Author: Kimberly Kingsley

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The Yin Deficit

According to Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are always working together to create perfect balance. Yin is about receiving. It is the dark side of the yin yang symbol – the side responsible for regeneration and renewal. Yang is the bright side, and is is responsible for giving and action.

Our society values yang. We want to be productive and always moving (myself included). We call ourselves “lazy” when doing nothing. The problem with this emphasis on Yang, is that we are now out of balance. We are so under-nourished and starving for renewal that we are running even faster and doing even more in an attempt to feel satisfied.

A lot of my work has been on the subject of mindless consumption – the tendency to over-spend, over-drink, over-eat, over-work, over-socialize etc. This is a problem that has now led to the collapse of our economy. It is causing more and more of our children to become obese, and is leading to ever increasing levels of addiction in teens and adults.

The only way to transform this imbalance is for more of us to cultivate the ability to receive. We do this by taking time each day to receive our own spirit. As we become energized from within, giving and doing take on new purpose. Instead of chasing ourselves, we extend ourselves. Instead of over-consuming, we express our essence. Instead of being a bottomless pit that can never get enough, we show up for our lives full and share our light with the world.
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Inspiration

Anna and I have a tradition of going to the Desert Botanical Gardens. Most years we go during the day and take in the beautiful landscape and visit the butterfly pavilion (If you haven’t ever visited a butterfly pavilion, put it on your list!)

This year we went at night to see the glass exhibit. We are standing in front of one of the sculptures in this picture. They were all breathtaking. Many of them mirrored shapes naturally found in the desert.

I appreciate these moments of inspiration so much. They don’t need to be as spectacular as this exhibit to float my boat. Spring time is a source of inspiration in and of itself. The warmth, the sound of the doves, and the increased sunlight at the end of the day. Being inspired (in spirit) is what life’s all about.

What’s inspiring you?

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Transforming Addictive Patterns Group

“An individual can become addicted, dependent, or compulsively obsessed with any activity, substance, object, or behavior that gives him/her pleasure.” – W.R. Miller

Anything from ongoing relationship conflicts to emotional eating and binge drinking can take on a life of its own and lock us in its tight grip. Nothing steals our inner peace more than addictive patterns, which literally drain the life out of us.

To this end, I’m starting a group called Transforming Addictive Patterns: A Holistic Approach to Recovery and Beyond. The group will focus on the common elements of healing rather than the addictive patterns themselves – as what we focus on expands, so why not focus on health and inner peace!

It will be held at my office in Scottsdale on Monday nights from 6:00-8:00. Please call 480-443-0840 or email contact@kimberlykingsley.com for more information.
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Kindle

Have you heard of the Kindle? It’s an electronic reading device developed and sold by Amazon. It is quickly catching on with avid readers. Last week I saw Jeff Bezos (Amazon Founder and CEO) in an interview speaking about the Kindle phenomenon.

The Kindle is a wireless, hand held reading device about the size of a book. The screen looks like book pages – antique white paper with black letters. You can download a book in 60 seconds from your couch or favorite reading chair.

I know this sounds like a commercial about Kindle, but I have not taken a marketing position with Amazon;) I am however, interested in how the magical device will change the evolution of book distribution. The books are a lot cheaper – The Energy Cure is 7.99 on Kindle versus 12.99 retail – and it’s an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional printing.

So far there are 240,000 books available for the Kindle and more are being added each day. Bezos said his goal is to have every book ever written available for Kindle readers to access at any time. Cool huh!
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The Harmony Myth

We all want to live in harmony, but many people confuse the absence of change with peace. In order to experience authentic peace – both within oneself and with other people and nations – one must be willing to experience the bouts of tension and discomfort that accompany transformation. Constant harmony does not exist and the idea that it should is a myth.
Take weather for example. Most of us consider clear blue skies to be ideal, but storm clouds eventually roll in, bringing needed moisture and clearing the air. Harmony in any given climate does not come from the absence of stormy weather, but arises out of the dance between clear skies and dark clouds. The same is true within individuals – harmony is not the absence of heavy emotions and periodic discomfort, but the outcome of embracing all our emotions, knowing that they come and go like the weather.
– Excerpted from upcoming Portals of Peace

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Closer than your breath…

Once in meditation I received the impression of God being closer than my breath. Think about it – closer than your breath – that’s pretty darn close. Since then, I’ve been deeply comforted by the whole idea. But it’s more than him being closer than our breath, God is our breath, our cells, and the air around us.

Even though we all know God is not a man with a beard living “out there” somewhere, this idea is deeply held in our collective consciousness, doing us a huge disservice. I believe it is the reason we so often pursue happiness outside ourselves. Those of you who read Opening to Life may remember me talking about “the treadmill effect” – us chasing our spirit, but never finding it.

What if we experienced the fullness of God in every breath and even in between breaths? What if we knew that the substance of our being is the same substance that creates everything else, and therefore that, in truth, we are in need of nothing? This is our evolutionary point right now. We are moving from duality to integration – from chasing life to embodying and expressing it.

Next time you find yourself wanting something that you don’t have, try taking a deep breath and then receiving the energetic quality of whatever you’re seeking. God truly is closer than your breath, waiting to be received in all Her glory;)
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More on Will Power…

There was so much good dialogue generated on the last will power post that I wanted to share some of it with you.

One of our frequent visitors, Ms. Melissa shared that the tricky part about will power is using it in a way that is aligned with your higher self. I whole-heartedly agree. When will power is used to try and puff up the ego (ie. restricting oneself only to look perfect or working hard simply for power or money) it can actually undermine authentic growth and spiritual evolution. My experience is that if your will is not aligned with your higher self it is not sustainable and will eventually backfire.

Ms. Gabi – another wise one – shared that as a body worker, she has observed that a nice balance between core strength and core flexibility correlates with being both powerful and graceful in life (I’m paraphrasing). She suspects that over-developed core strength correlates with being too “guarded” with one’s emotions and an underdeveloped core correlates with being too “open.” Good stuff – I have a hunch that the same is true for will power. Too much will in the wrong areas suffocates life, while too little disperses it prematurely, leaving one powerless…

Finally, we had a new visitor named Vincent who left an insightful comment about the three levels of will. First, there’s having the will to say “no” to what’s bad for you – junk food, over-spending, etc. The second level is saying “yes” to what is good for you – exercising, saving, eating healthy. The third level is using your will to control your thoughts and emotions. When negativity takes over, he recommends stilling your body and thinking of nothing until the emotion dissipates. He goes on to say:

“When you’ve mastered all three levels of self control, a feeling so wonderful and strong persists inside. The feeling provides an incomparable joy, much greater than that Twinkie or new pair of shoes could ever temporarily disguise as. The feeling is not at all fleeting, but strong, whole and permanent. And fuels you with an unparalleled power.”

Thanks guys – I’m truly inspired.
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Will Power

Being spiritually oriented, I used to have a problem with the whole idea of will power. It felt like muscling through something rather than gracefully moving toward a goal. Now that I understand the energy centers in the body, I know what it means to have will power and why it’s so important.

The energy center of will is located in your solar plexus, which is around your abdomen. The chakra below that is the creative/procreative energy center, which is driven by desire. The creative center is impulsive – like a wild animal. It wants to experience pleasure of all kind and RIGHT NOW. Because we live in an immediate gratification society, many of us give in to our desires at the expense of our overall well being. For example, having the goal to save money, but then stumbling upon a great pair of shoes that you can’t live without. Or, wanting to lose weight only to give into the temptation as you walk by a plate of pastries at work.

Your will is strengthened each time you don’t give in to the impulsive, self-defeating desires of your second chakra. Every time you say “No” to the untamed animal in side you, the energy in your body is able to rise up toward your abdomen where it accumulates and becomes power. Hence the term, will power.

Giving in to the impulses of your pleasure center (sacral chakra), causes the energy that’s meant to fill you up from the inside and nourish you, to prematurely release in favor of immediate gratification. So the insane game goes like this: Energy rises within your body to fill you up prior to extending into the world as your light, but the thrill of some impulsive behavior tricks you into thinking you’ll get immediate energy if you go for it. Giving into whatever impulse is in front of you releases the energy that’s meant to fill you up, before it even makes it to your solar plexus. You may get a short thrill from feeding the impulse monster, but you lose vital energy which leaves you more powerless to make the right choice next time.

Expect the first couple of times you say no to your impulsive self to be difficult. The knowledge of how it all works does not take away cravings. Success does however, and it doesn’t take much success to fill you with the power you need to make good choices effortlessly. One final piece of inspiration: Once enough energy collects in your solar plexus it can begin to rise up to your heart, which is when the real fun begins!

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Be that person…

Every now and then I see someone who inspires me toward the best version of myself. One day in college I remember seeing a young woman walking down the street as I drove by the campus. I can’t recall what she looked like, but I can tell you that she emanated inner peace. During that time I had more inner conflict than peace, and the impact that she had on me was astounding. In just 20 seconds – the amount of time it took to drive by – I knew she had something that I needed.

It happened again today. Earlier I had an interaction with someone that knocked the wind out of me. You know the kind that hits so hard that it takes a long time to get your breath back? Well, it was that and more. If there’s such thing as past lives (and I’m pretty sure that’s the case:) then today’s incident reached back many lifetimes to expose a very old wound.

I was so flooded with emotion that I wasn’t being productive at anything, so I went for a long walk. I decided to go by my favorite house – you may remember me describing it in a prior blog – smooth, white stucco with a water fountain in the front yard, amidst dark stones covered in red wild flowers… It just so happens that the owner was working in her garage. She, like her house, emanated creativity, divine order and health. Without my even saying hello (she was busy), I walked by and caught a big big dose of her balanced energy. So much so that I came home, cleaned my house and did some other things in order to regain my balance.

I share this as a reminder that energy is contagious and you never know who your presence is going to inspire. There is now research showing that we catch happiness from others – even more so than frustration or anger. And I’d be willing to bet that the same is true for inner peace, joy and the other positive emotions. For me, this is just one more reason for impeccable self care. If there is any cell in your body that believes loving yourself is selfish, let it be known that we affect others by our presence alone.

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Portals of Peace

For some time I’ve been working on a book called, Portals of Peace: Healing the World One Person at a Time. The book was inspired by an image that came to me of one person after another opening up from the inside, light streaming from them into the world.

What has become increasingly clear over the past several years is that the majority of us – good people, loving people, religious and non-religious – have divided psyches due to continuously suppressing emotions and aspects of ourselves that we don’t like. This inner division is projected onto the world as outer division and conflict.

As we claim and integrate our suppressed selves, we can’t help but channel light – it naturally flows forth from a clear vessel. The beauty is that inner peace precedes world peace, so it truly is a win/win.

I know that those of you following this blog (200-300 views a week) are committed to being a light in the world, so I wanted to share what’s coming. There’s some momentum toward integration right now and each one of us who courageously reclaims that which is buried within dramatically affects the healing of the collective psyche. It is this – a healed collective psyche – that translates into a more peaceful world.