Melissa Valdellon

The Wisdom of Compassion

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So one of the first things I wanted to do when I moved back home with family was to re-activate my library card. I love to read and lose myself in new worlds or learn new things. Three months later, I finally made the effort to schedule the library trip in my calendar and went. The first book I wanted to borrow was something inspiring to read and had been guided to look up texts from Thich Nat Hahn but ended up picking something else entirely: The Wisdom of Compassion from the Dalai Lama.

So far, I’m only a couple of chapters in and I’m not sure what I was expecting. “More” wisdom? I’m getting stories of how his mind thinks and processes situations and encounters with people of different backgrounds, his unwavering focus on his faith, and how compassion really can change the lives of those he encounters, although maybe not in ways anticipated.

So why did I pick a book regarding compassion? Maybe it’s from being told a handful of times in the past year and some that one of my guides is Quan Yin, Ascended Master of Compassion. Each time, there’s been the message that while I usually act out of kindness and concern for others, there’s something about taking it all to the next level and acting out of compassion to make an even larger impact with each action and word. So I try to keep that message in mind as I continue forward each day. Usually, I forget. But then there are the moments, like that one in the library the other day, where the word just popped out of the title. WIth being ill and recovering from the flu much of January, I’ve had to be more compassionate with myself even as I try to build and create something new. Now that I’m this much closer to being completely well, it’s time to shift focus and make the mental shift to living compassionately moment by moment a reality.

What miracles can happen if we each live a compassionate life? I truly believe we can change the world for the better, and I know I’m not the only one to think that. Join me? =)

An exercise on clearing lack

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One of my meditations today was centered on listing blocks, doubts fears, or limiting beliefs keeping me from achieving my list of dreams for the year. Does something or a list of things come up to mind for you?

One thing that came up for me was that no matter the effort, I am going to stay in lack. It’s a fear and belief that stems from my situation of lacking any sense of income and watching my savings continue to dwindle down. So what did I do about it? I meditated.

I sat, got comfortable, and then called all parts of me together in the present moment – physical, spiritual, mental, energetic. Once all present and aware, I asked to connect with the part of me that believed that I’ll stay in lack. A holographic image of myself stepped in front of me and without even knowing what I was doing, I was creating these white flowers to sprout from her energy field – on her palms first, then up her arms, and then all over, faster and faster, until she was literally covered in white flowers. In super fast time, she collapsed in on herself as a mound of dirt and almost immediately afterward sprang a huge, huge tree that was literally dropping those burlap sacks of money and gold from her many boughs kinda like ripe fruit that just kept falling off the tree.

I took a seat under that tree – it was on the edge of a large meadow – and just basked in its shade in the sunlight. I grew a couple more white flowers under its base next to me and then sat back to relax. Eventually, one small sack landed in my palm and I took out a couple of the gold coins and on instinct, I took those money seeds and planted them too, knowing they’ll grow as well. I can continue to lean on the tree for support and watch as my efforts continue to multiply.

Coming out of the exercise, I know from here on out, “staying in lack” is not a possibility for me anymore. I’ve allowed myself to feel the fear of the belief and then changed the idea to something that I do want and will serve me.

So it was a short meditation, but no less Powerful than many others I go through. If I can do that for myself in just a few minutes’ time, think of how much we can clear and transform for you. How can I assist you today?

Little hummingbird miracle

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Hummingbird

So one of the things I’m striving to do in this new year is to set my intention for the day before I get up out of bed. I try to connect with my guides, my angels and let them know that I am willing and open to receiving miracles throughout the day. I ask for concrete signs to let me know what my next steps should be (usually in terms of my healing business and optometry degrees these days).

Well, today, I went to water my lavender plant outside and all of a sudden, a hummingbird came up within a couple feet of me, waited for me to notice it (which wasn’t hard to do considering I’ve rarely seen hummingbirds in our area before), and then it flew away. But there was a connection, even for a brief couple of moments, enough for me to notice its semi-reddish chest and its overall darker brown body. I have no idea if the hummingbird above is the correct type I saw but it was the closest one in the quick search I did.

So what does that mean for me? Well, when I think of hummingbirds, I think wow, how fast and how conscious they are! To know when to hover, when to go back or forth, up or down… Hummingbirds have to eat a lot in order to expend the tons of energy that is required in moving where they want to go. So I think that this little hummingbird who stopped to say hi was actively doing so to remind me to be conscious today about where I’m going, what I’m doing at every moment.

I’m thankful for the reminder. What little miracles are you allowing in your life today?

Breathing…

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I find it amusing that I’m going to talk about breathing when I’m still recovering from my flu and get caught in random coughing bouts here and there. But there you go, I’ve been doing my best to listen to my body and it’s telling me that while building and growing is great, I still need to balance that with going in and getting back to the basics. Today, let’s do an exercise to get you more aware of your breath and breathing.

Sit back in the chair you’re in and close your eyes. Notice the support you’re sitting on – is the seat firm or soft with cushions? Is your back straight or are you slumped over in a more comfortable position? Do you have your legs crossed? Are you sitting in a cross legged position? Or are your feet touching the floor? There is no right answer here. Just notice and see how much more you can make yourself comfortable.

Once you’re ready, I want you to take your left hand and place it lightly on your chest. Breathe in, and feel your chest lift and expand. As you exhale, feel your chest come back down. Take your right hand and place it lightly on your belly. Same thing. Breathe in and see if you can get the air to puff out your stomach area. Does it contract when you breathe out?

As you continue breathing, notice where your body is moving. With each breath, try to keep your focus on your chest and stomach area. Be aware of the natural process and don’t try to push yourself to feel anything else right now. All that’s important in this moment is your breath. Notice as it goes in… And as it flows out.

Continue this process for the next couple of minutes. Aim for five. If you can do it, great! See if you can keep going! If not, no need to bring judgment in. This is simply an exercise to bring you back to your breath. Do this as many times as you need throughout the day, throughout the week. Anytime you feel stressed and need to take a moment to yourself, take a minute or two to close your eyes, go inward, and just breathe… I promise that after those one or two minutes, your mind will be clearer and more focused for the task at hand.

As always, let me know what you think of this exercise and more. Until next time!

Rest

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And sometimes, you have to listen to your body and just take it easy and rest like a puppy for days on end. What started off as a cough ended up being a full blown flu for me that has resulted in my staying in bed most of the day since Saturday. And despite all that rest, I’m still not 100% Yes – I’m taking it as a HUGE hint to slow down and just rest.

I’ll admit, that’s hard to do. There was so much momentum at the beginning of the year, or rather, since winter solstice and the last new moon of 2014. Those events in conjunction with the new year meant new beginnings, time to start putting thoughts and ideas into reality. There’s so much work to be done here on this site, professionally in terms of getting my license application finally out and submitted, a poster abstract I need to put together, and the list goes on and on…

But sometimes, I just have to let nature take its course. Play hard as my puppy does, but rest hard to recuperate. Tomorrow will be another day.

Are you giving yourself the adequate rest your mind and body and spirit needs?

Compassion

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20141114_161708So when I checked in with my guides this morning on what my focus for today should be, Compassion came up. At first, I was puzzled. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t come up with any conflicts bothering me or my close friends, there weren’t any big issues that came to mind that I felt needed this expression. So I let my mind quiet some more and asked, ‘Why compassion, and why now.’

Immediately, my neck started hurting. The neck problem has been an on-going problem for me where sometimes I wake up with a stiff neck, as I had the other night, and it takes days for me to regain full mobility. It still hurts now.

And then it hit. I’ve been so focused on all the things going on outside of me and the list of things that I have to take care of that I truly hadn’t been giving myself the attention my body has been calling for. I’ve been finding the pain and a cough that has just started today as annoying, things I need to just get over so I can move on. Rather than trying to rush the process though, my body is telling me to find compassion for myself.

I guess it came as no surprise that last night as I was drifting off to sleep, my mind randomly went to Quan Yin, and I felt her calming, compassionate presence to my right. For those of you who do not know her story, I suggest doing a bit of research and finding comfort in what you find. As much as I check in on others, on external events, I am reminded that I also need to check in with me, to bring in that same awareness and compassion to myself.

So today, I’ll take it easy. I’ll drink my water, continue to stretch my neck so I can increase motility, and be kind and love my body. Hey, it’s the only one I have and I’d love for it to work well before I can help others, no?

So yes, today’s take home message: be compassionate in all instances – to those you come across and meet today and towards yourself. I love you, and thank you for coming into my life too!

Getting grounded

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I’ll keep this one short.

So I have just come back in from sitting in a tree and while I was out there, I realized, ‘Hey! This is my first time ever climbing a tree!’ Granted, the branches were pretty low but definitely sturdy enough for me to sit with relative comfort. It was pretty soothing to sit there, feeling the sun’s warmth on my skin, hearing the fountain in a neighbor’s yard, feeling the cool breeze as it came through, and feeling the steadiness of the tree supporting me. Fire, water, air, earth – all the elements were there, as well as spirit, once I asked my spiritual team to take the moment to be with me too out there.

Mostly though, I needed the moment to re-ground myself. I imagined that I was an extension of the branch I was on, connected to it so that through my root, I could reach into the tree, and with it go deep into the ground through its roots, down, down, down… grounding me deep in the earth. My mind has been up in the clouds with so many ideas of what I want to do, so many words that I want to get down, so many dreams of all the plans I have in store for the coming weeks, months, year… With all that higher energy and buzz, I needed to re-center, and sitting in a tree today, I did just that. For a few precious minutes, I could focus on being still and just being.

What keeps you grounded? I’d love to hear!

I had a dream yesterday…

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Actually, it was one of three or four dreams I had the other night, but this one is worth sharing and I’d love to get your input on this as well:

It is a grey afternoon and I am leaving a group at the end of some kind of program. I walk ahead while the rest of the group stands back, watching and kind of waiting. At first, I try to wave them off, letting them know I’ll be okay and they don’t need to watch me. After I do that though, some guys start coming up, one at a time, and they each start harassing me.

At first, they’re just trying their best to intimidate me, which doesn’t work since every single harasser is younger than me by a few years. But it still troubles me because they’re picking at me for being different. At one point though, one of them actually takes a hand to my throat – not to kill or choke me but definitely hard enough to leave a bruise. The harassment continues to escalate until I finally turn back and ask my group of friends for any help at all. I’m actually afraid they can’t hear my plea though because my voice is so weak and I hadn’t been sure they’d wanted to help at all since they’d just been watching the whole spectacle from a distance.

As soon as I ask though, they come and I’m flanked on either side and behind by my companions, who protect me from the tormentors. As I start walking again with my friends, I (belatedly) call on my angels too to guard me in all directions and walk with us – before us, behind us, beside us, above, and below. With the presence of my friends and angel team, I walk securely now and know that I will always be safe if I just remember to ask. I also realize that my throat, which had pained me before, is now completely fine and I actually feel better than before.

Metaphorical much? I don’t feel it’s a coincidence that I got this dream shortly after declaring it to the world that I’m stepping up and embracing a side of me that has previously been hidden away. All too often, I find that we are asked to hide certain aspects of ourselves from the world in order to conform with a standard. Who hasn’t been bullied or persecuted for their thoughts, their looks, their beliefs, etc.? For me, I feel that the important message is that no matter what, we will be supported in ways we may or may not be always aware of. We just have to ask – family, friends, the Divine, whatever you believe in. Ask for help and then be open for the miracles to show up. The help you seek may come from the unlikeliest of places…

A new year

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Happy New Year, my friend!

So today marks the beginning of a new calendar year. I don’t know about you, but this time of year tends to be one of intense reflection for me – looking back on the year behind me and imagining what is coming ahead. What comes up for you?

Looking back on 2014, it’s almost hard to comprehend everything that has happened. I left a very comfortable, stable job with colleagues and patients I truly care about to move home without any plan besides taking care of family matters. I realized that while optometry is a passion for me, it’s not the only thing that defines me. I’ve let go of relationships that no longer served me and worked harder to maintain those relationships that have proven to be worth it all along. And through it all, my connection to spirit and the divine has grown leaps and bounds.

Looking forward, now it is time for me to live MY heart song and I invite you to join me on my journey because I have a hunch that doing so will help you on your path as well. I have my hopes and dreams for the year – getting this site up and running was one goal, even in a basic form, and that has already been accomplished! Still, there’s more to do, including publishing a book, submitting a professional poster or paper to obtain fellowship, traveling the country and the world, growing more as a spiritual and energetic healer… To do all that and more however, I have claimed 2015 as my year of TRUST. It’s one thing to know that any effort on my part will not be in vain, that there is a higher plan to all that occurs. I expect the road to have its mountains and valleys to overcome with surprises good and bad along the way. It is another thing entirely though to put one’s TRUST in the knowledge that in the end, all will be will. So what say you? Care to let it all go and come along for the ride? I can promise you things are just getting interesting…