Tag: body

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.***

Inspiration, Spirituality

What does Faith Feel like?

Erin Keane

Faith Quote by Bella Bleue

So often we hear the statement, “Just have faith!” or the question, “Why do you have so little faith in me?” In every day conversation we may talk with others about what we believe. Or we may discuss what faith means. But how often do you take the time to really reflect on your experience of faith and feel faith alive within your body?

I’ve been reflecting on what faith feels like for me lately.  I’ve been needing to connect to faith that is not just talked about, but felt within. For me faith that is really deeply felt is faith that is real. It is a tangible gift, that I can turn to whenever I need to, where ever I am, no matter what is happening in my life. It’s the kind of faith that is not just felt in my mind, but in my body. And because it is within my body, and because there is nothing more real than than what I  experience through my body;I know that my faith is real.

When we are yearning for something good in our lives, something we can trust in, something we believe has benevolence and love for us, it can only fill us with hope. This faith fills our inner being with a desire to be connected  to that which we feel desires good for us, and that will care for us. In other words, believing in the Spirit, the Divine, human goodness, etc. changes the way we feel within ourselves.  Once we are in relationship with this Benevolence  we become transformed within our very being.

For me, faith fills my heart with love. The kind of love that makes your heart soar to depths beyond you. My body feels transcended to the tops of the mountains where I become closer to all that is beyond me and at the same time my feet are on flat ground  where I can bend down and touch the petals of the tiniest flower and their softness between my fingers keeps me grounded here on earth.  This softness on my fingers travels throughout my being, and puts my body and mind at ease. The wind on the mountain top fills my breath with peace, and invites my arms to open wide, so that I might receive all that is being offered. I am in relationship with the Divine.

What does your experience of faith feel like for you?

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue

©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.

Healing, Inspiration

Do You Remember when Healing Happened for You?

Erin Keane

Healing  gathers great power when we remember:

In your moments of frustration, disconnection, pain, suffering, brokenness, you can also absorb healing energy right from within your body. This energy, comes from the memories stored inside your mind, your heart, your finger tips and toes; it comes from every part of your being. For example, when  you get on a bike, your body remembers what it needs to do to keep balance and pedal, each and every time you get on. Just as easily as you can remember to  ride a bike, you can remember your moments of strength, peace, equilibrium, balance, brighter days, happiness, forgiveness, etc. Tapping into memories of times when you have overcome an obstacle can bring healing into your life in an instant.

Healing is an on-going journey, it never has a specific end date. So evoking a memory won’t heal everything instantaneously, but evoking memories of healing in your life will allow healing to begin to happen. Just think for a moment of a time when you went through something difficult in your life, but you were able to make it though. Embrace this memory of your inner strength, your body feeling peace, laughing again, feeling in balance again.

For example:

    • When you went through a break-up and were heart broken, but day by day you got a bit better, and then one day took the chance to love again.
    • When you were in pain, that seemed to never have an end, but you awoke one morning and felt peace within your body
    • When  you thought God forgot about you, but then something wonderful happened, even if it wasn’t the way you expected it to
    • When you thought that you would cry every day for the rest of your life, but one day you started to laugh again
    • Fill in your own obstacle that you over came, and how

By remembering the “overcoming” of something difficult in your life, you give yourself permission to have hope, and to believe that healing is possible because you remember when something positive came out of something negative—it gives you the hope that you can get through this present difficulty. Furthermore,  by transforming the negative, painful energy into positive energy, you also allow healing to begin to happen. Lastly, by remembering the positive outcomes from a difficult situation you give your body permission to work towards healing, instead of having your body work against you (like not eating well, or sleeping good, now you can!)

You already have these positive memories inside you. Go to them, and use them to help you be well in your life.

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
Please also visit my photography site: Naturescapes, Flowerscapes & Cityscapes

Discovering Strength, Healing, Inspiration

HopeFull Healing

Erin Keane

Fill yourself with hope, and abundance will overflow within you.

What does being hopeful feel like within you?

For me it’s like an ocean flowing within me, and each time I think of something I am hopeful for a beautiful drop of water falls into my ocean, making a splash, sending ripples , and connecting other drops of hope together. It’s like filling myself up with goodness and peace. And the feeling is so full that  I have to connect to things outside myself, and share this wonderful energy with all that surrounds me. This sharing comes from the healthy longing I have for something good, something wonderful…

I call hope a healthy longing, because being hopeful, actually does make us healthier. For example: Have you ever reflected on when you’ve been sick with a cold? Most of us, when we are sick, may be frustrated that our cold is getting in our way. We may do things to take care of ourselves like, resting, getting our vitamin C, and drinking hot tea with honey. We do these things because they are good for us, but have you ever realized maybe you are doing these things also because you are hopeful that you will get better?  This HOPE to get better, motivates you to take care of yourself because you want to be well.  And within this HOPE is also your ability to imagine…you are able to imagine what you will feel like when you are better. Imagining something wonderful and good for you, fills your body with HOPE.  And this HOPE flows within you, filling your body with goodness, healing energy and love. Hope allows your body to rest, by filling your cells with positive energy; i.e., your body isn’t fighting something off instead it is creating balance, equilibrium.

Hope also creates a wonderful energy within our spirit. I often imagine hope is like a flame that keeps burning even when the oil has run out. This kind of hope ignites our spirit…invites us, and even forces us to move forward in a positive way. It creates a longing within our hearts that makes all that is good within us blossom within us. Hope removes our fear and disappointment and fills us with “confident expectations”  that what we want in life will truly happen for us.

I know that being hopeful has brought me through experiences and circumstances in my life, that I would not have gotten through without it. When I was depressed it was very challenging to be hopeful. But it was the one thing that did keep me going. I don’t know how I would have made it without some kind of hope. That is why I deeply believe that “hope is a flame that keeps burning even when the oil has run out.” I kept believing that one day things would be better, even in the midst of my “valley of tears.’ And it did. It is hope that continues to keep me moving forward—and in difficult times, it is the remembering of when I have been hopeful and life has brought me into the light of goodness that gives me strength.

What has hope done for you in your life?

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

Connecting to the wonder we are, Healing

Healing Wonder is All Around You

Erin Keane

Children remind us that wonder is all around us. All we have to do is look.

May the world you see around you bring wonder through your eyes,

and fill your body with healing joy.

Remember that one of the gifts of life is to take the time to PAUSE and soak up life. The more often you do this the deeper the healing that will happen in your life. This “down-time”—will rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit. You need to open yourself to these healing opportunities in life…because they can easily be missed if you are too busy.  

Life already has healing available to you everywhere. It is just a matter of allowing  yourself to experience it.

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


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, Inspiration

Listening to the Wisdom of Your Body Opens New Doors

Erin Keane

Sometimes we have to Ponder Life,

to discover the answers we are searching for.

These last couple days I needed an extra dose of refection time. I gave myself the gift of listening to my inner wisdom–i.e., what my body was telling me–so that I could make choices that would be best not only for me, but also for my family. Do you take time to listen to your body when you are searching for answers? If Yes: Do you usually feel like your body directs you in making choices that are good and right for you? If No: Why do you choose not to listen to your body?   

I usually can’t avoid what I feel…my gut just keeps bugging me until I pay attention and take time to reflect. So that’s exactly what I did these past few days. I pondered life, so that I could open myself to discovering my deeper truths…& share what I discovered is right and good with those I love.

Give yourself these gifts

  • Make space in your life for reflection
  • As you reflect take time to get to know your body better
  • By becoming aware of your body you can notice imbalances
  • These imbalances are indicators that some kind of change needs to happen within your Life
  • Write down what you notice or make note of it in some effective way
  • Reflect again
  • Write down possible changes
  • Act upon them
  • Notice your body again: if you begin to feel balanced again—note what is working. If not, keep searching.

May you be blessed with the discovery of your answers!—the ones that transform your life!
 As you discover the answers in your heart
Your world begins to transform
You hold your head up
And your Spirit opens
to receiving Life
And you smile
because you understand
your gifts
and are ready to share who you are.

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

Healing

Sunlight Transforms Our Mind, Body and Spirit

Erin Keane

Light warms the Heart

and Brightens the Soul.

Light energizes the Body

and Inspires the Mind.

It truly is amazing how much the gift of sunlight awakens hope and inspiration in our lives. Light is a source of healing and renewal. Have you ever noticed that the flowers that do not receive as much sunlight take longer to bloom? This seems true for most of us too. When our bodies are not being touched by sunlight, even light that just comes in through the window, we may become less motivated or less hopeful. But when the sunlight is present, it awakens us both literally and metaphorically. We awaken feeling better; we feel like new possibilities can become reality. Just as sunlight is an energy source bringing forth life in nature, sunlight is also an energy source bringing forth healing, & inspiration within our bodies.

The last few days it has rained, and been cloudy daily. This weather has challenged my spirit: My soul, the deeper part within me, has been struggling to be hopeful. Today though the sun came out, and I honestly feel better. Does this ever happen to you?

The gift of light is essential to my well-being. I notice that I become more down in consistently dreary days; they become a metaphor for how I feel. However, in the presence of light I awaken and feel more grounded. I am able to reconnect to the wonder that I am rather, than losing sight of it. I also think this happens because at our core, we do need to be connected to the natural world—and when the sun is out, it invites us to come out too, and become a part of nature.

Other good things happen when we are touched by light like:

  • Taking a walk with the dog—exercising my body
  • Playing at the park with my son—provides a place for me to interact with other adults
  • Listening to the birds chirping—beautiful songs for my ears
  • Opening the windows—feeling the breeze upon my skin
  • Smiling—feeling better within myself—hopeful!

How about you? What happens when you are touched by sunlight? Share your wisdom…

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