Almost There! The Last Quarter Moon…

Just joining us? LEAP, is a program provided to you by Souls Converge to work towards our mission of body, mind and soulful living. LEAP works in conjunction with the moon’s phases each 28 day cycle and stands for, “Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play”. We are now in the Last Quarter Moon phase and the “Play” portion of our offerings to you. If you have been following along, please give us any feedback you may have, and subscribe to this blog for special upcoming events and retreats. LEAP is intended to assist in your spiritual growth and love for yourself.

On the left – a beautiful card from one of our many Doreen Virtue guidance card decks. You can find them here.

We choose to follow the moon and it’s cycles not only for it’s effects on us, but also for the ease in the effort of working with the program; you work on what you can as we go along and then when the new cycle emerges, you can start all over fresh and better prepared for things to come.

As we begin this phase, visualize yourself digging up the ground and prepare yourself to plant new seeds for a new moon cycle in just a few days. Reflect back on your actions and emotions this past month. We all have felt the effects of Japan’s devastating events. It’s easy to allow the emotions to sweep over you and get you really worked up, however, that doesn’t help the people in Japan or you. If you have an urge to “do something” donate to the relief fund here, or find ways to help closer to home. There are tons of families hurting out there and a great need for general assistance every disaster-less “normal” day.

Now, lovingly look upon the exercises you have participated in, your notes, journals, meditations, physical and nutritional activities. From a constructive view-point, sort out the things that didn’t work and why, but most importantly – accept them and who you are today, right now this present moment.

Really feel your heart and the amazing job it does to love others and love you in it’s pumping of blood to your entire body without you even asking. In this state of simple gratitude, think about what you want to change moving forward and appropriate manifestation ideas for this upcoming month.

Its time to consciously live what you have created, and if that is currently just a whole lot of stress, then embrace it and all the chaos it brings. It may not be conscious, but it is what’s real for you at this point. Find what you are capable of changing and surrender to what you cannot. Find a peace among it all and find true growth. And it’s ok to say “In this particular moment, I’m not fine and I need a hug.”

We were really going through some tough stuff as a family and a great friend of ours was so sweet, and sent us a book called “Everything is going to be OK”. Because, in reality we were healthy, very in love, and in a good spiritual place, and everything was “OK”, not great, and not terrible, (although our minds were driving us to believe it was.)

For a bit of perspective, there are millionaires out there who are miserable with their lives and material collections, but have all the money we could not even imagine. Then, there are the factory workers barely scraping by with their loving families at home that are much happier than most members of our family. It’s all in how you live and what you appreciate most in every day. Just be as present as you can, it will get easier. Relax in all the moments you can throughout your day. When you find yourself focused on something really negative – smile, think of a sunny, bright day doing your favorite thing and move on with more positive thoughts. But our bottom line – have fun and connect with your inner child:

• Watch something silly
• Find and read funny jokes
• Search for funny animal videos online
• Laugh along with your children to their favorite movie
• Get out and play – Do something fun with the family or have a get together with friends, (like we are!)
• Let loose!
• Hold onto your belly and make yourself laugh for no reason at all
• Get a big ice cream cone piled high, (or our favorite – a tub of Ben & Jerry’s)
• Listen to upbeat music that makes you wanna move!
• Go out dancing with friends no matter what kind of music

As we relax and surrender into who we are at this point in time, we encourage you to do what feels right in your pursuit for the highest version of yourself.

Pick your favorite yoga exercises to do with a smile. Sit or lie in your most comfortable meditative position and just smile and be still – not a whole lot of work there.

Surround yourself with all of the colors of the rainbow, (mentally and physically). Find your heart’s favorite color, (the one that is most pleasing to look at for you), and add it more into your truck ‘s interior with seat covers or by way of your bathroom towels.

Do the same with smells and scents. Go to your local place to get incense and buy the 10 for $1 ones in your favorite scent, or go to a store and get an air freshener to bathe your home in the next couple days.

Overall, take this time to cultivate your growth. Be proud of even the small steps you’ve taken in this process. You are doing so well, and you deserve to be happy. Repeat that, “I deserve to be happy”, because you do. Drop all the guilt and pressures you and others have had on you in the past years and this past cycle. Moving on! This next cycle is what you make it, and we know you’ll do exactly what your capable of.

With love for growth and abundance,

Lonny and Kristen

Giving Back – The Disseminating Moon

The Disseminating Moon phase or harvesting portion of collective energy is upon us. The focus of LEAP today is primarily on appreciation, more specifically, tithing. If you are just joining us, we are so grateful to have you and each and every one of our followers. We pray that the LEAP (Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play) program that Souls Converge has created, is bringing all of you something of great value. LEAP is a huge portion of our tithing – from our hearts to the entire spiritual community. We find it to be a great instrument in the law of love.

Edgar Cayce describes the law of love as giving in action, without the force felt, expressed, manifested, shown, desired or reward for that given.

When it comes to the word “tithing” a religious, negative or positive connotation may arise in you. We are not religious in any way. We do not practice a religion, (although, we do highly respect and admire the cultural effects certain religions have on individual souls). We appreciate the simplest form in which most religions were created – for a love of oneself to connect with a higher purpose and Spirit.

An online definition of “Tithe”: A tenth portion of one’s income contributed voluntarily towards something charitable, especially in support towards a spiritual institution.

We are expressing the term “tithing” here to work as a word to represent, giving back, setting aside something for a higher purpose out into the Universe, for no payback to you, but simply for the act of giving freely, and if it is truly that way in your heart, we believe, it is destined to reflect abundance. We are all aware of the fact that in this life there are many good deeds that go un-rewarded. However, if you give from a place of love, not searching for any outcome, and If there is a focus on what the other will receive, instead of what you may get in return, then that is the basis of true giving and manifesting love.

While there are countless experiments linking tithing to great abundance, there is a particular 1940’s story about a Michigan farm experiment of tithing that presented itself in great truth to us to share.

It began with one group, a following of friends and locals, and one cubic inch of wheat. The group blessed the wheat and made a commitment to tithe ten percent of its harvest to their local church. The first year’s harvest was fifty cubic inches, and as promised, the group tithed ten percent (5 cubic inches) to the church, which was given to the minister for breakfast. The remaining nine-tenths of the harvest was re-planted and blessed. By the third year, the larger public learned of this and the blessing of the next harvest planting was attended by press, locals, and Henry Ford himself, (an avid believer in tithing). By the time they reached the sixth and final year of the experiment, the group did not have enough land to plant the nine-tenths harvested wheat in. Local farmers agreed to keep careful records for the remaining year of the experiment, and take the extra wheat on to their land for the group. The final harvest after six years of planting only nine-tenths of the harvest each year was 72,150 bushels of wheat. And so, the tithe given was 7,215 bushels.

At the very beginning of this experiment careful thought and planning went into a miller to not only keep track of the harvest but to also compare the group’s yields with the yield of other wheat farmers in the area. The miller gave them an average production summary that they should have hit had they not tithed: 5,297 bushels.

planting ten-tenths = 5,297 bushels

planting nine-tenths (one-tenth to “God”) = 72, 150 bushels

The tithe from their last harvest was greater than the entire harvest would have been had they not tithed at all. In the miller’s further production analysis of the harvest he found that if they had continued their experiment, in the twelfth year there would not have been enough land mass on planet Earth to receive the nine-tenths for another planting.

The point is not who the group gave to, or what they gave, or even how much for that matter, but more that the level of abundance to them was so great because of the entire process. The love and blessing bestowed upon the planting, the intention behind each growing season, the love and free giving that followed in the harvest, all were apart of the great plan of love for the act of giving back. In that act of giving, a great pouring out was delivered to them, as we believe happens in any situation of tithing.

As far as this law of love goes, and in planning your tithing, we suggest meditating with the Holy Harmony meditation and with each out breath sending all your love you have out into the world to be received by any and all who are in need of it. Perhaps you know exactly who to give to, then send your loving meditation to them specifically. If you don’t know, meditate for a sign and direction of where to give. And lastly, at this time for everyone it seems that any “extra” money to tithe would be needed for your own well-being. We completely understand this feeling and if you are not in a place where you feel ready, don’t do it. Fear and tithing do not mix well. But if you are, and can see the love and meaning behind even $5 a week, (we don’t think it’s the percentage of what you are giving so much as the spirit of it all), start today.

Silly cartoon, but it made us laugh.

Find time within your heart to love and freely give love out to others as often as possible. The poses below can be done from this heart center as well to get your body in balance with this time. We continue to suggest a few drops of an essential oil over your heart to focus you, Abundance Oil by Young Living is a great staple. There should be nothing but ease in this process, never any guilt or force. Whatever your level is to give, do that. We also, suggest surrounding yourself with the colors gold and silver as they have great reflecting power for spiritual abundance.

1. Sun Salutation
2. Standing Side Stretch
3. Triangle
4. Revolved Triangle
5. Half Spinal Twist
6. Leg Reclining Lunge
7. Single Leg Raises
8. Wind Relieving
9. Leg to Side
10. Shoulder Stand
11. Fish

This is a time of utmost appreciation with LEAP and Souls Converge. We are so appreciative of our path that has led us here to write these for you. We pray you find it in your heart to tithe in some way. In the beginning, the tithe may be only 1% a week, but the energy behind it will prevail.The harvest is at its most grand where there is love, and you just may find you don’t have enough “land” to “re-plant” all you have been blessed with! Our faith lies in that sort of abundance for all of you!

~Lonny and Kristen

Your “harvest” is always welcome here, please send us your positive feedback and sign up for our blog on the right. Subscribers will be getting special program extras and Souls Converge event details before anyone else. If it is in your heart to give towards our work, we accept donations through our website or you can email us at soulsconverge@gmail.com.

Appreciation For “Super” Moon

Today, we find ourselves welcoming a “super” Full Moon. The closest one to us here on earth in 18 years. No doubt it’s effects will be more prevalent today than many other moon phases. Our LEAP program (Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play) finds us in a time of gestation and realization of the goals and energy we have put forth. We are now in the “Appreciate” portion of the program. If you have just joined us, we pray you use LEAP as a tool for balancing your loving human nature with the moon cycles.

Today in the news we read that The U.S. launched air strikes on Libya, Japan detected radiation in their food supply, never-ending gossip about celebrities, and thankfully a story or two about the “super” moon and it’s relation to us here on earth. Although it may seem that the news in the past week or two has been unusually upsetting, in all reality, there are major events happening all around, everyday. Earth shattering – perhaps, but every event that takes place only has as much weight as you and you mind allow for. Of course, natural disasters are in fact overwhelmingly negative and emotionally stirring, but there are some people who allow Japan’s terrible wreckage to stand equally with their latest drama in the office. This is an unfortunate and most likely unconscious mindset, but a highly common one. If you can recognize this and put forth an effort to change you will see it take place in your life.

At this time in the moon’s phase we shift our focus and illuminate the things we are grateful for. Relax during this time and calmly search for a clear path to all things gratitude. List your thankfulness for today and things to come in the future. In a day or so you may feel a more urgent sense for growth amid rapid waters of life without enough time to organize or accomplish your goals. We intend the following to help you just release and go with it.

Remember, “What you resist, persists.” Eckhart Tolle

We have the tendency to blame “something” or “someone” else when an event perceived by our minds to be negative occurs. Then, our egos turn right around and pat themselves in the back and say “you worked hard for it” and glorify a positive outcome to be our own doing. Perhaps you did work hard for it, but you worked just as hard for the negative. Your mind was hard at work to attract it, perhaps pushing so hard against it that the negative pushed back with equal force, and your heart’s loving focus just wasn’t strong enough to over-ride it. There is something to be said for letting go of the idea that you have done everything on your own to accomplish your life’s positives and surrender to a higher power’s hand in the process. For many of us it is difficult to even ask for help when we’re clearly drowning in life’s everyday challenges. Being able to say, “I feel helpless, and I need guidance/assistance with this problem. I surrender to the Universe”, is for most, the first major step towards actively creating our lives.

There is a Native American belief in a Clan Mother for every moon cycle. This moon cycle in particular, is presided over by “Weighs The Truth”. She is believed to teach and represent Divine Law and is the fair judge of human rights, the Keeper of Equality and the Guardian of Justice. In the book, The 13 Original Clan Mothers, Author Jamie Sams talks about how “Weighs the Truth” sends gratitude even for the great burdens bestowed upon the people. Think “purple” and try to incorporate it into your life this phase. It represents the crown chakra and unity of you and Spirit. For years we have taken up the practice of a gratitude journal. At this time, we think it is important to find a way to incorporate one into your daily schedule. This is rather easy and a great start to shifting your intentions to the positive. Your gratitude journal should reflect the truth and gratitude for every situation, even the burden of the really upsetting ones.

Your journal doesn’t have to be fancy, although by all means find one that sings to your heart! It can be as simple as a lined notebook, just make sure you dedicate it ONLY for this exercise of daily gratitude. The Universe works on truth, so should your journal. For every entry write the day of the week as well as the date. Sometimes if you feel it’s important to you, include the event for that day as well, (your birthday, anniversary, child’s birthday, etc). Then, place 2 columns under everyday, one that bullet points actual things that took place and another to write your gratitude for that day and things to attract future gratitude for. It is important to write your entries at night just before bed. If you write them in the morning and put “lunch with Candace” and then your friend Candace re-schedules for tomorrow, then the “truth” side of your journal now has an un-truth. Sometimes you may have a un-eventful day and stayed home, then write, “brushed my teeth”, “ate lunch”, “watched a movie”. Add in all the details you can, (see below). The more specific and accurate you can be, the better. The point is to have the gratitude column for the future things you desire and the positive gratitude for today to reflect off the power of truth you have written on the opposite side.

Here’s an example of an entry:

Friday, March 18th, 2011 (Uncle’s Birthday)

-Brushed my teeth with                         -I am thankful for my loving husband

with Tom’s natural toothpaste             -Money comes to assist us in our work

-Saw a baby deer running on the        -I keep a positive light, and easily

right hand side of the road                     conquer negative thoughts & energy

-Tired, had a long day of work             -My job loss presents me with opportunity

and rainy drive home                               for positive focus on what I really want

As we stated earlier, purple is a great color to implement into gratitude for future desires of attraction. It harnesses the soul’s power and sense of knowing. When you write something on the gratitude side, know in your heart that it will be so.

You will find some days more challenging to write than others, but commit to writing entries as often as you can, every night is best. Eventually you will become quite creative at re-wording the seemingly negative into positive attraction for future gratitude in your everyday life. You may also have days, that you have much more gratitude to write than truth of happenings for that day. There are no rules here, but we certainly never hold back writing more gratitude or positive attraction for gratitude in our journals. Take these ideas and implement the direction your soul has been longing to go. Allow this to be a time to trust yourself, take action and look towards appreciating all you have right here, right now. Thoughts and intentions are at a point of fruition.

A truly awakening essential oil for this period in time is the Gratitude blend from our favorite therapeutic essential oil company, Young Living. This is a blend to always have in your collection. With 6 perfectly matched oils, it is designed to elevate the spirit, calm emotions, bring relief to the body, all while helping to foster a grateful attitude. Truly a blessing for your sense of smell.

The poses below are meant to open you up and get your body’s energy flowing in balance with the moon phase. Hold the feeling of appreciation and gratitude in your heart while going through each pose. Begin with breathing the light (found in this post) and draw in the illumination of this “super” full moon. Imagine its light filling every single corner of your body with pure loving Universal energy.

1. Spread leg forward fold
2. Chair pose I
3. Warrior I
4. Warrior II
5. Chair II
6. Tree
7. Sun salutation
8. Seated forward bend
9. Child
10. Full boat
11. Bridge
12. Corpse

This meditative walk is structured to bring clarity. It would be good to find time for it outside among the ever-changing, life-filled surroundings to really focus on the exercise and its calming effects:

walking meditation

As always we feel blessed to be able to provide something of substance to even one person. Our goal is to have the LEAP program be a tool towards many souls more balanced, loving existence here. We wish you growth and abundance!

~Lonny and Kristen

Gibbous

During this Gibbous Moon phase we find ourselves still in the “Enjoy” theme of our LEAP program. If you’re just now joining us, LEAP, stands for Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play. Welcome to our newest followers! To those of you that have been following along, we are so grateful! We pray this is giving you something of substance to work into your life. Our goal is to better your soul’s existence in some small way for growth towards a more balanced body, mind and soulful living experience.

On a quick side note, the events in Japan are heavy on all of our hearts. We feel we must balance this sadness and heavy energy of loss with positive living energy from us here. As you follow along with any portion of this LEAP phase, a good way to give to Japan would be to dedicate some of your loving, higher vibrations to that area of the earth. Focus on yourself first and what your soul needs, and then freely send any extra attention and love you have to them in a cooling light of comfort.

Earth is protected and connected through a Collective Consciousness Grid. This grid is why you can be thinking of something along with millions of others in the world and it happens the very next day. This is a power that governments, scientists and spiritual leaders know about and often don’t mention because of it’s great power. The best part is that it’s completely accessible to all of us at any given time and with the right attitude and thoughts we can truly change entire events for the better. Keep that in mind when you are doing these portions of LEAP every few days or so, and know that for every inch you grow in your path to the best version of YOU, awareness grows in the overall human experience here on Earth along with you, through the Collective Consciousness Grid. Who can resist being cheered up in the presence of laughing happy children? You can be that child-like soul enjoying every present moment for those next to you on the ride into work, all the way to those in Japan – each one feeling and receiving your positive happy energy.

“He who enjoys doing, and enjoys what he has done, is happy.” -German Poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Your enjoyment begins here in the pollinating phase.  The flower of your soul that was beginning to open up in the last phase is now fully blossomed and its time for attraction. If there is something that you desire and find is not coming to you, it always means the same thing; at this time you are not a vibrational match to that desire. You may have to readjust your mind frame a bit, your priorities of wants or fear based choices in order to make the attraction and abundance align for you.

Open up and reveal your inner beauty to the world.  Raise your vibration so that it matches your desires and release your “scent” like a flower would to attract bees, until it attracts exactly what you need at this time to bring your goals into fruition.  Wait patiently while the Universe goes to work and sends you guidance in its many different forms. Then, LISTEN. Signs are truly everywhere. If your hair stands up when you are about to cross the street, pay attention to that. If you get a “bad feeling” when walk into a store, walk out. If you pass a place that for some reason seems like you should go into, go.

Connect with family, friends and loved ones. Share with them your thoughts, feelings, and desires of what you are experiencing. Notice how they respond to you and listen carefully to their hidden words of wisdom. Try to seek out the people who resemble your current energy or vibration, as negative people can bring you down. Pay attention to the signals you get from others when speaking about your emotions and feelings. Perhaps there is someone you love searching for someone to talk to and they just needed to hear you say something that they were feeling as well.

This is a great time to get out of the house and explore new things, maybe even with some of the family, friends or loved ones we mentioned previously, (we’re all about the “2 birds, one stone” philosophy).  Visit a museum, go to a beach you’ve never explored or a new hike, a gallery of photographs, an open house for a new business, etc.

So far, we have offered yoga exercise suggestions that have been primarily focused on grounding and opening our lower chakras.  Now, is the  time to open and lengthen the spine so that the energy we have been building can rise up and open our upper chakras.  Please remember to take caution when doing these stretches, especially since they focus so much on the spinal chord.

Warm up with alternating breathing and then do the poses in this order.

1. Standing forward bend
2. Standing side stretch
3. Downward dog
4. Dog
5. Bow
6. Garland
7. Half spinal twist
8. Seated forward bend
9. Sage twist
10. Shoulder stand
11. Plough
12. Fish

When you are finished sit in Lotus position as you did before.  Your index finger and thumb touch while the back of your hands or wrists rest on the inside of your knees (or whatever your best version of this is for your comfort level). If you cannot sit in full lotus try half lotus or just sit cross-legged. Concentrate on “OM” and begin to hum or chant it. You may choose to listen to Holy Harmony by Jonathan Goldman and chant to resonate with the ancient Hebrew name for the Christ (Yod Hey Shin Vav Hey). This is one of our fall back meditation methods.

Here are a couple video links for you to use along with your meditation which will assist you in raising your vibration.

OM Mantra

The Wave of Love

We send you the utmost gratitude for your participation, and see many more people joining us in the future. How amazing would it be to work in harmony with our earth and moon in a balanced existence here? Listening, loving, living alongside one another, enjoying our lives and the vast experiences we are granted here.

Wishes of growth and abundance for your path, and comforting loving thoughts over the miles.

~Lonny and Kristen

Balance For The Quarter Moon

During this First Quarter Moon we find ourselves in the flowering portion of the balancing cycle. We are moving along into the “Enjoy” step of LEAP (Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play). If you are just now joining us, you may look back at previous posts to try and catch up or just move forward with us today and when the next cycle comes around you will find yourself learning the beginning you missed. It’s time to take action and expect success but first realign with your chosen goals and get focused.

Active focus towards your goals can be difficult for us with lack of time in our busy lives, but if you steer your thoughts and attention where it matters, you will find your goals readily available to you. For example, if you find yourself reading useless negative stories about celebrities online or sports teams and their athlete’s poor off-field behavior, stop yourself. Actively take your mind somewhere else. Find an online site, (there are tons of them), that provides great positive quotes everyday and sign up, or find a daily devotional book with a collection of insights from a wide range of spiritual teachers. Or a great exercise – track your time. You can use this here to clock how long you spend throughout one day reading negative news stories that do nothing for your soul. This will probably leave you in disbelief, “Did I really just spend an hour and 45 minutes reading that crap?!” We’ve been there, and it can be quite the eye opener. Forgive yourself and take that time to do something positive or the activities we list here today.

Eckhart Tolle speaks about the flowering of human consciousness in his book, A New Earth, “Earth 114 million years ago, one morning just after sunrise: the first flower ever to appear on the planet opens up to receive the rays of the sun.” This is a simple and yet complex picture to imagine for us – an Earth without us or animals or plants. The image can also motivate, as we see how amazing this planet and our loved ones are in their basic existence here today. At one point all of us were a version of a desolate Earth; dry, lifeless, and longing for something to change. But now we can take action with the seeds of knowledge and with some sun (attention) and water (nurture) we can begin to expect that our flowers will grow to cover our entire surface with expansive loving gardens.

However, a single flower or even a few does not make a sweeping landscape of gardens.  As Mr. Tolle continues, “The first flower probably did not survive for long, and flowers must have remained rare and isolated phenomena, since conditions were likely not yet favorable for a widespread flowering to occur.” Just as you are beginning to find yourself in this process of flowering towards your goals, it is in fact, a process. You will not have a garden in a day. The conditions of your soul and your heart’s desires are more than likely not yet favorable for a widespread flowering to occur. You have to allow for TIME in working towards these goals.  Ahh, time. It’s that annoying reminder that you are not where you should be, nor where you once were, or where you could be in the future. These are everyday, normal thought patterns that come into all of our minds. However, like Eckhart Tolle teaches and lives, take control of your thoughts and be in present the moment. Find ways to be grateful for where you are and what you have right this second. It can be difficult some days, but It IS possible, even in the worst of circumstances there is always something to be grateful for.  A lesson of patience, as all the motivation and time in the world may not make you a different person overnight, but you can find your soul feeling new and different as you grow and move along in line with your goals.

Let’s focus on your enjoyment. Dictionary.com defines “Enjoy: as to experience with joy, take pleasure in, undergo an improvement”. If you find yourself laughing about something silly with a co-worker you are at that moment experiencing joy. If you take a break and just listen to the water, birds, wind, or people around you, weather you are in the city, at the beach, or on your lunch at a fast food restaurant you are at that moment taking pleasure in it all. And as we move forward with exercise, activities, and implementing our goals we slowly undergo self-improvement. As we move forward in this, you are like a young flower just beginning to open itself up to the world. You will be noticed in this change, sometimes in great ways and some in bad. Keep your focus on the good and keep the bad attention you may get in perspective. A newly open flower is vulnerable to being picked by the next small child who passes it, or admired by an old woman who sees the true beauty and lovely evolution the flower symbolizes. Unhappy people do not enjoy the act of happiness in others. This is obvious as we grow a more and more unhappy culture indulging in the great mishaps and tragic life occurrences of others at the “impulse” section magazine stands next to the checkout. A terrible news story will run far more times than an uplifting one. This can, and we believe, IS changing with the overall flowering of human consciousness. The earthquake in Japan left most people, even the unhappy ones, sending thoughts of love and prayers through their social media outlets in support of all those affected by the event. If you find someone making fun of your silliness, it is more than likely because of a fear they have of expressing their own enjoyment. Feel for them and continue in your joy. Eventually, your personal choices of enjoyment may assist in that person letting go a bit around you and then growing into that act of letting go for themselves.

For the next few days, choose activities to partake in that you are passionate about and can enjoy while participating in them.  We do not advocate a “no pain/no gain” attitude.  In our belief, pain is a red light telling you to stop and evaluate why you are feeling it.  Are you pushing too hard, are you in poor form? Walking, jogging, hiking, swimming, bike riding, kayaking, surfing, skiing, dancing, martial arts, Tai Chi, gymnastics are all good examples of exercises that you can choose to enjoy during this time. Many exercises you can find at your local community center, gym, and even at home online or by purchasing fun videos.

Enjoy a good book, a nice meal, a relaxing bath, sporting event, shopping, leisure activities, even a silly kid’s movie!

Try the following yoga poses that will encourage movement – they primarily focus on opening and strengthening your legs, hips, lower back and abs. Make sure to repeat each pose for the other side of the body as some of the examples only show you how to do one side.  If you do not feel comfortable doing any of the exercises simply skip and go to the next.  We remind you to please not push too hard.  If you feel a pain or strain somewhere stop immediately.

1. Hero
2. Sun salutation
3. Triangle
4. Wide legged forward
5. Half moon
6. Dog
7. Wind relieving pose
8. Double leg raise
9. Bridge
10. Full boat
11. Locust

This movement meditation exercise is an excellent way to connect with the earth while opening yourself like a flower.

Sit in lotus position and do the breath and navel meditation found here.  If you cannot sit in full lotus you can try half lotus or simply just sit cross-legged.  Use the hand mudra “Om” with the index finger touching the thumb with the back of your wrists resting on the inside of your knees.

Try the color yellow during this time. It represents happiness, sunshine, focus. With it you will feel cheerful, empowered, self confident and a boost in your ability to believe in and follow your goals and dreams. Lemons are yellow and their scent does the same for you as the color. Burn a lemon verbena candle or cut a few lemons in half and place them around you home for the day.

Don’t forget to sign up for our blog! You will receive these directly to your email as soon as we post them.

Wishing you great abundance & growth!

Lonny & Kristen

Welcome The Crescent Moon!

As you join us today, we find ourselves continuing on with the “Love” theme of the LEAP program, (Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, and Play), which began on the New Moon, (March 4th), and lasts until the first quarter of the lunar cycle.

Today marks the beginning of the Crescent Moon as we make the transition from the sprouting phase to the growing phase.

As a recap, In the seeding phase of the lunar cycle we completely surrendered our physical, emotional, and mental bodies to the new moon by detoxifying, grounding, and resting our seeds into the ground. You can read the full details of the past phase days starting with the fist one here.

Then, we lovingly went within ourselves through acceptance and forgiveness until we began to slowly awaken and sprout underground. Once we emerged onto the surface, we opened our senses and connected with the nature that surrounded us.

Now, it’s time to claim your domain and set the foundation for the plant or tree that you want to grow and blossom into. To do so, we must ask ourselves an important question of happiness.

But first, we want to remind you that the purpose of the LEAP program is to achieve happiness by living in harmony with nature as we create a healthy body and a peaceful mind, all while cultivating the emotions of love, enjoyment, appreciation, and playfulness into our daily lives.

We might ask ourselves what does a “happy” plant or tree look like?  For a start it would have strong roots and a fine balance of sun (attention) and water (nurture).  Not too much or too little of either, or it will never grow to its full potential.  The “happy” plant would stand up straight, be open and full on all sides with healthy, vibrant leaves.  A “happy ” tree would produce beautiful aromatic flowers and the most wonderful tasting fruit.

As we continue in the “Love” theme for this week, we can begin to manifest some of  these qualities in our own lives by following the practices below.  Try to participate in each exercise for the next three and a half days.

• Warrior and sun salute yoga series using the “Ha” breathing.  These poses along with the “Ha” breathing technique will root us into the ground and align our posture while opening our hearts.
• Go here and do poses 5 warrior I, 6 warrior II, 7 warrior III, 9 chair pose I, 15 standing side stretch, 17 tree pose, and 19 sun salutation.  While performing each pose, breathe in deeply and exhale making the sound “ha” which helps to clear and open your heart chakra.
• Listen to Jonathan Goldman’s “Chakra Balancing“.  Sit in a comfortable position, straighten your spine, (without straining), and  listen to the sounds with both ears equally all while focusing on each chakra.  You can chant along with them as well. You may find this quite empowering.
• Positive affirmations starting with “I choose to” plus a goal.  Say them as many times as possible throughout the day.  For example, going with the moon theme, “I choose to be present and live a healthy and balanced life.”  Or, going with the “Love” theme of LEAP, “I choose to be more loving and accepting of others.  I choose to be happy.” Or any one that you come up with that sings to your soul. Simply writing them on a post it note and putting them up all over; next to your keys by the door, on the steering wheel of your car, or on your computer monitor at work, will all assist you in really embracing them throughout your day.

During this phase try incorporating the color scheme of green into your life. On your desktop at work, on your phone, in the clothes or socks you choose, perhaps the pen you use or the bag you pick for re-usable groceries this week. Shades of green represent love, healing, growth, nurturing, and a balancing of the heart chakra.

Young Living’s Rose Oil, (or any therapeutic grade Rose oil), would be great for this time. Rose helps bring harmony and balance with stimulating and uplifting properties. What flowers do you think of when you think of love? Rose has a beautiful, strong floral and sweet fragrance.

Days 3 & 4

Welcome back! You should feel a bit more awake today and more energized to move forward with Days 3 & 4. If you have just joined us, good for you and welcome! Please read our start off for the LEAP program here.

The past couple days we’ve been sprouting our seeds underground and now, we’ve emerged onto the surface. We can welcome the sun and water as attention and nurture respectively. These next two days are a good time to connect with and retreat into nature. For example, find a park and try to surround yourself with as many elements as possible; earth/grass, wood/tree, metal/rock or mountain, water/stream or pond, etc. Open your senses fully by listening to the birds, smelling the air, walking barefoot on the ground, observing animals and even the leaves movement on the tress.

The last couple of days we’ve focused on letting go of the things we do not want in our lives anymore. Now, its time to remember what it is you DO want to manifest this month. Begin thinking about the positive things you wish to attract.

Days 3 & 4 are also good days to take an epsom salt bath or sit in a steam room or sauna and open up your pores to help sweat out some of the toxins that have been released from the detox or cleansing you have chosen.

Perhaps start a journal where you write down your goals. You can go to it a few times a week to keep yourself accountable for your portion of making them happen.

If you have been doing a fast, cleanse or detox of some sort, Day 3 would be your last day.

5 Things to Focus on:

1. Continue listening to Holy Harmony to balance yourself and do the “Breathe the light meditation”.
2. Continue to do “Ho’oponopono” except now do it in front of the mirror while making eye contact with yourself.  If you cant tell yourself and mean it, then you cant sincerely tell anyone else either.
3. Focus on where you want to move forawrd now that you’ve “let go”.
4. Reatreat into nature. Even if it’s just your backyard.
5. Nurture yourself with some good attention like a long meditative bath.

Our next post is on Tuesday. We will begin the growing phase while we continue in the “Love” theme of LEAP.

Every portion of this is a path for growth. Give yourself time to absorb these suggestions. Sometimes you may just need to read and not actively do everything mentioned. It’s ok, your pace is the only one that matters. Life is not a race- it’s a souls individual journey through a human experience to live fully and find happiness.

As always, we are wishng you great abundance & growth!

Lonny & Kristen

Day 2 of LEAP

Welcome back! We hope you are feeling ready to follow us and move forward with Day 2. If you have just joined us, good for you and welcome! Please read our start off for the LEAP program below this post in yesterday’s blog.

Our goal is to guide you in any way we can to really “LEAP” (Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play) every moment of your life.  In working with and from the energy that surrounds us, instead of against it, you can form a more meaningful experience in your ever-changing “now”. We hope you find yourself more aware, and ready to LEAP as we begin our journey.

Saturday, March 5th, LEAP DAY 2:

The Moon is still in the beginning stages of the “New Moon”. We are still in a cleansing mode. Releasing old patterns, seeding ideas to change them, and clearing the mind of un-necessary negativity. You should continue with listening to solfeggio tones, Holy Harmony we suggested yesterday, while laying in corpse pose and actively participating in a cleansing or detoxifying practice like the ones we suggested in yesterday’s blog.

Our hearts and minds control every aspect of how we experience this life we live. Our minds can really play a large role in our happiness. We can HAVE all the wonderful things our hearts desire in the world and in our heads still not be happy. You may know the people who hold onto so many past negative experiences, and as soon as you speak to them they HAVE to dump onto you their story of how they were wronged sometime 10 years ago and how much happier they COULD be if it had been different “back then”. You may even be one of those people. Most of us were a version of that at some point or still struggle with it today. The best practice to move forward is to let go of the past.

Our minds tend to absorb life experiences in very different ways. Subconscious thought patterns or memories and old programing that continues on a loop in our minds, causing fear, anxiety, pain, frustration, and overall negative emotions is what keeps most people in a depressed, un-happy state of mind. However, if we can allow for Divine wisdom or inspiration to grow in a way that we are willing to release those old replaying versions of who we “were” or “are” and release those memories holding us back, we can find ourselves within arms reach of reconnecting with our source. (God, The Universe, The One, Enlightenment, whatever you hold sacred and divine.)

Just one effective exercise we have found for clearing negativity and seeking Divine Intervention is an ancient method called “Ho’ oponopono” – which in Hawaiian means – to cleanse or make right.

The basics of the saying is that we must take full responsibility for each and every moment and experience in our lives. This proves difficult for so many of us, as we can feel that we don’t create problems and struggles on purpose. However, our minds are always at work, and often in the background of any present moment, attracting things we don’t lovingly want in our lives.

Use “Ho’ oponopono” to erase and let go of those old patterns and memories brewing negativity and reconnect with Divinity. You simply repeat these four simple phrases as you focus on letting go:

“I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you”

As you say each portion, you are speaking to the higher One, “I take full responsibility for the appearance of these problems in my life, even if I don’t know how I created them. Please clear these memories and make this situation right again. Thank you. I love you.” As we said yesterday, this is a time for inner connections and self-love. This exercise is for you to release yourself and anything that could be holding you back as you embark on your journey for growth.

Yesterday we suggested you visualize dropping your problems into a well or pond and watch as they disappear under the water. Today, write your problems down onto paper, (we prefer re-using as much as possible – perhaps choose mistaken printed papers or junk mail blank sides). Now that you have written anything looming over you, stressing you out, or worrying you, do the breathe the light meditation (see below) focusing on those things you just wrote down.  Tear the paper writings into pieces, while reciting the “Ho’ oponopono” phrases aloud. Burn the torn pieces of paper in a safe place you can empty, like a small metal can or large ashtray one by one. Release the negativity associated with each one as it burns. After you have burned them all, empty the ashes into the toilet and flush them down. This will help you better visualize the process of releasing them and letting go.

Take moments you feel positive about to work on these suggestions for Day 2. We will always remind you, life is not a race. Every moment is yours to do with as you wish and we hope for an ever more present awareness for each one of you. Be patient with yourself, you just started! Tomorrow is a new day!

Breathe the light meditation- Breathe in through your nose, (you may have your eyes closed if you wish). When you breathe in, focus on gathering all the light and positive energy in the area around you and distributing it throughout your entire body all the way to your toes and finger tips. When you exhale pull and gather all the dark and negative energy from everywhere in your body and “huff” it out into the air to expel it. Repeat this as many times as you feel necessary.

 

Today We Introduce…LEAP!

“LEAP” stands for Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play. The full meaning of this will be incorporated into and worked through this 28 day cycle of the moon, beginning today with the New Moon. We chose today to launch our program following our heart’s intuition, and in a wonderfully magical turn of events, a friend mentioned that today’s date carries multiple meanings. It is Friday, March 4th and it is indeed also a day to “march forth” along this new journey. We look forward to you joining us!

Our moon presents four major phases, “New”, “1st Quarter”, “Full”, and “Last or 3rd Quarter”. For this first phase, “New Moon” we will focus on the “Love” portion of LEAP and it will last approximately 7 days.

Love, can show itself in many different forms. In the English language we simply have one word for “Love” which can never be enough to express the multi-faceted ways we intend it throughout our lives. For instance, in Hebrew there are over 11 words that represent expressions of love; one for a friendly love, a beloved, a love for your children, and a Godly love just to name a few. But during this portion of the LEAP program we will focus on the inner love of yourself.

For some of us, it is difficult to take the necessary time for ourselves. This life can present us with so many others to take care of and look out for. But how much quality friendship, love and nurturing can you provide from an imbalanced state of yourself? So for the next few days let’s focus on acceptance and forgiveness of self. Perhaps you’re holding onto something that is really upsetting you. But take a step back, forgive yourself for the portion of it you have in the matter and work on your part. To begin, we must allow for the present. The right now. And…the…now. And…you get the idea. Let everything be exactly as it is, let go of the past, and surrender to the future. You will have to take quiet time for YOU, go within and ask your heart what it wants to change and what it is yearning to let go of. To be capable to grow and evolve into our higher state of souls, we must train ourselves to listen to our hearts and the answers it provides, even if that answer at times is “no”. Training our intuition is like practicing any skill, you have to start somewhere. But as soon as you begin you will immediately see results and find yourself in a receiving of new concepts and ideas, thus expressing a new theme during this time.

These are the seeds we plant in the ground and cultivate with sun (attention), and water (nurture) as they begin to sprout and grow. The New Moon marks the halfway point between the seeding phase and the sprouting phase of the lunar cycle. This phase we tend to find ourselves tired from playing in the last portion of the lunar theme where our energy more than likely, crashed and dug our own ditch to sleep in, which also becomes the place we plant our new seeds.

This first three and a half days deals with the sprouting phase and it is a good time to find balance in our lives physically, emotionally, and mentally by grounding, detoxifying, resting, letting go of problems holding us back, breathing in the light and exhaling the darkness, cleaning the home and using sage to clear out any negative energy, and sunbathing.

Below you will find some suggestions for you to use these first few days. Be patient with yourself. Again, we remind you to listen to your heart. Even if that means that you don’t have the energy to do some of these things right now, listen and breathe. You can always implement more in another 28 days.

Getting started for Friday, Saturday, & Sunday:

1. At this time in our LEAP program, it would be beneficial to do a detox or fast of some sort. We like a 3 day version of the master cleanse, or the Kyo-Green powder drinks but you have to do what works for you and is comfortable. However, keep in mind that detoxing is not fun or comfortable for most, but extremely good to do for the body and mind. Make sure you are in good overall health and always consult a doctor before beginning a major change like this. If you can push yourself to do something for this portion of clearing and detoxifying you will be rewarded with how great you’ll feel after. Just cutting out soda or coffee for 3 days will really make a difference, and in the grand scheme of things, what’s 3 short days?
2. Download this solfeggio tones meditation that we love by Jonathan Goldman, “Holy Harmony”, (we’ll be using this a lot).  We’ll talk more about the significance of solfeggio tones later, but you can find a brief description here.

For Today, Friday:

• Breathe the light meditation- Breathe in through your nose, (you may have your eyes closed if you wish). When you breathe in, focus on gathering all the light and positive energy in the area around you and distributing it throughout your entire body all the way to your toes and finger tips. When you exhale pull and gather all the dark and negative energy from everywhere in your body and “huff” it out into the air to expel it. Repeat this as many times as you feel.

• Meditate, finding any thoughts bothering you and release them to the Universe. “As a symbolic signal of your subconscious mind, every meditation should begin by surrounding yourself with white light. Then, after you relax your physical body, visualize yourself standing beside a well or pond. Drop all of your problems into the water, and watch it close over them. This is a symbolic release that tells the subconscious that you need an answer to solve these troubles. Then, visualize yourself walking away from the well or pond, leaving everything behind. The symbolism of dropping your problems into the water is essential. It is never good to go into meditation without doing this, just as it is imprudent not to use the white light to surround you. Both are protective measures to eliminate taking negative vibrations into an otherwise productive exercise. At first, choose a nature scene for your inner journey – mountains, desert, small waterfall, island, in the woods, ocean bluffs, etc. You should visit your place several times until you can easily get there and back and find yourself completely familiar with your terrain and all the surroundings you have created there. As you become more and more accustomed to meditating it is an excellent idea to vary the inner landscape you visit. This strengthens your visualization powers and prevents boredom for your mind’s tendency to wander. Excerpt from the book By Oak, Ash, and Thorn by D.J. Conway

This color represents self realization, inner senses, intuition, deep connections to the moon, spirit, magic, mystery, and clearing your mind. Perhaps try wearing it this phase or place candles or tea-lights of this color around where you’re meditating. At work you can set your desktop background to something indigo blue, like a picture of space and stars perhaps.

For scents and smells: Lavender to release tensions, and promote calm. Citrus choices like Tangerine and earthy ones like patchouli provide clarity and tranquility. We are addicted to the Young Living Oils and their blends. A great one for this phase of LEAP is their Peace & Calming Oil containing a therapeutic grade essential oil blend of Tangerine, orange, ylang ylang, patchouli, and blue tansy.

5 THINGS to FOCUS ON:

1. Breathe the Light Meditation
2. Release tension, problems, troubles and worries
3. Lay in corpse pose and listen to Holy Harmony with both ears equally and really melt into it.
4. Do the visualization meditation described above
5. master cleanse and/or  Kyo-Green powder drinks or do some raw juicing green drinks yourself like Living Light Cafe’s “Green Giant” and another great site with instruction, here.

Give yourself time – baby steps. We will go over everything every step of the way. Tomorrow is a new day! Should you have any questions or comments you can post them below or you can contact us directly on our website or at soulsconverge@gmail.com.

Wishing you great abundance and growth!

Lonny & Kristen

The Moon & You

The moon is a spectacular sight that we, (like so much beauty in our lives) may take for granted.  Despite the Moon’s familiarity, sometimes we forget what a profound impact it has on our planet and our soul’s existence here.

For the most part, people are aware of the moon’s sheer tractive force on the tides of our powerful ocean and since that is such a widely accepted FACT, we would assume that the thought of the moon’s power on us and our energy would be as well. Considering each one of our bodies contains up to 78% water at any given time, it would only make sense. But do to folklore of  werewolves and witches for the last few centuries, scientists have scoffed. Now, according to new research they’re not so sure. The Moon may not be made of cheese, but it influences a lot more down on Earth than was previously believed. There is of course no coincidence that the word “luna” means moon, and it’s connection to the word “luna-tic”.  However, there are many great energies and inspiring emotions we can gain from the moon in each particular portion of it’s 28 day cycle.

The LEAP program, (Love, Enjoy, Appreciate, Play), will indeed be a tool to implement into your daily choices and awareness of the energies, colors, scents, moods, exercises and activities best for each portion of the cycle of the moon and it’s influence over us. We hope the program helps us all to work WITH the moon and it’s energy for our lives. Each Lunar Month- beginning with each New Moon- has eight Lunar Phases, each approximately 3.7 days long. Each eight individual lunar phases, their characteristics, and how they are expressed in our daily lives are what the LEAP program will focus around. For a start, let’s express a new theme, following the moon with awareness – the New Moon which begins tomorrow, March 4th!

Join us as we LEAP!