You are always connected

You were born as a bud on Her tree. The Mother Tree that spans infinitely in all directions. Every light and soul is with you.

You are always connected and loved by the infinite.

Her roots fed by the fire of creation, her trunk swaddled by the steadfast earth, her branches kissed by the stars.

You flourish and are fed as part of the infinite.

She ebbs and flows. She inhales and exhales as the ocean tides. She drinks and creates and blossoms and rests as a firey creator who honors her limits. She does not chide the seasons for their power over her. She is the seasons.

You rise and fall, create and rest, as part of the infinite.

And as you grow, you bud, blossom, leaf and grow fruit. Your soul manifests, through continual death and creation, into this fruit. It is painful; you rail against this connection. This Mother. What was so wrong with being a bud? Or a blossom? Or a leaf? You rage at the Mother.

Yet you ripen and fall as part of the infinite.

The most painful moment. Most of you dies. You recede into the ground. Yet, you are still awake. Inside of you is life. So you wait. And you wait. And everything is cold. You are too naked, too tired, to rage.

And then it happens.

The Mother’s roots swaddle you once more. Her roots reach out as loving arms and feed you as when you were a bud. Every light and soul is with you. Your roots grow as hands to hold hers. You break the ground and feel the warmth kissing your forehead from the heavens. Yet it is painful.

Every branch and every root you grow is pain.

You grow as a volcano whose lava scorches and regrows the skin of the mountain. Your roots continue to reach infinite others, the Mother, and the fire of creation. Your branches are held by the heavens as a doting grandmother cupping your chin in her soft wrinkled hand.

It is only then you feel a deep shift.

Your blossoms and leaves bear fruit. The light of other souls comes into your light, under your vast canopy. To be fed by you and the infinite and blossom. You cradle them with your nourishment. You share the ebb and flow. The death and rebirth. The inhale and exhale. The seasons. Until they, too, fall.

Your creation is connected to theirs and to all. At last you understand.

Your gift from the Mother is love. Your gift to the world is love. You are always connected and loved.

If you can’t be with the one you love…

So, if you can’t be with the one you love, do you really have to love the one you’re with? No, but it makes life a whole lot more awesome! A message of love for you for the holiday season! Or, really, any time of year 🙂

Dear miraculous and beautiful soul,

How the hell are you, my friend? Are you ramping up for the holidays a.la. caffeine-nation or finding some sweet time next to a lit tree or in a cozy nook? Or a little of both? Would love to know how you are taking care of yourself this season.

Over the past ten years, I’ve gone on a major Christmas-season transformation. From one fraught with parties, perfection, migraines, and lists longer than Santa’s. To one with fewer presents, commitments, and stillness to enjoy the darkness rising. Where are you on that holiday scale? More importantly, how do you feel about where you are at?

My family jokes every year that I used to hate Christmas. Which isn’t true.

The Truth>> I used to dread the holidays. All the doing. I am sure it was all the internal beatings I would give myself if things didn’t work out or get done in time. Yep, I was my own Nightmare before Christmas.

And, even with my resilience and mindfulness tools in my belt, I felt the pressure this holiday season. Pressure to move my business ahead. Faster.

The Messy Middle >> One day, I woke up and couldn’t work. Instead, I released some big, sad, been-workin-too-much-not-seeing-my-progress emotions. (Yes, I cried.) After beating myself up for a day, I woke up and said enough is enough.

The Answer >> Next, I opened up to Heather Kokx’s insightful words and gave myself mercy. I sat in long stillness, looking for guidance. And it came. The answer: Love myself. (Is love always the answer? 🧐)

And no matter if you hate or love all the festivities, may you dig deep to find your balance, your stillness, and your appreciation for the miracle of you.

So, would you like a quick reminder of how awesome you are? How you need to be a priority in your life? How you need to take care of yourself? 💌Get your Self-Love Letter Mad Libs here (pdf). 💌 And please do join us in my Facebook Group to chat about it. Would love to see your smiling heart there 🙂

More LOVE >> This week, I’m focused around helping you cultivate self-love (or self-friendliness!) in my Facebook Group. 💕Don’t forget, I’m live every Wednesday morning 9:30 am Central in the group and on YouTube Channel. Today, I’m talking about, you guessed it, self-love!

Sending you much peace and stillness to enjoy and be proud of the miraculous gift that is YOU.

With love, light and laughter,

Heidi Esther

ANNOUNCEMENTS

⍰ of the WEEK (DEC 6): What’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for accomplishing in 2021? Answer here!

📺 NEXT WED, DEC 15, 2021 @ 6:30 Central: Holiday #LikeABoss on the Live with Heidi and Heather show on YouTube. Bring a fav drink, holiday recipe, and gift received and tune in!

🐉⚔️ What do you need in your life to move forward with confidence? The answer is in my Dead Dragon story! Loving The Dead Dragon show? Try another of Katherine’s other empowering interviews!

➡ Pick up your Self-Love Letter Mad Libs! ⬇️

Focus, Mad Libs, Dead Dragons, and Empowered Joy

Ready to get to Empowered Joy? Then you’ll need some Mad Libs, Dead Dragons, and Focus!

Hello, my beautiful friend! How are you and how are you taking care of yourself today? How was your Thanksgiving, if you celebrated it? Did you mask or vax up and see family? Would love to know! While I absolutely love Thanksgiving, I’m extra thankful for leftovers. (a.k.a. I don’t have to cook for the next ten days. 🦃🙏💕So….

CONFESSION: I can’t do everything. Once in awhile, I get caught up in a mindset where I tell myself “I can do everything, I got this!” I have a pretty creative and analytical brain, so both sides are always on board. What’s not on board: my time and sanity. So, inevitably, I end up taking a ton more time to do things that would be better outsourced, like to one of my kids, my wife, or to a professional.

SECOND Confession: I’ve been sitting on my book and companion workbook, telling myself I can format them myself. I have come to learn that the learning curve is steep and the results for my book could be a disaster. I am seeking help this week and starting to record it and put it in professional hands. I am becoming focused on what will help my message reach the most souls: my book.

My plan of attack: I am focusing on what I can do quickly, outsourcing what keeps me stuck, and keeping my important goal as my line of focus.

Which leads me to my new Facebook Group, My Joyfully Ever After (yes, you want to join!) My poll of the week in the group is: how do you stay focused on the important stuff with all life’s distractions? And my Question of the week is also up: what is one goal you are committed and focused on in the next 3-6 months?

FIVE things for you today!

1) FYI: I am launching my book MARCH 2022. Before then, I will be exclusively focused on sending you encouraging messages + becoming more visible + getting my book out.

2) Get ready to soak in more Heidi stories via video and podcast. I just launched my own YouTube Channel and will also be the guest on some podcasts as well.

3) Speaking of Shows, Heather and I are going live today at NOON CST to talk “From Hot Mess to Empowered Joy” I’ll also be reading from my upcoming book, too! Join us? We’ll be live on our YouTube Channel OR Facebook Group!

4) AND speaking of podcasts, I was on one and talked about my journey from Waking up to Transforming my life. Catch my episode on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/find-your-joyfully-ever-after-with-heidi-esther/id1577159495?i=1000542891954 OR on Katharine Loranger’s YouTube Channel here:   

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0e6ZSPcMDQ7HWdVP4h_Yfw/videos. If you want to see other places I’ve been featured, pop over to my Featured Page.

5) Don’t forget to pick up your Self-Love Letter Mad Libs! Get your copy at http://freebie.heidiesther.com/MadLibs. Once you do that, join me in the new Facebook Group to do the prompts in December. I promise, it will be fun! Here’s more info!

Sending you peace and focus to spend time getting to know the person who matters a lot in your life…Beautiful You!

The SoulJourner QUESTion

Focusing on what matters

1) What’s your goal? Name it and give it a time frame.

2) Answer these three questions: What are you joyfully looking forward to doing as it relates to your goal? What do you need to learn? What are you absolutely not looking forward to?

3) Ask for help with what you are not looking forward to doing. Be creatively resourceful if you don’t have funds. Find resources to help you learn. Keep Joy as your compass. AND ask for help with or let go of anything else in your life that is taking up time or sucking your joy away. Yes, it’s hard to ask for help. And also liberating!

Live with Heidi and Heather Episode 001: Why do we care?

What happens when Diet Coke won’t fix it?

Hello, my beautiful friend! How is your heart these days? And how are you taking care of your gentle, bright spirit?

I have a random question for you…would you say you’re a soul-searcher? Like, someone who’s not afraid to look inside, connect with, and dig up (the good and the bad) to find more in your life? More You? More Joy? I came across that word, and then I wrote this about what I’m trying to do here:

I encourage fellow soul-searchers to greater Joy and Authenticity with relatable true stories, playful printables & mindfulness tools.

Anyway, that one sentence is the culmination of a book I read, called Building a Story Brand. It’s draft #1. Would love to know how you feel about that sentence. It could be why you and I click, or why you feel I’m coming from outer-space sometimes! Or Both!

Speaking of outer space… My new show that aired last Wednesday, Live with Heidi and Heather, is somewhere out there. 😂 🪐I don’t know where it went, but it didn’t go where it was planned. So, it’s now in the NEW! Live Heidi and Heather Facebook Group. Or you can listen to it on my pod!

So, all future live shows will stream to our Live With Heidi and Heather YouTube channel. Next one is October 20th at noon CDT. Don’t Forget, Please go to our YouTube channel and subscribe!

So, all social media aside, I’m learning lots of lessons these days. I’ve got an interrupting-chicken sleep schedule with some late nights, some early mornings. I’ve been a little “spicy and stressed. Somedays I drink Diet Coke, cry, or nap. Or all three! Yesterday, I journaled. And uncovered my feelings.

I wrote down what I could control (how I take care of myself / my attitude) and what I couldn’t (my son’s soccer, my wife’s work.) I admitted something I would NEVER have before. Back when I was perfectionistic-codependent stay at home mom. I’m having a hard time. And I need help.

It felt like I unlocked a door from a dark room and bathed in a warm flood of sunshine. ☀️So, my dear friend, may you know that you are strong and brave. And loved and supported. May you take time to be honest with yourself. So you know what you need. And ask for it. Like a car-pooling buddy, a friend to lean on, or some takeout. 🌮🥡🍕

Why ask for help? Because Your Joy Matters. Because you deserve the sunshine. Because you are strong and you need help.

Which brings me to Live with Heidi and Heather Episode 001…

The SoulJourner QUESTion

So, being honest with oneself is hard. Harder than you might think. Here’s what I did to uncover my honest truth.

Gaining Clarity Hurdles Exercise

You have to overcome some hurdles to get to your truth. When you find yourself saying “I just wish..” or “I should…” or “Why me?” take out your journal or talk these things out with a trusted friend.

  1. Share how you feel. Get it out, soul-searcher! When you’ve felt the peak and ebb of your feelings, ask yourself the following.
  2. What am I in control of?
  3. What am I not in control of?
  4. What am I expecting to happen?
  5. Is what I’m expecting to happen/what happened in my direct control?
    1. If YES: (your thoughts/actions/attitude/putting your phone down) take those steps. Write down a revised positive mantra that you can use to replace the unhelpful “i wish” or “I should” statement.
    2. If NO, ask yourself: What do I need to let go of? What can I ask for help with?
  6. The checker question: After the above steps, write down how you can best take care of yourself, your health, and your happiness, regardless of the outcome. Make sure – whatever you do – is aligned with taking care of yourself and your values.

SuperStep5 (Getting Stronger) EveryDay Superhero Method EXTRA CREDIT: Do the above exercise, then ask yourself what kinds of lessons the universe might be showing you right now. Then, practice feeling gratitude for those lessons!

Garage Sailing is a Dangerous Sport, Part 2

Garage Sailing is a dangerous sport for Heidi Esther. Will her recovering soul now figure out how to enjoy it with her practical adversary, her wife? For the first part of the story, click here!

The Ship takes a Nosedive

Stacey comes over and looks down to a colorful set of six plastic paper plate holders in my hand. She pauses, and begins.

“Sweetheart, we used to have these exact ones and we never used them. And we don’t have any paper plates. You remember – the last time we had paper plates was our wedding six years ago? And paper plate holders aren’t on the list,” she says, pointing to the piece of paper in my hand. A third cash register receipt.

I can’t take it any longer.

Will heidi esther say something she regrets? Oh no!

Sailing is a Dangerous Sport, Part 1

Sailing is a dangerous sport for Heidi Esther. Though she’s recovering from her sorted past, can she now enjoy it? Or will her differences with her wife ruin it for good? For Part 2, the conclusion, click here!

I have a confession. 

A dozen years ago, this summer, I had an addiction. Toward the end of every week, I’d get excited. Ready for my first hit. The adrenaline high coursing through my veins. I dreamt of it. I knew, as long as I was patient, it would come.

By Friday morning at seven, it was go-time. Sometimes Daddy wasn’t even awake. My two toddlers and I were like quiet and efficient mice. I buckled them into their toddler seats, cranked up the sing-a-long CD, and drove to Dunkin’ Donuts.

what the heck is she addicted to??? read on to find out!

How I Reprogrammed my Speak and Spell

Why, God, why can’t I just sleep in?

My ears wake to a familiar seagull-like whine. I try not to move in bed, as if my complete stillness can make it go away. Nonetheless, the whine continues.

My step-dog Elvis and his strict wake-up time is the cause of much grief in my world. Say there was a thunderstorm for three hours overnight that felt like God was shining a faulty fluorescent light. And, say Elvis was awake in our bedroom for all those hours. He will still wake up at the same time.

Is Heidi esther’s day, once again, lost to the dogs?

Agreement 4: Always Do Your Best

You made it to the last of the MomSanity Four Agreements Series! Wahooo! Here’s a link to more The Four Agreements info. Given to us by the wise Don Miguel Ruiz, the Fourth Agreement is: Always Do Your Best.

Agreement 1 / Agreement 2 / Agreement 3 / Agreement 4

Cold Shoulders

I sat at my desk, looking through my miniblinds to the parking lot. My hands retreated from my keyboard like wilted flowers as I watched two of my coworkers fast-walk to a car, out of view.

The two people I trust the most at my job went to lunch without me. And, even worse, they tried to hide it from me. I felt an old ego-driven defense spike up from my inside. I didn’t do anything wrong. They are the ones with issues.

AIEEE! doing her best might be challenging for heidi esther! read on!
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