True Nature

A tribute to Dr. Wayne Dyer

| Kirsten Hansen

KH and Wayne DyerIt’s amazing how many of us have a story about Dr. Wayne Dyer. A favorite quote. A favorite teaching. A moment where we met him.

Because that’s the thing about Wayne, he was that accessible.

Voted the 3rd most spiritual person on the planet (behind the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle), he was known by everyone. He was the ice breaker to spirituality. The way shower for those just dabbling and others wanting to go deeper into remembering who we are.

Wayne was the one I would recommend to friends who were jaded or skeptic to this ‘new age’ world, because of his ability to take ageless wisdom and break it down simply, for everyone to understand and in an easy to absorb, non-airy fairy way.

wayne dyer quote 1Not only was he wise, but he was kind. He was love personified. And he was patient and humble. And grateful.

When I met him in 2011 at the first Hay House ‘I Can Do It’ Conference in Vancouver, he opened the weekend Friday night with an inspiring, standing O (worth the price of the weekend ticket) talk. And then on Saturday, he returned during the day, just to meet people. To chat, get to know us, sign books, take photos and to hug.

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You Are Enough

| Kirsten Hansen

infiniteI’m a big personality. I make big facial expressions. I have big hand gestures. There is really nothing small about me, except my chest size.

If I’m speaking out loud or about something personal, chances are, I’ll crack a joke and try to make it entertaining, or worthy of an audience.

Even if that audience is just one person.

That’s just always been who I am.

In acting class recently, after doing my monologue for the first time, my teacher had me sit on my hands and just speak the words from a place of truth, nothing else. No big expressions, no wild hand gestures. No need to entertain or perform.

I was just to be.

It was torture.

“Why?” I asked. “This just feels wrong.”

She said, “Trust me.”

I did my monologue again. And this time, when I was done, she asked me how it felt. I told her I felt like a brick wall, void of any emotion and boring as hell.

She and the class disagreed – saying it was way more powerful this way.

Stunned, I asked: “But how?”

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Answering the Call: This is my Trust Walk

| Kirsten Hansen

SERENDIPITY: means a “happy accident” or “pleasant surprise”; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it.

SYNCHRONICITY: is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner.

When you travel alone for a large amount of time, you think you are alone… except of course, for the etheric rope that connects you to the real world and your loved ones back home, now even more accessible with social media and skype.  If you are anything like me, for the first few days, or weeks, you somehow look back rather than ahead, still tethered to their hearts, in a way so not to forget them, and more importantly, for them not to forget you.  It is your safety as you clamber into the unknown.  For when connected, you can tug on that rope, and know that someone will be there to pull you up.

So far throughout my European journey, I had been gliding between the two worlds, living part in the past, that is nine hours behind, and the other half in the present moment; hanging in the in between.  And in order to truly experience what I needed to experience, I couldn’t hold on.  I needed to cut the chords, and let go of my safety net once and for all.

There is a reason I chose to embark on this journey Mio Solo, sans a travel companion, other than a small stuffed elephant named Hope.  (You never leave home without Hope, but more on him later.)  For when you are by yourself, you are more open to the gifts of each moment. Rather than distracted by dialogue, you are an observer, taking in the surroundings. With each breath, a new mental picture and memory is absorbed.  A new thought occurs, that is allowed because there is space in your mind, from the expansion of quiet. Soaking in the experience with wide, undistracted eyes.  You become clear.  Present.  Undisturbed.  A carrier pigeon for transformation, passing on the tradition to the family and friends back home, thereby also changing them for taking the courageous first step that they were somehow unable to make.

A Solo Journey: The difference between Fear and Truth

| Kirsten Hansen
“E proprio la possibilita di realizzare un sogno che rende la vita interessante.”
“It is the possibility to realize a dream that makes life interesting.”
Paolo Coelho
DSC_0076 2

The beginning of any solo journey is never easy. You are chartering your way into the unknown.  You have ideas of where you are going, but anything can happen. The road lies open.

We call it a journey for a reason.  Because there will be hills and ravines. You may be asked to scale dangerous terrain both physically and internally, facing parts of yourself you didn’t know existed, or consciously choose to ignore.

But with a journey, you may also be shown magnificent beauty, within yourself and within others, seeing a world that you would never have known had you stayed within the comforts of home.

It is within those comforts that fear resides, afraid of what might happen if you go and worse if you don’t, where you’ll find yourself forever living with regret for a dream unlived, and freedom unrequited.

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The Poetic Reflections of Relationships and Mirrors

| Kirsten Hansen

“The people we are in relationship with
 are always a mirror, reflecting our own beliefs 
and simultaneously we are mirrors, reflecting their beliefs.
 So, relationship is one of the most powerful tools for growth….
If we look honestly at our relationships
, we can see so much about how we have created them.” – Shakti Gawain

We all have certain ways of being with others.  Sometimes we know what we are doing and other times, our actions and behaviours are completely unconscious. If we are aware of our “issues”, we usually don’t like to acknowledge them to avoid shining light on our shame.  Well, I’m gonna go against the traditional rules of poker, and show you my hand.

I have had certain “habits” in my friendships and relationships. I have put others needs ahead of my own.  I have sacrificed myself for another’s wellbeing.  I have assumed to know what is best for them and what they are thinking, needing or expecting, and took action to make them happy, in an effort to avoid putting them out. I have tried to rescue friends and lovers from their pain, all the while, waiting for them to value me in return.  I have waited for them to see me.

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We All Want To Be Special

| Kirsten Hansen

We all want to know that we matter in this world and that our life has meaning. Within us lies this inexplicable need to be Special.  To know that we aren’t a mistake and we haven’t been forgotten.

As children, we lose ourselves in fantastical tales of wishes fulfilled.  We relate to the story of the ordinary boy, who one day discovers he is the most powerful wizard in the world. We live vicariously through these characters, wishing, hoping, that we were just like them.  If only.

As adults, myself included, we are no different.  The longing to be special remains.

But with our need to be special, comes with it our fear of being different.  As humanity, we are a walking contradiction, afraid of being ostracized.  For we may dream of being recognized for our uniqueness, but we are also deathly afraid of shining our lights, and being our most expansive selves. As Marianne Williamson said:

“It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”

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Don’t Forget the Magic

| Kirsten Hansen
“We can choose to function at a lower level of awareness and simply exist, caring for our possessions, eating, drinking, sleeping and managing in the world as pawns of the elements, or we can soar to new and higher levels of awareness allowing ourselves to transcend our environment and literally create a world of our own — a world of real magic.” – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic

As a child, who were your heroes?  What books did you read?  Where did your imagination take you?  And who did you dream of becoming?

If you were anything like me, you were whisked away to far off lands filled with chivalric knights on horseback, castles with moats, rolling pastures and enchanted forests, passionate poets, fairies, fair maidens and magicians; A place where only the chosen one could remove the sword from a stone. Where miracles unfolded within the blink of an eye, and believing in the impossible was the only way to be.

However, as we get older, we seem to tuck those dolls and dreams away into a trunk in the closet, or worse, a lockbox within our heart.  We shut down and tell ourselves that it’s time to grow up and be realistic. Fantasy isn’t cool anymore. We have responsibilities. There is no time for Magic.  Besides, we convince ourselves, it’s not real anyways.

The Power of Prayer: An Ode to Japan

| Kirsten Hansen

When I heard the news of Japan, my heart wept for the devastation.  I immediately felt the need to get on my knees and hold my hands to the beating heart of our Divine Mother Earth and pray for her wellbeing and the safety of her children.

As I’m sure many of you did as well, I prayed for the people of Japan, who are being faced with such tragedy. I prayed for our planet, who is experiencing great change and transformation. And above all, I prayed for the human race.

We are at a crossroads, and it is essential that things change.  With the countless tragedies increasing within recent years; we are all feeling the aftermath.  It’s no longer on the other side of the world and outside of our peripheral vision; it’s everywhere.  It’s hitting close to home.  For some of us, it is home.  We are all energy, and therefore, we are ALL affected energetically.

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What we Focus on Expands, so Give Love

| Kirsten Hansen

Life is a choice. It’s up to us how we choose to experience our lives. We can wake up in the morning, feeling the doldrums, stomping our feet, and shaking our first at the world for another cold, rainy day.  Or we can choose to see life as a glass full of amazing potential; like golden sunshine eager to part the clouds and show its face for another extraordinary day.

The mind is incredibly powerful, and “What we focus on, Expands.”  In the most simplified terms, the neurons in our brain cells are electromagnetic, therefore magnetically drawing to us exactly what we ask for, no matter how wonderful or awful that may be.

For most of my life, I believed my future was bright, but I was still waiting for that day to appear.  As a result, I was always focusing on what was missing, rather than having gratitude for what was already there.  Since I’ve consciously shifted my outlook, my life has (not coincidentally) changed. Today upon waking, I stretch my arms to the heavens and say thanks.  I vocally proclaim, “Today is the best day of my life, and no matter what happens, I choose to be Happy.”  And it absolutely works.

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