Category: Health

Blessing, Healing, Healing Prayer, Health, Prayer, Spirituality

Prayer for Healing: A Healing Prayer for You

Erin Keane
Prayers for Healing Coronavirus

O, Gracious Spirit of Divine Love,
Hear the prayers of our hearts.
May you bless our bodies with healing and strength,
as we take each breath,
so that our lungs are filled with peace,
a peace that moves through our bodies
releasing us from anxiety, worry and fear.
Please shine your light of hope upon our hearts and minds
so as we sit inside our homes
we become inspired to express ourselves
in new and creative ways
ways that bless the world with healing,
a healing that comes from the light in our hearts
that are filled with your love.

May we remember that we are never alone in our every days,
for You are always with us.
You are in the opening of each new flower,
in the song of every bird;
you are in the smile of every child,
in the care of every person’s hands;
you are in the melody of the wind,
in the rising and the setting sun;
you are in the flickers of the night’s stars,
and in the light of the moon.

Please help us, Spirit of Divine Love,
by blessing our world with your love,
your protection,
your guiding heart of wisdom,
and your grace.
And forever and ever have mercy upon us.
Thank you for your astounding Love.
Amen.

Blessings of healing to you, Erin

©️2012-2020. Erin Keane. Bella Bleue. All rights reserved. No portion of any post or photo may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission from the author, Erin Keane. Find me on Instagram @Erins_blessings and at Facebook Bella Bleue Healing by Erin Keane

Healing, Health, Inspiration

Imagine Healing is Happening for You

Erin Keane

One of the spiritual gifts we have been created with is our imagination. Using our imagination to inspire healing in our bodies is an amazing tool.  Take some time to be with your body, and any where you feel pain, illness, discomfort or off balance, take notice. And then begin to focus, and imagine your cells, your tissues, your organs working to bring healing, health, balance and peace within your body.

I have been working more intentionally at getting to know my body, because I have been suffering from dizziness, headaches and tiredness. About 2 months ago I began to try to find a way to get better. I realized what I was feeling wasn’t just a phase. I talked to doctors, and friends, and did my research, but still didn’t really feel well. And then one day about a week ago it dawned on me: I have been forgetting to be in touch with my body. I had forgotten how to listen to my body and learn from it: that when something is off in your body, yes you may be ill, but your body may also be telling you that the way you are living your life may not be healthy for you.  In my case I was holding left over grief and every day stress in my head. And it was making me exhausted.

But as soon as I began to make a CHOICE to listen to my body and become aware of why I was not feeling well, day after day, I began to hear my body telling me, it needed me to “Let Go.” I needed to begin to release the emotional stuff I was holding within me, and as soon as I began to offer myself the gift of love and compassion, I began to feel better. This love encouraged me to begin to imagine healing energy, love, light flowing within me and pushing out all that was harming me. I continue to do this each day and thus, day by day am feeling better. I have also chosen to eat well, and learn more about the foods I put in my body, but that’s a story for another day.

So I invite you to be present to your body and to begin to imagine harmony and balance in your body. Be intentional about this.  Make it a part of your every day spiritual or mindfulness practice. And see what happens.

healing-cells

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue

©️2012-2020. Erin Keane. Bella Bleue Healing and Blessings. All rights reserved. No portion of any post or photo may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission from the author, Erin Keane. Find me on Instagram @Erins_blessings and at Facebook Bella Bleue Healing & Blessings by Erin Keane.

Please also visit my photography site: Photography by Bella Bleue.

See my Facebook page for daily inspirations and messages.

Connecting to the wonder we are, Health, Inspiration

The Healing Wisdom of Your Body: A Metaphor

Erin Keane

Your body holds a deep wisdom. Your deep truths to healing and connection flow right in the very cells and tissues of your created body. When you listen to the wisdom of your body and work as a partner in your body’s healing you actually become healthier.

A metaphor for the wisdom of your body:

Pregnancy is an amazing and mysterious state of life. When I got pregnant with my son, I was amazed at how my body just seemed to know exactly what to do. You are going about your normal way of taking care of yourself: eating, working, exercising, talking, & sleeping, and yet your body is being transformed millisecond by millisecond to make space for a little person who will be changing your life forever. Your organs are being pushed around and moved to different places in your body, and yet they still function exactly the way they are supposed to in order to keep you living and well. You don’t have to give orders or say, move this way; they just know. Your body knows.

I’ve always been the kind of person to pay attention to what my body is telling me. But I haven’t always been very good at listening to what it is really saying. When I was pregnant I started to really listen though. And I realized that my body really is a miracle.

Your body really is a miracle.

I didn’t have to tell my body to produce milk for my son, it just did.
I didn’t have to tell my organs to go back to where they belong after birth, they just did.

I did have to care for myself though, and show my body gentleness and respect, so that I could heal. We have to work as companions with our bodies towards our healing. Your body already knows what it needs to do to seek healing and well-being for you-i.e. bodily wisdom, but you need to work with your body so that the healing can be effective. If you work with your body to be well and heal, you will heal.

If you work against your body or do not take care of your body your healing will take longer and your body may work against you–I also know this is true because I had many healing complications after my pregnancy because I wasn’t taking care of myself (my postpartum depression was in control then).

What has your experience of physical, mental or spiritual healing been like for you?

This metaphor of pregnancy and the wisdom of your body isn’t just for those who have given birth, it is a metaphor of bodily wisdom for all persons.

Your body knows what it needs to do
to heal
to create
to be well
to regain strength.

Take time to be with yourself today
to listen to your body
to be aware of your body
to feel your body
to experience your body—being cognicent of all your organs, cells and tissues working to keep you well.

Your body has deep wisdom. Learn from it. Nourish it. Love it.

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue

© 2013. Bella Bleue Healing™ All Rights Reserved.
Please also visit my photography site: Photography by Bella Bleue.

See my Facebook page for daily inspirations and messages.

***I originally wrote this post about a year ago, but wanted to share it again, because its message is speaking to parts of Life that I am encountering in myself and others at this time.***

Health, Life

Creating a Healthy Life

Erin Keane

So one of the formulas for living Healthy:  

Live in the Moment: In the Here and Now and 

1.) Let wisdom guide you:

  • choosing those things in your life that are right, just and true because these choices will lead you to have deeper more meaningful relationships with others;
  • and  you will have less worry about the future because you know you are living life the best way you able to.from moment to moment

2.) Lead your life with your heart and mind:

  • living life the best way you can comes from deep within you. When you choose to be intentional about allowing wisdom to guide you, you are connecting to the deep truths about who you are as a human being.
  • Thus, you are not denying who you are, and therefore you become healthy in your daily life.

If we are not able to be healthy within ourselves then no diet, doctor, medicine etc. will be able to really help us.

And thus, the challenge is to really deeply love yourself,

and by doing so, nothing else at any given moment, will have the power to take You away from Who you are.

Look at yourself in the mirror today and know that you are BELOVED.

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue

©Bella Bleue Healing, Health and Inspiration for Your Life ™ All Rights Reserved.

*Post originally published March 2012

Blessing, Health, Inspiration

Blessing Your Mind, Body & Spirit

Erin Keane

As you take the time to let this blessing dance within you, may you also soak up the hues of green and blue.

Green naturally seeks healing and creates a restful feeling.

Blue creates a balance between mind and body.

Continued Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.

Connecting to the wonder we are, Health, Life

Show Your Body Love: Creating a Ritual of Tenderness and Self Love

Erin Keane

Your face holds the stories of who you are, and where you’ve been. They are the stories that lie deep within your bones, your cells, your very being. These stories might not be visible to the eye with a look or a glance; those who see you may be completely unaware of how much you hold inside. Of course your whole body holds your story, but there is something extremely tender about how your face holds your pain,your joy, your excitement, your fear,  and so on. When you cry, the tears fall down your cheeks. When you laugh the sound comes from your voice, but your smile lights up your face. When you give and receive love, so often your face is a deep part of that connection.

Do you truly take time to notice yourself and tenderly care for your body?

I see myself in the mirror every day. I comb my hair, brush my teeth, wash my face, put on my make-up and go about my day. And I think very little about my body, nor how much better I feel after I care for myself, because doing these things are a normal part of the day and often done in a rush. But today, I paused for a moment as I dabbed the face-soap onto my hand and looked at my face, and said to myself,”Hey, there.” As if it was the first time I’d seen myself in a long time. And I thought,wait a minute why does this feel so strange? 

I looked down again at my hand with the soap, and came back to reality: the task at hand: Washing my face. I had to think for a second though, how do I do this, wash my face? Usually I turn the water on first, rinse my face off, and then put the soap on my fingers. But not this time. Maybe I was being more intentional about connecting with myself because of my glance in the mirror; or maybe it was the sensation of splashing water on my face with one hand. Whatever it was, I paused, gently began to rub the soap along my cheeks, and suddenly became profoundly aware of the  connection between my fingers touching my cheeks and my face receiving the tenderness of my touch.

As I stood there with my eyes closed and moved my hands around my face I began to have a knowing of my face through my finger tips: my cheek bones, my brow, the softness of my skin. The touch of my fingers awakened me to understanding why my glance in the mirror stuck me. I so often forget to take care of myself, and offer myself gentleness and love.  Touching my face with this love, intentionality and awareness connected me to my life, my story, who I am right now. This is the face people look at, and see through their eyes. My face quite often is how people remember me and make sense of who I am at first glance. But as I washed my face, I realized this wasn’t what was speaking to me. Touching my face with this gentle love, became less about how I was going to look to the outside world, and more about the deeper parts of me.

Love and connection.

  • Touch your face and be mindful about each and every bone, curve, bump
  • Hold your face in your hands for as long as you need to, to really feel and be aware of your story within.
  • Send yourself love, reverence, compassion through your hands, and thoughts

I’m learning and working on loving myself better every day. Sometimes I’m not so good at it, other times I get a gold star for effort. Today, I learned something important for me. To release the pain, the stress, tension I need to touch my face with intentionality and compassion. I need to hold my face in my hands and focus my heart and my thoughts towards self-love and reverence.

Usually, washing my face is a daily task, but I am going to be better at being mindful to practice it as a ritual. (I’ve included washing my face as part of the ritual to help me sleep at night, but never with the intentionality and mindfulness I am starting with today). Not only will washing my face be a ritual of letting go of the things that I want to wash away, so that I can find peace, but it will also be a symbolic action and mindfulness towards self-love.

Ahhh…I am already beginning to feel better.

How about you?

What do you do to offer yourself self-love: loving your mind, body and spirit?

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.

Healing, Health

I’m Grieving and I’m Healing

Erin Keane

Last week I wrote about how to deal with unexpected change. I was blessed with some very supportive answers from fellow bloggers…and an underlying message was to take some time and listen…which I did. I discovered that deep down I was anticipating the grief: the sadness, and pain, I was going to feel because of the change I would be undergoing.  And this anticipatory grief was getting in my way—my feelings were not being tended to, and I couldn’t make any choices because I was ignoring what I was really feeling. It was hard to discover my true feelings because what was going to happen was something good, and yet, I was feeling sad.

When I did my residency at the hospital years ago, I used to talk about anticipatory grief often with my colleagues. I worked in the ICU and Transplant Units and could often tell when death was near and I knew when I was feeling sad about losing my patient and watching the family grieve as well. I understood this grief. It made sense. I could call it by its name. Grieving death was normal…something to be expected—and the people I worked with understood it too. They created a safe place to talk about grief. 

BUT! Grief isn’t just an experience before or after someone dies—Grief  is also very normal in the every day dealings of life. Every Day Grief can happen when: we have a baby & everything in life changes, or the kind of grief we have when we finish college, or the kind of grief we have when we move out of state, or the kind of grief we have when we realize we aren’t living the life we had hoped for and so on. [This kind of] grief  is not something we usually want to talk about in our culture. Consequently, when I say, I’m grieving about some future event or something I’m going through, I notice I often get the expected response: “It will be okay. Don’t worry so much.” Yet, the response I really need is a good LISTENING EAR, that is comfortable with my feelings…that says, “I hear what you are saying, and if you need anything, I’m here for you.”

I believe that  if we, as a culture, were more comfortable with grief, we all might be a lot happier & healthier in life: We could talk about what we feel—and feel listened to—and be able to move through our grief more naturally and comfortably.

  • We wouldn’t be hiding our feelings: Our grief wouldn’t be a hidden experience in our lives that keeps us feeling down—we would be dealing with what we were feeling and give ourselves the chance to understand what we really need at that time
  • We would be dealing with our feelings while they were happening: We would be able to be in the moment instead of  misunderstanding our feelings for something else.
  • We wouldn’t be as reactive to people who are close to us: Sometimes when we don’t understand our grief we may be more reactive towards  people we are close to. For example, we may get angry with our spouse because he or she says the wrong thing, when the real reason we are angry is because we don’t feel like we are being cared for—
  • We would be able to ask for help or care more easily when we know that we are grieving—if grieving is an accepted part of life–people won’t feel shamed for their feelings or experience of grief and thus, be more in tune with themselves and what they need when feeling this way.

Do you recognize when you are grieving?
Are you comfortable about feeling grief?
Are you able to talk openly about your grief? Whether it be about death, change, loss of self or identity, etc.?
 

It is always amazing to me how so many of us talk about wanting to be happy and positive all the time, but in doing so we often forget how important it is that we allow ourselves to feel sadness, anger, loss, etc. because by allowing ourselves to be open about our feelings we actually are allowing ourselves to heal—and the healing invites the positive, happy, joyful feelings to naturally arise.

Give yourself the gift of being tender with you, and let yourself grieve when you need to. Grief comes and goes whenever it wants to show up so don’t be hard on yourself and say, “What’s wrong with me?…Just let it be: accept it and love yourself enough to say, “It’s okay that I feel this way today.” And trust that there will be better days ahead when the time is right!

But also remember that being consumed with grief that leads to depression or grief that begins to interfere with your life, is not healthy— and you should seek help when you need it! You deserve to be well!

Blessings,Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™

*photo from Wikpedia: Angel of Grief

Healing, Health, Life

“I’m Not Tired. I’m Just Really Good at Not Falling-Asleep!”

Erin Keane

My 2 1/2 year old son, runs around the house yelling, “I’m not tired!” as he loses total control and has a meltdown. Sure, he’s not tired…”Mamma, I’m not tired at all!”

I realize my son, speaks with great wisdom and honesty. I know oh too well, how to stay up way past my tired place, and then discover the next day I am completely wore-out. Yet, I’ll go through my day, and do it all over again. “I’m not tired!” But the truth is I’m exhausted…emotionally and physically at times… But of course, I just won’t let myself fall asleep.

Does this ever happen to you?

I find in this day and age I’m always feeling the need to be connected.  Connected to all this stuff in the World Wide Web. I need to be fed by it, and nourished by it. And because I’ve become so involved in it, my mind at times finds it so hard to just be calm…and thus to just close my eyes and fall asleep.  I need to be better about disengaging!

Other times I feel like I just need to be alone, to discover something, to just relax. And then I end up busying myself with something and staying up too late at night—Like listening to music that energizes me rather than relaxes me…

My eyes are tired.

My mind is tired.

My body is tired.

“So just go to bed, Why don’t you?!”

But, “I’m not tired!”

Stop lying to myself, I say.

I realize that as I have become intentional about caring for myself by listening to my own breath better & getting to know myself deeper I have become happier and healthier. But I need to rest more.  I need to be intentional about taking the time to let myself deeply sleep.

So I am going to work on

  1. Washing my face and being intentional about imagining that I am washing away all the stresses of the day and leaving them behind.
  2. Drying my face and freeing myself of tomorrow’s worries—my face is refreshed and calm.
  3. Walking myself up to bed earlier—allowing myself to be done with the day, and leaving it downstairs–making my bedroom a place to truly relax.
  4. Taking the time to listen to my husband’s meditation music before falling asleep—creating a sense of bodily-felt calm.
  5. Taking the time to pray and be connected to the Divine or to Meditate—It helps me let go of my worries that might be left too deep to be washed away, and placing them in hands of the Sacred who can carry all things that I cannot.

What about you? What do you do to help yourself rest and fall asleep?  Are you intentional about allowing yourself to go to bed when you need to?

May you discover a sense of peace within yourself…

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.

Health

Show Your Body Love: Be Mindful About What You Eat!

Erin Keane

Your Body is an amzing, beautiful creation! Love it! Nourish it! Be kind to it! Eat well! Let the foods of the earth bring harmony and healing into your body with every bite, every taste, every smell!

Love your body! Love yourself!

Today I am pausing and focusing on my body: I nourished my body by reading an article on the Huffington Post called, “Could Mindful Eating Wean us From our Bad Food Habits?” by Harbir Kaur, a UK science teacher. She states, “Allow your senses to be electrified by something as simple as a slice of bread.” To be so focused on something like a piece of bread, to savor every single bite; to let your mouth be conscious of how the bread feels on your teeth, and your tongue to notice every flavor and texture takes a lot of intentionality. Of course it does! But who really has the time to truly enjoy what they eat? That there, is the challenge-making the time! So challege yourself: make yourself feel alive! Savor your food and enjoy it more; notice how you begin to eat healthier and thus, your body reaps the rewards of healing and wellness. Congratulations to you! You have joined celebrities such as

Oprah Winfrey as an advocate for ‘Mindful Eating.’ In fact if you are interested in this even more there is an entire organization centered around the goodness ‘Mindful Eating’ does for us:

Mindful eating has the powerful potential to transform people’s relationship to food and eating, to improve overall health, body image, relationships and self-esteem.-The Center for Mindful Eating.

Okay, so if other people are talking about this, it must mean something! Pause! “Let me take a bite of this grape. Ahhh..refreshing, crunchy, wet. sweet and a bit sour…”

So today be intentional about eating your food!

  • Enjoy every bite.
  • Recognize what a wonderful gift it is to be able eat food.
  •  Take the time to pause and reflect on what an amazing creation your body is: You open your mouth, take a bite, and your body knows just what to do with the food you eat: giving you energy for the day ahead, healing your wounds, bringing you back to a childhood moment of something good…all happening in moments without any effort from you other than eating your food.Today be intentional in your life, and see what wonderful things may happen! Heal your body!

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™
Parts of this post were originally posted February 2012.

If you would like more daily inspiration and healing in your life please visit my Facebook Page.

Healing, Health, Inspiration

Your Body Holds Deep Wisdom: A Metaphor

Erin Keane

Your body holds a deep wisdom. Your deep truths to healing and connection flow right in the very cells and tissues of your created body. When you listen to the wisdom of your body and work as a partner in your body’s healing you actually become healthier.

A metaphor for the wisdom of your body:

Pregnancy is an amazing and mysterious state of life. When I got pregnant with my son, I was amazed at how my body just seemed to know exactly what to do. You are going about your normal way of taking care of yourself: eating, working, exercising, talking, & sleeping, and yet your body is being transformed millisecond by millisecond to make space for a little person who will be changing your life forever. Your organs are being pushed around and moved to different places in your body, and yet they still function exactly the way they are supposed to in order to keep you living and well. You don’t have to give orders or say, move this way; they just know. Your body knows.

I’ve always been the kind of person to pay attention to what my body is telling me. But I haven’t always been very good at listening to what it is really saying. When I was pregnant I started to really listen though. And I realized that my body really is a miracle.

Your body really is a miracle.

I didn’t have to tell my body to produce  milk for my son, it just did.
I didn’t have to tell my organs to go back to where they belong after birth, they just did.

I did have to care for myself though, and show my body gentleness and respect, so that I could heal. We have to work as companions with our bodies towards our healing. Your body already knows what it needs to do to seek healing and well-being for you-i.e. bodily wisdom, but you need to work with your body so that the healing can be effective. If you work with your body to be well and heal, you will heal.

If you work against your body or do not take care of your body your healing will take longer and your body may work against  you–I also know this is true because I had many healing complications after my pregnancy because I wasn’t taking care of myself (my depression was in control then).

What has your experience of physical, mental or spiritual healing been like for you?

This metaphor of pregnancy and the wisdom of your body isn’t just for those who have given birth, it is a metaphor of bodily wisdom for all  persons.

Your body knows what it needs to do
to heal
to create
to be well
to regain strength.

Take time to be with yourself today
to listen to your body
to be aware of your body
to feel your body
to experience your body—being cognicent of all your organs, cells and tissues working to keep you well.

Your body has deep wisdom. Learn from it. Nourish it. Love it.

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue


©️2012-2020. Erin Keane. Bella Bleue Healing and Blessings. All rights reserved. No portion of any post or photo may be copied or reproduced without prior written permission from the author, Erin Keane. Find me on Instagram @Erins_blessings and at Facebook Bella Bleue Healing & Blessings by Erin Keane.