Tag: Connection

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.

Connecting to the wonder we are, Inspiration

Connecting through our Curiosity

Erin Keane

Did you just see that?
See what?
That over there.
There’s something in the water there.  
Watch! Oh, I see it. What is it?
Aha, it’s a seal.
I knew I saw something!
Look there are: One, Two Three, Four of them.
They are beautiful.

As new groups of people approached the seaside, these words of curiosity and wonder would surface over and over again. While the visitors gazed upon the water, brief engaged conversations happened between strangers. These conversations happened with an ease, and lighthearted tone.  It was as if the seals were creating harmony in a world where so many of us experience chaos. They were giving us the permission to be human again, when so often we function in our boxes and our roles. And in the grander scheme of things it was the invitation of nature: the soft sand between our toes, the sound of the waves crashing upon the shore, the hope for a beautiful sunset on an Eastern seacoast, and the desire for a longer lingering away from our every day lives that drew us together.

As the sun began its journey of setting along the horizon, the seals began to pop their heads up more often, keeping themselves above water for a bit longer each time. We laughed and made up stories–imagining that they were gathering together just like all of us, and saying to one another look: “There’s another one of those two-legged creatures walking on the sand and pointing at us.” It was as though the curiosity was mutually welcomed.

This whole, wonderful curious  interaction of human to human, seal to seal, human to seal, and seal to human represents how we are created to be a part of the world, and the world to be a part of us. It is the rhythm of the sound of the sea, like the pulse of our heartbeats that invigorates us, and draws us near to the waters edge. Bringing unlikely strangers together to remind us that being human is a wonderful, marvelous gift.

It’s moments like these that make me wonder, why we allow ourselves to be so lonely in this world?… But that’s a conversation for another day.

How about you, what makes you feel alive? How has your curiosity transformed your life for the better?

Be well today, and always.

You are a wonderful, marvelous creation.

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
Please also visit my photography site: Naturescapes, Flowerscapes & Life: Photography by Bella Bleue

Connecting to the wonder we are, Inspiration

How a Simple Gesture of Love Can Ignite Your Imagination

Erin Keane

It is amazing how a simple car ride can suddenly ignite your imagination. I was sitting at a red light and glanced at a few people walking through the bus stop parking lot. It’s a special parking lot. The people who put their feet on its grounds bring stories with them: they are on their way to a life journey after a flight in the sky.

I noticed an elderly couple walking to a car: I began to create scenarios in my mind: I imagined they must be returning from a trip. So often people return to the Northeast for the summer after a winter down South. I imagined they were feeling happy to be back…and then I saw a woman approach. She gestured to them, and they walked toward her: luggage in hand.

And then the moment: Open arms reaching and connecting bodies, hearts and “I’m so glad you are here” all in one spontaneous moment of a Hug.

My imagination took me down a new path. I imagined the women are sisters. They live across the country from each other. Over the years their children have played, but are grown now with children of their own. They have a long history of memories. They recall how they used to talk about moments like these when they were young women, but now these moments are real. They are living these moments right now.  And they create a  memory for their future moments starting with a Hug.

There’s something about the connection of human touch sprinkled with love that ignites a feeling of gratitude for being alive, either as the observer or the actual receiver of this love.

What do you imagine when you watch people connect to each other through out the day? Here’s the opening clip of Love Actually to inspire your imagination.

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

Blessing, Life

Connecting Beyond the Boundaries of Space and Time

Erin Keane

One of the best gifts of being a ‘blogger’ is meeting and connecting with people across the globe who share their wisdom, strength, pain, healing, inspiration, art and so much more.  In this day and age of the cyber-world, it is amazing how connected we can be with people we’ve never met before, and yet, they transform our lives and we are transforming theirs. I am so astounded by the heart-felt sharing that happens here in this little piece of the world I am apart of. And I again, want to say thank you! Each of you is a Blessing!

I am finding that in some ways, I am at a lack of words to express all that I want to say tonight. I realize that I am pretty drained right now—so much of my energy over the last few weeks was being consumed by the discernment I was personally and collectively undergoing about my family’s future. And I need a reboot.  All is well, now. We have figured out what we need. We have worked on being more affirming of the gifts we have, accepting challenges that aren’t always fun, and trusting more in our faith.

Thank you for the gift of your listening hearts and beautiful sharing.

In life we need each other. I know I have said this so many times before. But it is so very deeply true to who we are, as human beings. We yearn for connection, and it is the greatest source of tangible strength that we have—and at least in this day and age it comes not only through the person who sits beside us, or the pet we have, but through the words and messages of the people who grace our Blog page.

So give yourself a pat on the back, and know you are making a difference in someone’s life today.

Thank you for your incredible gifts!

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

Connecting to the wonder we are, Inspiration

You Belong to Life.

Erin Keane

You belong to Life.  Life belongs to You.

Today was a beautiful, sunny warm day in the Northeastern U.S.  It was the kind of day, where nature just draws you out—the Atlantic Ocean was beckoning  my family & I, and we followed its call to the shore. While we were there I took a few minutes and walked along the seaside with my toes in the water, alone. As I walked, I suddenly began to feel this strong sense of connection to the sound of the waves, and the water between my toes. I didn’t fully understand what my experience was saying to me, as I walked along, but I knew in my being , that this experience was grounding me to Life.

Have you ever been to the sea shore? What was the experience like for you?

**

I’ve been to the ocean many times over the last 12 years and have always enjoyed being there…but this time I felt like I began to belong to the sound of the waves….

                                          Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the U.S. It’s a day of celebrating all women who are mothers, who will be mothers, and remembering & celebrating our mothers who have died.

Being a mother myself, I was reflecting today, on who I am as a mother to my son…

Maybe that’s why the ocean sounds were so powerfully present in my being… 

When we are living inside our mother’s womb we feel the sense of her rocking us as she walks along. And we hear sounds like the ocean waves day and night…the beating of her heart.

The song of the waves is connecting your body and self  to the natural world and at the same time is connecting you to where your Life began..in the womb.  The sounds of the waves remind us that we all began Life in the same way; i.e.; we are all connected to each other.  The ocean waves also reconnect us all to the deeper part of who we are—where we came from…where we began….

The sounds of the ocean embrace us, calm us, ground us & connect us to Life:                                                                                                                                          

Thus, if you ever feel disconnected from Life, you can listen to the ocean and allow your body to soak up it’s wonderful sounds…You will connect to the source of your Life—being in the womb—and begin to feel like you belong again…

The ocean sings to you, as the waves beat upon the shore, “You belong to all of creation, You belong to Life.”

And a gracious blessing upon all Mother’s of the World…

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

**(If you would like to truly experience the sound of the ocean as you read a long, or just want to take some time to listen and allow your body to become aware of the sounds and to feel how the sound of the ocean effects you personally…
Take some time to listen here.)

Inspiration, Life

A Deep Longing, Fulfilled.

Erin Keane

Deep within us all is a longing to be connected, to be loved, to belong. Sometimes this yearning is more intense than at other times. Each of us discovers how to function in the world and how to be connected to this deeper part of who we are.  What do you do when you need to fulfill this longing within you, and have no one to really be there to help you fulfill these needs?

When this happens to me I turn to my “spiritual” side and take the time to pray or meditate. Opening myself to that which is beyond me, and inviting it to become a part of me seems to create that sense of connection that I need at any given moment. In other words, connecting to the Divine is something I need sometimes, well maybe lots of the time.

When I open myself in prayer I just allow myself to talk freely about what I feel. God is my journal buddy—-I can share whatever I need to from my heart, without writing it down, and yet it feels like I’ve got my pen in my hand. I find that when I have this deep longing for connection I need to release what I feel somehow somewhere, to someone. And why not give myself the gift of some quiet, where I can speak clearly, and know that the one on the other end of the phone-line wants to do nothing but listen to me?

Sometimes this longing for connection, love and belonging, is most fulfilled when I am able to share what’s in my heat & mind freely without hesitation. Or it happens when I just let go of my needs and send them out into the benevolent universe and into the hands of the Divine.

What happens to you when you meditate or pray? Do you feel the connection you need, or does the experience do something else for you? Do you have to be in a certain place or posture to achieve the connection or can it be spontaneous?

I find I need the spontaneity of sharing what’s on my heart and mind at any moment. But for the deeper sharing of my heart I need to take the time and be intentional, so that I can really allow myself to share what I feel.

If you haven’t already discovered a way to feel connected, I invite you to open yourself to all the energy in this beautiful world we have, and ask it to receive you. Do  it over and over again, until it becomes a part of who you are.

We are all connected to each other, the earth and all the creatures. So when you don’t feel connected, loved or like you belong. Just walk out your door step, and see the world…and thus you are, never alone.

And when I pray, I pray for your happiness too.

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

Inspiration, Life

Listening to your body is Good for You!

Erin Keane

It always amazes me how much our bodies hold. I know this too well. Whenever I am confused or stressed about something, my body goes into overdrive and falls apart on me…headaches, tummy aches and all that other stuff that comes with stress. I realize I need to be very conscious about my well-being during these times. As a person who has suffered from depression– I put myself on ‘high-alert’ so that I can regain my equilibrium without falling off the deep end.

I’m not always good at following steps—I just like to go with the flow, but these things seem to help me and re-ground me:

Take a Step Back: Remove myself from the stressor and find a place to go and breathe. Do you have a special place to relax?

Breathe in Deeply, and Let Go: Release all that is within me that is causing me suffering—Letting go with every exhale. And breathing in calm and peace. What do you do with your breathing that is helpful during a stressful event?

Pour a Cup of Coffee: The caffine helps with my migraines—they come along when I’m really stressed. I’m really good at holding stress right in my neck and head…Where do you hold stress in your body? Do you have a ritual of coffee or tea etc. that helps you re-center?

Listen to songs that make me move my body & dance: Even though I need the calm I also find I need to move my body and get those positive endorphins moving! There is something freeing about moving your body—it gets me out of my state. What do you do?

Get a Hug: My son is good for hugs during the day, and my dog and 2 cats also love to be hugged—there’s something about connecting to humans and animals through touch that releases so much of the negativity and refills my body with a sense of love and care. Do you have someone or a pet that you who reconnects you to sense of care and well-being?

Writing about it: I know this has been the topic of lots of my recent posts, but I’m realizing how much better I feel by having an outlet for my feelings. I used to journal all the time when I was younger and stopped when my life got too busy…and of course that’s when depression got in my being…I guess I need to write to get to that place of balance after I’m stressed, anxious, etc. What about you? Do you find change happening within you when you write or sing, etc.?

It’s Friday evening in New England. So I’m letting go for a while, and ready to just enjoy the evening. I hope you are well, and find joy in your journey today too.

Remember: You are capable of feeling good in your life whenever you want to—especially when you change  your state and give yourself the freedom to be happy.

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

Related Reading: Tea & Comfort by I Stop for Suffering

Healing, Inspiration

A Great Healing Happening

Erin Keane

When we seek healing and inspiration from deep within ourselves, it often helps to be touched by light. Nature provides us with the gift of the sun. The sun illuminates the plants of the earth and gives them depth. When you let the sun shine upon you, you also can let the depths of yourself shine; revealing from deep within you, your dreams, your hopes, your goals, your aspirations, your beauty, your integrity, and so much more!

These recent days of 80+ degree weather and long days of sunlight in the Northeast have been bringing people out of their homes, and neighbors are meeting one another. The weather and the changes in nature are causing people to connect to one another, and share their joy for the weather with each other. This is causing inspiration to be communal rather than the experience of just one person.  As nature is providing itself as the source of inspiration, people are becoming aware of themselves and others as they are inspired by nature, and thus there is not only a joy from the weather, but also a feeling of a great healing happening between people, within people and all of creation.

Man is not himself only…He is all that he sees; all that flows to him from a thousand sources…He is the land, the lift of its mountain lines, the reach of its valleys.  Mary Austin

Woman is not herself only…She is all that she sees; all that flows to her from a thousand sources…She is the land, the lift of its mountain lines, the reach of its valleys. –Mary Austin (rewritten)

Light Shines as Nature Springs Forth!

Healing has great power when it is a shared goal among many. Trusting in your own inspiration, can be enhanced when others are also affirming the inspiration you feel. The presence of healing through nature in tune with healing among people…pretty powerful stuff!

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

Bella Bleue Quotes

Hear Me Long Enough to Listen

Erin Keane

One of the greatest ways to connect to another person is to give him/her the gift of your listening ear. Every single one of us wants to be heard. We want our words to mean something to someone else, because the words we speak come from within our being. Just as you long for attention from another person, someone else longs for your attention. During my years as a chaplain, I discovered that listening, usually without saying a word, to someone’s story was most often the greatest healing gift I could offer.

When you feel listened to you are empowered to trust more deeply in the wonderful, amazing, incredible, fabulous, unique, (& so much more) person you are! -Bella Bleue

I invite you:

  •  To make an extra special effort to really listen to someone you care about.
  • After you walk away from this experience take some time to reflect on what you learned about this person that you hadn’t noticed before AND
  • Reflect on what it was like to be so fully present for another.
  • If you are the one who needs to be listened to: Ask that the other person to listen

It’s amazing how when we “Hear Someone Long Enough to Listen” we are giving an incredible gift, and at the same time receiving so much in return.

Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue

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

If you like to read more from Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., check out her book: “Kitchen Table Wisdom :Stories that Heal”.  The quote is from her message, “Just Listen.” I have more about her in my Blogroll. Blessings!