Marian Buck Murray

EFT and IFS for Sensitive, Creative People. Empower yourself self-compassion and deep understanding.

Butterfly Wings

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I came across this butterfly the other day as I walked in the wildflower garden in my local Reservation.  She was on the ground, flapping her wings, not going very far.  Above her, beckoning, were the wildflowers she had come for.  But there she was, stuck in the dirt.  At first glance I thought she was dying.  At second glance I realized she was showing me exactly what I needed to know.

We are all butterflies in some stage of development.

While some of us are soaring high, many of us are cocooning, or struggling to fly.  Like the butterfly in the garden, we often struggle on the ground, moving in circles, never enjoying full flight.  Our wings, heavy with judgement, feel unable to lift us into the garden where we belong.  Sometimes we’re so burdened with self-doubt that we can’t even budge our wings. 

So, to that beautiful butterfly, I sent my love and deep appreciation for her being on my path that day.  And though she continued to struggle, I held my vision of her well-deserved flight. 

Within moments, just as I was about to move on along my path, the butterfly fluttered up into the garden, alighting on a nourishing blossom.  Satisfied, and happy, I continued my walk and I immersed myself in the fragrant flowers, and the sounds of bees and crickets. 

A while later I found myself back in the spot where I had seen the butterfly.  She was gone.  Though I looked for her in the flowers, on the ground, in the grasses at the edge of the path – I couldn’t find her anywhere. I began to wonder if she had fallen to the ground and staggered off to die. 

So, in that moment, I asked for my higher power to show me the butterfly, or show me it was time to leave.  I looked one more time,  didn’t see her, and  I turned to go. 

And there, right as I turned to go, was the butterfly — flying high amongst the flowers.

Its when we surrender to the power of love, grace, and invisible sources of assistance, that we’re able to embody the power of our wings.  Lifting off of the ground, we fly, reaching higher and higher, until we’re able to see that the garden was here all along.

Peace,

Marian

If you need help lifting your butterfly wings, contact me.

 

 

Wavering In Faith

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Faith. What does it mean to have faith?  To be faithful?  To stand strong in faith? To have unwavering faith?

Truthfully, so much of the time, I find myself wavering.

I ask myself, faith in what?  Faith in a higher power? Faith in family and friends to show up when I need them? Faith in myself? Faith that everything will turn out all right?

Looking inward, I see different strands of faith stretching into many places.  Some quite desirable, others not so pleasant.  I see places where building my faith will assist my growth.  Some, such as faith in my weaknesses, my errors, my mind’s inner critic, only serve to diminish me.

So, I ponder, where do I want to grow my faith. What is it that I truly value? How do I build my faith to expand my values? And where do I need to let go?

Listening to my heart, my list of values begins to form. My family, of course.  My friends and community. My body and my health. The food that I eat. The air, the earth, the sun, the moon, and all of nature. The creative process. The healing spirit within me.  My soul’s expression. The universe in all its infinite power.  Peace. Love.

As I look at my growing list, I see my yearning for the expansion of my spirit, and alignment with my soul.  I see my continual asking.  And I realize, that when I ask without giving, without showing up, I limit my ability to receive, wavering my faith.

It’s in the places my heart so values, where I am called to show up. Where I am called to build my faith.  When I neglect to show up, I neglect my heart’s values.  That’s when faith in myself, Spirit, and all that I value, begins to waver.  And, that’s also my cue to show up — perhaps in a way I haven’t before.

Showing up, even as I waver, is what helps me build my faith. It’s my continual practice of meditation that helps me build faith in both my intuition, and something larger than myself.  Showing up to this page, even as my mind wavers, builds my faith in the ever-presence of creative process.  And, as I continue to heal old wounds, I renew my faith in the power of love, and in the healing spirit within me.

Faith, I realize, needs to be cultivated. And sometimes, where our faith brings us to harm, it needs to be dismantled.  

Faith is how I show up in life. I get to choose where to build my faith, based on the wisdom of my heart. When I show up to do my part, with grateful heart and deep appreciation, the universe shows up for me. Guiding me, teaching me, showing me the way. It’s in this place that my faith finds its ground.

In Love and Courage,

Marian

Cultivate Love and Kindness

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flower with hearts

Absolutely no question.  Our world needs LOVE more than ever right now.  Looking around it’s easy to get sucked into the seemingly endless outbursts of anger inflaming the USA and beyond.

It’s never been more important to actively cultivate Love and Kindness.

Though so much of the anger is certainly well justified, the fueling of it does nothing to ease our pain.  And, it increases the growing fire of dueling insults.  Anger alone is not an effective tool for building communication and healthy relationships.

What if, instead of fueling anger, we pause long enough to find the loving, kind, respectful way, to express what we need and want. 

My hope is that we can transform our anger into the fuel for a revolution of LOVE, KINDNESS, and RESPECT for all.

Here are some suggestions to help you increase your internal feelings of love and kindness. When you expand your own inner light, it’s easier to share it with the world.  And the extra added bonuses are endless….

Give gifts of kindness. Daily.  – Random or not, kindness is always valuable.  In sharing your gifts of kindness, you increase your own sense of well-being.  By not being attached to others’ responses to your kindness, you move into the joy of being kind just to be kind. Whether it’s opening the door for someone, stopping your car to allow someone to merge ahead of you, helping a neighbor, giving a compliment, or lending your smile…. kindness is always valuable, and most often appreciated.

Extra added bonus – When people notice others being kind, they are more likely to act kindly themselves.

Increase your love vibration.  It’s difficult to act in a loving way when you’re feeling anxious, sad, or angry. Commit to practices which help you tune into the peace and wisdom of your heart.  The Loving Kindness Meditation is one such practice which will help you increase your feelings of love for yourself and for others.  Click here for the Metta Institute’s description of this meditation.  And of course, I love the Heart Breath Meditation.  By breathing into the power of your heart, you can actually increase your heart’s resonance.  Here’s the  link to download a free meditation.

Extra added bonus —  By increasing your love vibration, you will automatically bring more love into the world.

Listen deeply to build deeper understanding — What I hear so often from my clients, is that the people around them don’t really understand them.  It’s simple — everyone wants to be heard and understood.  And, listening deeply is how we help.  It might feel difficult when the person to whom you’re listening feels angry or sad, or says something that conflicts with your own beliefs.  It’s in the listening, however, that we can move beyond assumptions, and into deeper understanding of the truth.  Listening to one another, without trying to defend our views, or fix each others problems, is what helps us find common ground.  And deeper compassion.

Extra added bonus — People who are listened to will often feel and act more kindly.

Send Loving Thoughts — Send benevolent, loving thoughts wherever you are. Send them to family members, friends, animals, strangers on the street, train conductors, cab drivers, people in cars, shop keepers, the person in front of you in line.  To step it up a notch, practice sending benevolent, loving thoughts to people with whom you have differences.  Generate and share the thoughts you want more of yourself.

Extra added bonus –Sending loving thoughts will not only help you spread love, it will also help you feel it as you share it.

Let it go with EFT Tapping – EFT Tapping is an excellent tool to help you release your anger, fear, sadness, disappointment, and any other feelings that might be inhibiting your desire to be kind and loving. When you’re clear of built-up emotions, you will feel freer to express kind and loving thoughts and actions.  To learn how EFT Tapping can help you clear away unloving feelings, contact me.

Extra added bonus — Clearing unwanted emotions with EFT Tapping will absolutely, positively, change your life!

 

In Love and Courage,

Marian

To apply for a free 30-Minute Unleash Your Creative Genius Call, click here.

 

BRING THE LOVE

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divine-mother-front

divine-mother-words

Recently, I was invited to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck NY to assist Dawson Church in the EFT Level 1 and 2 Certification Training Program.  It was bliss.  I got to spend 5 days amongst the autumn foliage in the beautiful Hudson Valley.  I received 3 delicious vegetarian meals a day.  I felt uplifted, surrounded by the peaceful community of seekers gathered to learn more about themselves.

On my last day, as I walked back to my cabin from breakfast, I looked down to see the Divine Mother card, lying in the leaves.  I looked around to see if there were more cards, or if the person who had dropped it was anywhere to be found.  And I saw nothing.  The card was for me.

I’ve spent the days since using my morning meditation to focus on the meaning of the Divine Mother.  What I saw right away, was that I was being asked to open to unconditional love.  Unconditional love for myself.

Next I saw that the energy of Divine Mother was begging to be a part of me, asking me to embody her essence.

I was being asked to fully own my power as a woman and mother, full of unconditional love, strength, wisdom, ingenuity, and creativity.

Yes.  Yes. Yes. And Yes.

Of course, the only way to embody this energy, is to truly, once and for all, surrender to the flow of unconditional love for myself.  I’m surrendering all the places I’ve judged, pushed away, and hidden.  All that’s frightened, sad, unspoken within me.  I’m surrendering all to LOVE.

As we now move forward from the painfully divisive 2016 US election, I have an even deeper understanding of what’s being asked of me, and of all of us.

LOVE.  Pure, simple, profound LOVE. LOVE is the only answer to help us come together in peaceful acceptance of each other.

And we can only share love in its fullest when we first feel it for ourselves.  When we judge and belittle ourselves, we increase both inner and outer discord.  Inner discord taints the love we bring to the world.

So let’s bring it on.  Let’s bring on the LOVE. 

The more you love yourself, the more love you will naturally radiate into our world. And when you love yourself, it will be easier to assist in activities which increase love, compassion, and understanding among people and friends who disagree.

Here are some tips to increase self-love.  Use often:

Sit quietly and breathe deeply. Imagine you are breathing in and out of your heart.   Notice any discomfort, or discord within you.  Allow yourself to breathe love into any place that feels discomfort.  Breathe this way for a few minutes, allowing yourself to release and soften inner judgements.

Write a love letter to yourself. Write a letter describing all the qualities you appreciate about yourself.  You can use this technique in different ways – as yourself, as your younger self to your current self, as your wise older self to your current self, as yourself to your younger self, etc.

Beautify your surroundings. Do this with the intention of nurturing your spirit. This could be as simple as cleaning up your space.  It might mean getting flowers for yourself.  Or, try adding your own art work, or craft work, to your workspace.

Keep a collection of positive quotes and affirmations, which will help you believe in yourself. Peruse them when you need a lift.

Do something loving for a friend, family member, or neighbor. Tap into the feeling of being a loving person.

Use EFT Tapping to release stuck beliefs and self-criticisms. EFT Tapping helps to untangle and soften negative inner talk. Contact me to learn more.

My love to you,

Marian

To apply for a free 30-Minute Unleash Your Creative Genius Call, click here.

Love Always Wins

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Two hearts and rainbow against a blue sky

#LoveWins.

The moments and days following the recent Supreme Court Ruling were like a love-drenched dream.

Just hours after the ruling, an impromptu gathering formed on the steps of Maplewood’s Town Hall in my home town. A joyful celebration bursting with gleeful hoorahs, laughter, and rainbow banners. Families and children, young and old, of differing faith, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, all coming together, fueled by the power of Love.

The feeling of love was potent in the days following the ruling.   Everywhere — the photos, the rainbows, the lovely reminders that #LoveWins

And then slowly, and surely, we slid back to ‘normal.’ Bringing our focus back to more ‘pressing’ issues. Forgetting the feeling of those first few days. The potency dissipating, as we fall out of love.

But, what if each day, each moment, we allow Love to win? What would that mean?

Would it mean acting more loving towards the people in our lives?

Would it mean letting love win in the midst of a heated argument?

Would it mean embracing self-love during triggering moments?

Would it mean lovingly attending to our daily obligations?

Would it mean that we love ourselves more completely?

Love is powerful, unifying, healing, beautiful, divine. It’s what we’re all seeking. So often searching, and never finding.

And yet there it is, all along, inside our hearts. That potent energy of love, seeking to express.

Researchers at the Institute for HeartMath, tell us that the heart is the most powerful generator of electromagnetic energy in the human body. Its electrical field is about 60 times greater than the brain’s. When infused with loving feelings, the heart’s power is truly magnificent.

It’s this radiant, loving heart energy that we feel when we’re falling in love. That uplifts us when we perform acts of meaningful volunteerism. That makes the vision of a baby’s face so incredibly irresistible.

It’s this potent power of love that propels us to celebrate and expand what’s good and right with the world.

When we allow it, LoveWins, every time.  Let’s keep it going.

Love,

Marian

Interested in using EFT Tapping to boost self-love?  Contact me.