Liveliness | Bonnie Barnard - Part 2

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Breaking a Habit through Awareness and Choice

I bought some products from Aveda yesterday. I had tried to order my foundation throughout the pandemic and they were sold out. The supply had been replenished and I received an email offering me 25% off my purchase and routing me to the website. I ordered. I paid. I checked out. Then I took a survey. The survey asked for my feedback. My feedback was I am disappointed that I had to wait for the inventory. Then the follow up question was … get this … it is BIG … Was your feedback positive, negative, or both. That question woke up a trained habit within myself that said, “feedback equals improvement.” So I did look up the word feedback which does mean pointing out what needs improvement, so in essence I was giving feedback. Yet this follow up question woke me up to a habit. I stopped to think of ALL of the wonderful things the store did right and I liked. 1. They let me know when the...

Now What? Being with Internal Chaos

Sunday night I had a friend over for dinner and at 9:30 pm as we were sitting on the couch listening to jazz on the local public radio station, the phone rang. It was his parents informing him that he would have to spend the night wherever he was as there was a curfew in place. We couldn’t believe it. We turned on my computer to see that Phoenix was ablaze with conflict, anger, and firey objects. My body seized up a bit. I had many different sensations running through it and if I gave them emotional names I’d call them fear, sadness, concern, consternation, loss, and much more. Our country is in the midst of change. And although it needs it and I want it, I can be uncomfortable with the way it is ushered forward. Yet this is a collective experience and it shows up in many different ways and on many different levels, including the physical. The spiritual invitation is to accept what is and Love...

What is Resurrecting Within You?

May your Easter reveal the message of resurrection within your Soul and may you become made new. Our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrated Passover this week. During the seder meal they asked the question: “What makes this night different from all nights?” This question is one of one renewal. We could stop at any moment of our day to ask “what makes this moment unique, alive, vibrant?” We could ask where life is at this moment in the context of our circumstances. Life is ALWAYS present. This practice is what many of us are doing at this moment of quarantine. Quantum physics would have us ponder the questions, “what is wanting to emerge here?” Looking at the edges of the outer world and the center of the inner world is a mystical practice of co-creation. What is wanting to emerge. Let me give you an example. Wednesday night I heard on the news that one person was dying every 45 seconds in America (on Wednesday). I stopped and...

In Quarantine or on a Retreat?

Do you have any idea how much money you have saved by going on retreat in your own home? You are going to be asked to stay home, so, why not turn part of your time into a spiritual retreat? You can create for yourself a private retreat replete with spiritual guidance, spiritual practice, journaling, creativity and reading. And add to it, you get to choose your own food. Do you want to fast on this retreat? Drink juice and tea only? Have a vegetarian retreat? Stop for a moment. With the Coronavirus pandemic unfolding and the outside world closing down around you; YOU are at the perfect place to give yourself permission to retreat and reflect. How do you plan your own retreat? Well, what are you interested in? Are you interested in spiritual practices? Give yourself a day, two, or three of no electronics and silence. Allow your nervous system to have a break from being bombarded and nurture yourself. Follow your curiosity and allow it to...

Spirituality and the Immune System

How is your immune system’s health? This has become an important question with the Coronavirus in the news right now. Individuals who have a compromised immune system are at risk for the virus being dangerous; those with a healthy immune system may or may not get sick and will yet most likely fight it off. Throughout my ministry I have had a keen interest in the relationship between what we think about, our spiritual life and our physical health. With this interest, I have been a long time student of building immune health, body mind and spirit. I am not a medical doctor, but I continue to have conversations with my own personal doctor team, I have numerous friends in the field of medicine, and I read like a crazy lady. This past week my phone has been actively ringing with friends and clients afraid of the Coronavirus and so I am putting what I have learned about building long term health into this short blog. This is what...

The Weinstein Verdict is In

My devices were buzzing this morning with the news that the Harvey Weinstein verdict was in. I went to the Court TV website to find the outcome. Weinstein was convicted of two of the five charges and will serve somewhere between 10 and 25 years for his offenses — criminal sexual act and rape in the third degree. I then watched a few additional interviews and learned that the above results were just for New York and there will be another court case to follow in California. I learned that California has passed laws doing away with non-disclosure agreements linked to sexual assaults. This new law has gained attention across states. I hadn’t put a lot of thought into it before, but once a victim was paid to “compensate for injury” then the non-disclosure rendered them mute which had the potential to turn more individuals into victims. Light is disinfecting. The door to my heart is wide open at this moment and Light is streaming both inward and outward....