lives – including God, whatever God might be.  

But fuck, babe.  I am so damned much more than those titles and labels.  So is God.  And so are you.  You are an amazing, limitless spirit that just so happens to be wrapped up in a meat suit – but even that label is inaccurate because that meat is frickin’ energy, dancing, whirling and spiraling – and just waiting for us to direct our intentional creation to it.   Cool, right?  

As long as our physical form doesn’t become just another aspect of our ego identification, that is.  Body identification can be one of the greatest inhibitors to emotional freedom there is, especially in our current society.  The trick is to want to feel your best because you love yourself, and want your external self to be a reflection of the amazing creation you are inside.   Versus having a need to look your best because it’s what society expects or where your self-worth comes from.

But I digress, a little.  The second reason it is so difficult to let go of our attachments is biology.  The longer we hold something as a part of who we are, the more those attachments become neurological patterns – starting as connections in the brain, moving to pathways and eventually, if we stay in those identities too long, those neural pathways become trenches that require Herculean effort to alter.  It’s not impossible but it is damned hard and requires nearly-constant awareness and re-programming work for a while to overcome. 

Let me give you another example – A while back, I met with my friend Michelle who is currently going through a separation from her husband.  The relationship was founded in some mutually unhealthy patterns but she was eventually able to see that those patterns weren’t serving who she was becoming and she didn’t want to remain in that stuck place any more.  They tried to work things out but just had too many of their patterns wrapped up in cycles of victimhood and dysfunction.  

Suddenly on her own, Michelle found herself grieving far more than she felt she should have been, especially as she had known where the relationship was headed for several years.  Some days she felt so heavy that she could hardly function – but she noticed it was worse when she would be in the places they had been together.  As we spoke, I pointed out that it made perfect sense – her sense of identity and value had been wrapped up in who she was in the relationship for a long time.  

She was a wife.  A partner.  A playmate.  A best friend, chef, housekeeper and a million other titles that seemed exclusive to that relationship.  How many of us can relate?  So Michelle wasn’t just grieving the end of the marriage but also who she had been in that marriage. 

Divorce isn’t just the end of a relationship.  It is too often the death of an identity.  After 15 years her neurological pathways relating to her relationship were trenches that she had to dig herself out of – an emotionally and physically painful process. 

But here’s what was awesome – having the “aha” moment of why she was having such a hard time – that she had her identity wrapped up in who she was as a wife rather than an individual and spiritual being – helped her to climb out of the depression she was experiencing.  She will still have work to do and daily affirmations to reprogram those patterns but she’s on her way to freedom, joy, and self-creation. 

Can you relate to your identity being wrapped up in something so deeply that to be without it feels devastating?  If so, loved one, now is the time to give yourself lots of grace.  Lots of love. And get to work!

–    Write down daily affirmations on your own worth – just as you are.

–    Take time to meditate.  

–    Give yourself plenty of self-care.

–    Visualize the future you wish to see – and the you

 that you want to be, ideally before bed or upon waking when your brain is in an alpha or theta state – the best time to reprogram old patterns.  

Happy healing, beloved. I can’t wait to see how joyous freedom feels on you!

Much Love

– Terah

Precious Human Life

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Has anyone else noticed that over the last year, we have been 💯 inundated with messages of fear? Politics.  Pandemics.  Mass shootings. (Oh my!) 

Hostility among social groups, friends, and even our loved ones is rampant as many hold differing views on nearly every subject that anyone is talking about right now.  Even some celebrities are jumping on the bandwagon of spreading hate and malcontent. 

 I recently came across Jim Carey’s awful “political art” letter to Melania Trump, calling her the “Worst First Lady”.  Seeing it made me feel sick to my stomach.  

I didn’t particularly like Melania Trump, and I really didn’t like her husband – but who knows why she made the decisions she did?  I can only imagine how hard it would be to be married to DT, Amiright?   But I guess the main question is, who are we to judge so harshly?  How would any of us feel if that kind of vitriol was directed at us?

But there are plenty of other subjects to keep us in a state of angst.

Presidents.  Vaccinations.  Border control. Masks.   

Stay at home.  Get outside.  

Open businesses fully.  Close businesses fully.  

Get rid of guns.  More guns, greater control. 

Black Lives Matter.  All lives matter. 

All Cops Are Bastards.  Law enforcement saves lives.  

De-fund police.  More funding for police to provide better training.  

Avoid social interaction.  We need greater social interaction for emotional and physical wellness.

Peaceful protests.  Out of control riots.

Democrat.  Republican.  Conservative.  Liberal.  Boomer.  Gen Z.   Millennial.  

Save the environment.  F#ck the environment.  

Save the trees.  Raze forests to buy more sh#t from Amazon.  

The list goes on, but you get the point.  Nearly everyone I speak to believes we are in crisis.  Most believe this is a tipping point and many think the world is heading to hell in a handbag.  

I’ve spoken to many Christians who believe we are in the “End Times” as foretold by Revelations.  Shoot, I’ve spoken to agnostics and atheists who think we are in the end times.  Well, maybe we are, maybe we aren’t.  Doesn’t the bible also say “But of that day and hour no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”? (Matthew 24:36)  

So why assume or speculate?  Because some part of us loves the fear.  Loves the drama.  Loves the angst.  Or, if we don’t love it, at least we accept it as “the way it is”.   We become accustomed to this “new way of being” and those new neurological patterns become habits.  

But habits that include daily fear, anxiety, anger, or depression can not lead to an improvement in our circumstances.  In fact, living in the toxic environment of chronic stress impacts our physical and emotional well-being, compromises our immune system, depresses neurological function, and, from the level of frequency, our ability to create a good life.  

This isn’t just woo-woo or psychobabble.  Wondering about the science of that statement?  Let’s break it down.  

One of the major responses to various stressful conditions is the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis  

This is a cycle that begins with the Hypothalamus, (part of the brain responsible for stress control) where it sends signals to the Pituitary Gland (Conduit for chemical messengers that send information to cells throughout the body) that there is environmental stress.  The pituitary gland sends these messengers to the Adrenal Gland, which starts pumping out stress hormones such as Adrenaline and Cortisol.  

This relay of information is based on the bodies’ primitive flight or fight response.  Whether the threat/stress is a saber-toothed lion, a cruel comment on social media, the news’ constant fear-mongering, or an argument about whether Trump or Biden will go down in history as the best – or the worst – president in history, the physiologic response is the same.  

But let’s get back to how the HPA axis affects our body.  As Adrenaline and Cortisol are pumped into the bloodstream, blood flow is re-directed from our gut and vital organs to our external limbs (fight or flight, right?  Fists or feet)  

Now, we generally know that the fight or flight response is a vital and necessary aspect of the survival of the human species.  But thousands of years ago, it might be necessary to fight or run from a threat every once in a while.  But we are living in a time when stress is constant and chronic, which means we are activating the HPA Axis on the daily.  Not good. 

Over time, the nourishment of our vital organs, immune system, and brain become inhibited.  Really, really not good.  

Add to this the fact that many of us have been isolated from our friends and loved ones (seniors and children/teens being the hardest affected by this) which also activates the HPA Axis. 

(Studies have shown that in the absence of affection/love, vital statistics decrease by an average of 30%😳😳) 

Is it any wonder that so many become sick, depressed, or angry?

When we become habituated in an emotional response, that response is programmed into our subconscious as a behavior, and that behavior becomes our personality, for better or for worse.  So occasional frustration becomes habitual anger which becomes an angry, abusive person.  

Yuck, right?  

But when we habituate gratitude and joy, the same happens.  Moments of gratitude turn to contentment, which becomes a happy, healthy human. 

 And who doesn’t want to be a happy, healthy human?

If we become aware of our emotional state – and the huge impact it has on our physical health, the vast majority of us would choose joy over frustration and anger.  

Vibrant health over Dis-ease. 

Love over hate.  

Peace over war and bitterness.  

Creation over destruction.  

So here is an alternative to creating a happier reality:  The next time you find yourself reacting to the media, or social media, or someone’s differing political or other views, just stop for a moment.  Take a big breath and step back from that knee-jerk reaction. Remind yourself of the harm you are doing to yourself and others.

 Remind yourself that you ”have a precious human life and will not waste it.”

Then step back into the conversation with kindness. Agree to disagree.  Value others for their uniqueness and differences.   

Curate the news you expose yourself to or shut it off completely. 

Avoid toxic people or those that try to engage you in argument, even if those people are close to you.  You can love someone from a distance while choosing to create better for yourself.  

Seek social media presences and outlets that lift others rather than tear them down.   

Find healthy habits to substitute those that perpetuate toxic cycles.  Re-programming means overlaying old neurological programs.  

Feed yourself nourishing foods rather than junk.  Eat some good, dark chocolate.  

Cut back on the caffeine.  

Take Epsom salts baths.

Get outside and get some exercise, not only reaping the stress-busting perks of good physical fitness but also the myriad benefits of being in nature.  (See past blog on Shinrin-Yoku/Forest Bathing) 

But most of all, choose to celebrate this life rather than criticize and worry about things out of our control.  Look for the good rather than the ugly.  See the flowers over the weeds.  Or pull the weeds and plant some flowers! 

This is your garden, beloved. Do you want paradise or purgatory? Your choice. 💖

Much love;

– Terah

Full Priced Biznitch

by Terah Drake, posted in self development, self-growth, confidence, self worth

In meditation this morning, I asked myself what I was supposed to be right now. Not Where, because I’m pretty much where I have to be atm. But What.

For the last twenty years or more, I have been a karate teacher, a yoga instructor, a Thai massage-based energy healing therapist, a writer, a coach of sorts, and have owned several small businesses.  I’ve been a wife and partner, and most importantly, a mother.  

But I have had huge shifts in my life over the last year, in the titles and labels I’ve had since I was a teen. 

 I stopped teaching altogether as a result of Covid, and have only given massage to close friends and family members.   My youngest has spread her wings and left the nest, living three states away.  I have continued to write, but honestly, I have put so many other things ahead of my work that I hardly consider myself a writer just now. 

So I was looking for the next step of my journey.  What do I need to be right now?

The answer came to me almost immediately:

Full Price.

Now that might seem a strange thing to answer myself. Full Price? What even does that mean? For me, though it was unexpected, it made perfect sense.

You see, though I write nearly every day on the power of our thoughts and beliefs in creating reality, I still have times when I struggle with my own value.  Times when I believe I am unworthy of good – or even more still, of greatness.  I have to remember to give myself love and grace, because some days, it just doesn’t come naturally. 

On those days, if I were an item of clothing, I’d be a cute thrift store find; Maybe a handmade, lace-trimmed A-line dress with a fur collar because ya know, even on the bad days, I am cute and pretty darned smart.

But I certainly wouldn’t be a full-priced, tailor-made Yves Saint Laurent women’s tux or fabulous sequined disco romper straight from the design floor.  Not a chance. 

This idea of value – or lack thereof – began in a toxic early childhood and continued well into adulthood – as it does for most of us. From about three years old, in the words, actions, and punishments of my parental figures, I was taught that I was deeply flawed and lacked value, as I was simultaneously asked to make myself small. 

 “Don’t shine too bright.” 

 “Don’t speak your truth.”

 “Who do you think you are?” 

“Getting a little ahead of yourself (big for your britches) aren’t you?”

“Don’t achieve or you will make others feel bad” (“Let’s not tell anyone about these high test scores/grades/awards”).  … 

These are literally things people closest to me have said over the years, but how many others can relate to any of these ideas and values?  

This isn’t just a dynamic within my family, this is a societal flaw. Our media, religions and politicians teach us to stay in our place. To be “meek”. “Lowly”. To “hope for the best but expect the worst”. We celebrate mediocrity and punish those that try to fly higher, often without realizing it. Alternatively, we see these images of people living perfect lives and it makes us feel even worse because we aren’t living that amazing life, ourselves. We must really suck, right?

Most of us would say that we would never hold someone we know back from achieving greatness – but here’s an experiment to try – how many times do we scroll through social media, “liking” uplifting or deeply personal posts by celebrities or those that we don’t know – but ignoring those that are posted by someone in our family or social circle? As much as I hate to admit it, I have caught myself doing this, too.

We all know the saying “Familiarity breeds contempt..” But this contempt is based on our own feeling of unworthiness.  Our own lack of value.  And celebrating the good in someone close to us feels too much like illustrating our own flaws.  

But each time we choose not to celebrate another, we are also reinforcing the idea for ourselves that we aren’t deserving; deserving of good, deserving of of achievement, deserving of love, deserving of abundance, deserving of grace.  

This idea that we are “less than” has to stop somewhere if we are to get anywhere.

For myself, I perpetuated this flawed belief system into my adulthood with the partners and friendships I chose, the people I surrounded myself with, the choices I made and in the way I treated myself.

These relationships and choices supported my belief in my own “less-ness”, but at some level I knew that energy builds upon that which is already there, and began to distance myself from toxic relationships and slowly built a belief system that incorporated self-love and supported my value; my muchiness.

It has taken years of therapy and cognitive reprogramming to override those by past entrenched, toxic systems and patterns, and as you can see, still have work to do. Evolution is a constantly evolving process. What makes me most sad today is how much I hated myself for much of my youth and young adulthood.

I know others also struggle with this – and how hard it is to believe that we are worthy, that we are good, that we are valued and valuable, and that we are deserving of every good this world holds.  

My meditation this morning reminded me to stop questioning my value and embrace my badassery. So from this moment forward, I am honoring my full-priced value and holding this as my mantra and personal code:

I am a full-priced biznitch. I am a f#cking Goddess, and deserving of every good this world holds.

Can I get an AMEN and HALLELUJAH?

Now let’s get real for a minute – how does that statement make you feel?

Did you feel empowered and excited, or did it make you feel sad because you have a hard time believing it for yourself? Did you feel a little angry or have a moment of “who does she actually think she is?”

Your response to my mantra is the key and clue as to where your own personal value lies.

If you felt sad or angry, my love, I know it may be so very hard to accept or even look at, but those negative responses are the indicator that you hold yourself in such low value that you can not be excited to celebrate another. But we can not hold another in darkness and still be in the light, ourselves.

So let me say this –  It is time that you recognize and celebrate your value.  That you own your own full-pricedness. 

It is time that you put yourself on a pedestal, and honey, you are wearing that fantastic sequined onesie – or whatever the most incredible, fabulous piece that feels absolutely you might be.   

You deserve joy.  You deserve abundance.  You deserve love.  You deserve every good that this word holds.   

Believe it. 💖

Much love and big hugs, my friend.

  • Terah

Nosce te ipsum – Know Thyself

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

The most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself. Get to know yourself – who you truly are; what makes you – you and become comfortable in that being-ness. There are a thousand ways to gain an understanding of who you are, from self-speed dating (“Hi, Me, nice to meet you. Name ten things that make you happy”) to traveling to someplace fabulous for a ten-day retreat intended to sink deeper into the Self. Whatever means you have at your disposal to begin a relationship – a love relationship – with yourself, there is no better time than the present to do just that.

The key word here is Love. It is vital not just to know who you are, but to love who you are. All too often we love our kids, our partners, our families, and even our neighbors and communities better than we love ourselves. We nurture those around us but neglect our own needs. We snuggle and provide physical love but neglect to meet our own basic needs for nurturing and support. We prepare meals based upon what our families will enjoy but lose touch with what our own bodies are craving for optimal health – and wonder why we find ourselves in front of the refrigerator at 2 am with a pint of ice cream or a tub of cold spaghetti, crying into our Haagen Daz with no idea of where the tears are coming from, or we eat out of resentment because our families never learned to care for and nurture us in the same we do for them.

But how can those around us learn if we don’t teach them? We teach others through our own actions, and the soul is a garden that requires care-full cultivation and love. What is your soul mirroring into your external reality? If you find yourself feeling depleted and disconnected right now, take some time to nurture the soul and care for your self. Slow down, get quiet, and listen. What do you need today? Whether it is green smoothies and exercise or Haagen-Daz and a hot bath, give yourself some love, care, and grace, and don’t forget the gratitude. You are an amazing being! Care for yourself as you would a precious, loved child. Gaze at yourself in the mirror and marvel at those things that make you uniquely, beautifully you. Feed your body and spirit with what it needs – and watch your inner garden blossom. You deserve it. Much love, beautiful!

-Terah

Master and Commander

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

Today is a good day.  I know it may not feel it with nearly the whole world in some form of shutdown as a result of COVID-19, and the widespread anxiety many are experiencing, but there is still so very much to be grateful for.  For me, good coffee, books, my gratitude rock, the sun streaming through my window and a cozy “fire” at my feet as I write are just a few things making me happy right now – but I could name hundreds more.

This doesn’t mean I am ignoring the world situation.  There is no denying that we are in the middle of a storm right now.  The “Shelter in Place” happening in Washington State as of yesterday means I will not be teaching any classes, likely for a while.  The beautiful studio space I looked at renting the week before things really blew up here sits empty. For millions of others in Washington and the world over, businesses will not recover and the economic impact of this will be frightening.  The short-term (months) result of the worldwide shutdown will be difficult for many and feel impossible for some, and none of us can predict what the longer-term impact will be.

But how we navigate the storm will affect how we emerge.  We are each of us the master and commander of our own ship – we own our thoughts, our actions,  our life. So here’s the question – what does your ship look like, and how are you choosing to navigate through the wind and rain?  I was recently in an office that had beautiful lithographs of the most gorgeous, six-masted ships from the late 1800’s as they sailed proudly into Bellingham Harbor; the city I largely grew up in.  I would like my life to look like something from these paintings. Are you steering a sleek sailboat, a proud six-masted schooner or a broken up dingy? When we come out of this, will you stand proudly on the prow of your ship, grateful for the beautiful horizon and safe harbors you have arrived at, knowing your ship will be repaired and perhaps better than before – or will you hide in the bow, seized by anxiety?  

Ultimately, we WILL get through this.   We are incredibly resilient and marvelously made.  So let’s focus on that. Let’s be grateful for navigating our ships through this storm together.  Let’s be grateful for those that share our waters and the time we get to really be present with – perhaps for the first time in years.  Let’s be grateful for the food we are able to set on our tables, for the good health that most of us still enjoy, for the projects we can get to, the walks we can enjoy, the books we have time to read.  What are you grateful for today? How are you navigating your ship? Visualization is a powerful tool for creation – I would love to know what your ship looks like! Much love, friends! ⛵️🛥🛳💖

Celebrating our fellow be-ings

by Terah Drake, posted in Uncategorized

We live in a society where topical perfection is a status symbol.  Social media, television, magazines, even our own self-talk affects our ability to be able to celebrate ourselves and the unique perfection that each of us holds.  Instead, we experience chronic low self-esteem that many of us keep tightly bound in our skins and around our spirits. As a result, instead of the joy we should experience bathing in the freedom of our authenticity – and sharing that freedom with others, our insecurities often lead us to treat other humans, particularly those we find intimidating, with meanness, cutting each other down instead of building each other up.    

But here is a small miracle that each one of us can try that will change nearly every experience you have with those we encounter, whether the clerk at the grocery store or the barista making your favorite morning brew:  When you find yourself reacting negatively to someone, take a breath, smile, and Be Kind. Compliment one thing you genuinely like or appreciate about that person – maybe they have incredible hair, a great smile or an inflection in their speech that you find interesting.  Or just ask about their day. They might feel a little awkward with the compliments, but nine times out of ten, if the energy was negative to begin with – whether it was due to your insecurities or theirs – (or maybe they were just having a bad day) your kindness will turn it around, and you just might learn something about yourself.  

If you find yourself having a negative reaction to someone you meet or even on social media, television, etc., with no visible reason, do some soul searching – what is it that is causing your reaction?  How does it feel, really? Being positive, feeling blissful and at peace always feels better, doesn’t it? How can you feel your best and share that good feeling with others if you are angry, resentful or insecure?  So start celebrating yourself, darling, because you are fabulous. You are worthy. You are amazing! You deserve to shine your light – and you can help others to do the same by celebrating the good you can see in them, even if they can’t see it themselves.  

Share love!  Give genuine compliments.  Build others up – you didn’t get to be the fabulous person you are today without some help and a lot of love from others, so let’s pay it forward.  Celebrate others along with yourself. “Love” those efforts people make to share their own authenticity and creativity, even if it isn’t your brand of authenticity and creativity.  Remember that when someone shines brightly, they aren’t dimming your own light, but rather giving you loving permission to shine just as brightly.