the love experiment you didn't know you needed
THE PULSE: Luv Ya
XOXOXO
Happy Love Day! We love love -- and we love you. How can you show up with more love for yourself and others today...and every day? Our podcast conversation this week helps you do just that!
SWEET HEART
You are a miracle -- and your heart is that blood-pumping physical miracle keeping you alive and experiencing this life. Take a moment today to honor your heart. Not only does it do the physical work, it also is that place that helps you FEEL. It is the embodiment (there's that word we've been using each week!) of your soul. It is your mind, body and spirit center. Give it some real love, gratitude and attention! Where is your heart guiding you? Take time to tune into it. It will lead the way.
YOU SHINE
As we cruise through February, this week not only brings opportunities for all kinds of love (For real!! It even says it in the stars!), it's also a good time to either share or be receptive to ideas outside of your comfort zone. Towards the end of the week, take time to think about whether you are feeling fulfilled? Is there something you've been wanting to pursue personally or professionally, but you've been holding back? Use the energy to put at least one foot in and test the waters. You have the Universe behind you!
LATEST PODCAST: The Love Experiment You Didn’t Know You Needed
This week’s episode is all about love, but in ways you may not have thought about it before. Our intention was to focus on what might be stopping us from loving ourselves and from loving others. It led to our own eye-opening conversation, and an insightful exercise that we’re sharing with all of you, along with ways to attract more love into your life. Have you heard the term “Mirroring?” If you haven’t, you will now! And while the exercise we are asking you to do is about love, it is also about the major triggers in our lives. When we did it, the answers surprised us – and we have a feeling they’ll surprise you as well! Plus, we're sharing simple ways to create love, feel love and protect your loving energy. We believe this episode is a gift you can give yourself on this Valentine’s Day (or any day!). Here are a few of our “aha!” moments from this week’s podcast: Karen: There's no doubt that Valentine’s Day is an important day for showing love to the special people in our lives. We all treasure that. However in the last couple of years, “self-love” has also become a popular topic around Valentine’s Day as well. Robyn: And whether you are in a relationship or not, there’s that saying, “wherever you go, there you are.” I believe we all need to find ways to love ourselves. If you don't love yourself, you can't fully love others. Karen: So what are practical things that we can do on this special day to shine more love in our lives? And give more love to others and to ourselves? One way is by starting from the idea that the people in our lives are there for a reason. Robyn: Exactly. And we’re talking about the term “Mirroring” which means looking at people in your life that you both love or who might trigger you, and to see what they are mirroring back to you that's actually within yourself. It’s what we all call the “good stuff” and the “not-so-good-stuff,” that needs you to pay attention. This is the eye-opening exercise that we did on this week's podcast. Try it! Mirroring Exercise: Insight That Can Change Your Life
Write down the names of five people that you love. We’re talking about the people that as soon as you think of them, you automatically smile.
As you look at this list, write down descriptions of what it is that you love most about those people. How do they make you feel? What makes them special?
Next, think of five people who trigger you. You know who they are. If you see their name pop up in a text or a phone call, you begin to cringe a little.
Do the same exercise of writing down descriptions of those people. How do they make you feel? What is it about them that triggers you?
Compare the list of descriptive words for each category.
Here’s what surprised us when we did this exercise:
Our Love Peeps
It was easy to write out what we loved about them
Those love attributes “mirrored” our own values. We used words like “compassion, respect, full of joy, humor, kindness, sensitivity, genuine, reliability, and depth.
Our Triggering Peeps
It took a little more time to come up with this list.
The triggering attributes “mirrored”what we least value in life, like “disrespect, making people feel uncomfortable, egotistical, self-centered, neediness, show-off, narcissistic, and judgmental.
Karen: So many “aha’s” here! Think about how you felt energetically when you read those two lists! The first list was like a virtual embrace of that person and the good things that gave you joy about them. And then when you go to write the trigger list, your energy completely shifts, right? You feel the negative energy and that sense of closed-ness in your heart. Robyn: Definitely. And when we talk about the term mirroring, there are aspects of those qualities on both lists that we may have within ourselves. The awareness of the qualities that you don't like in others, that if you can see them in yourself and you can actually work on it or catch yourself, like when you're being judgmental – can be revolutionary in your life! Karen: It's such a huge opportunity. We may not know or understand where that trigger behavior is coming from the other person. So to your point Robyn, about trying not to judge too quickly. Think about how this world is structured on all of those judgments and beliefs and how hatred becomes fired up in people all out of what could be this misconceived judgment. It is that ego stepping in. We’ve both had situations where we've suffered from some of the things on that trigger list. Where people have treated us badly. Just as there are times when we’ve felt rightful in our opinions of other people. And yet I think we're missing the point in making the judgment. Which is “what can I learn here?” Robyn: Completely! And when you think about those times in our lives where we have been judgmental or more self-centered, a lot of times that comes from a place of fear instead of love. So when we talk about these trigger qualities, and even knowing that we felt these ourselves, when it comes to being judgmental or having an ego, it actually comes from a place of fear and insecurity. So it's that love over fear lesson! Karen: I think the greater the trigger, the more it's saying “pay attention.” We're not saying that every person that “triggers” you is a learning opportunity, but take a moment to step back and try to see them from another point of view. Don't give power to that negativity. Maybe there is something for you to learn. Or maybe there's a role you can play to show that person light in some way.
SECRET POWER: Invite the Love In + Keep the Triggers Out
If you find yourself looking at your triggers in a different way after doing the Mirroring exercise, here are suggestions to help protect your heart and open yourself up to more love in your life.
1. Set Your Boundaries - Freezing Energy Exercise
We’re bringing this exercise back! You may remember it from our very first newsletter – and if not, you need to know it because it will help you protect yourself from negative energy.
Ingredients: Glass jar with lid or freezer bag, paper, pen
Step 1: Take a glass jar or freezer bag, and fill it with water. If you use a glass jar, fill it only half way so that it doesn't explode in your freezer!
Step 2: Grab your piece of paper. On one side write the person’s name and/or situation. On the other side, write the words: “I freeze all negativity known or unknown moving toward me as of now.”
Step 3: Read the statement with the person's name and/or situation out loud.
Step 4: Put the paper into the water. Seal the container or bag -- and pop it in the freezer.
That’s it. Leave the rest to the Universe and watch what happens! Just that act of doing that there's something from an energetic level that protects you. It’s as if you have frozen this negatively and have sealed it away so you are protected from it. We’ve both used this and have been AMAZED how it works!
2. Your Heart Chakra
The energy center of your heart chakra is where your loving emotion lives. Use a Rose Quartz crystal to both protect it – and to invite more love in. According to Heather Askinosie, Energy Muse co-founder and crystal expert, “Its properties are equally powerful for manifesting new relationships and deepening existing ones—whether it's the relationship you have with yourself, a romantic partner, or friends and family. Whenever you're seeking more love in your life, this is the go-to stone."
Put it on your desk, in your car, your pocket, or wear it as a bracelet or necklace over your heart. Just having something to hold onto and having a tangible reminder that your heart is important and you’re caring for it will make you feel better. And while Rose Quartz is typically a soft pink, you may want to note that the heart chakra color is actually green. So think about wearing anything green to attract love and to nurture your heart chakra.
3. Send Positivity Ahead
If you’ve got a meeting, phone call or interaction on the calendar with a “trigger buddy,” try sending positive energy ahead by picturing them in your mind surrounded and filled with white light. This works well if you can do this in advance of seeing them, as it sets both your intention and your energy from a place of love and positivity.
4. Be Your Best Partner
If you’re looking for love and still haven’t found that special someone, one of the best ways to manifest them into your life is to make a list of all that you would want in a partner, and then BE that. BE thoughtful, loving, kind. Go back to the list that you just created of all the people that you love so much. And then BE that. If we embody the characteristics of the person we want to love in our own self, the law of attraction will bring more of those people to you.
5. Shine Your Light
We’re now in the Age of Aquarius. We're all supposed to be shining our lights. We need to join together. The more we can shine, our lights become brighter. The more we can choose love over fear, the brighter the light's gonna be, and the more peace and love will be in the world.
THE WEEKLY DOWNLOAD: U R Precious
Our downloads for everyone reading THE WEEKLY, remind us that we are all here to FEEL and that the heart is not only our companion, but the life-force allowing us to experience this precious life. If you need the reminder or the push to live life with HEART and feeling…the Universe is delivering the guidance you need right now! Read on.
ROBYN'S DOWNLOAD
Feel the love. The heart chakra is a green river of love wanting to burst out into the world. Let it. Allow yourself to feel love both for yourself and for the world. How can you find it in your heart to love more? Feel more?
We come into this life to FEEL. To learn how to FEEL. We know that feeling means all of the emotions — it is joy, it is pain, it is laughter, it is sadness, it is elation, it is disappointment. Have you allowed yourself to cry? Scream? Laugh? We know it becomes easier to harden, to numb…because feeling is using so much energy…it can feel like more “work.” However, life isn’t about doing the same motions over and over again. Doing the same day, over and over again. It just isn’t. It’s not about using “busyness” as an excuse to not feel or to rinse and repeat each and every day. Life is a gift. And it is a gift to feel—and your heart allows you to feel. It may cause you to hurt…but on the other side of the hurt is joy. It is empowerment. It is knowing you are strong.
Use the energy of gratitude as a gateway to feeling. Thank your heart for your heartbeat within you, allowing you to live…allowing you to feel. Look in your fridge and feel grateful for the food. Look at the trees around you and feel gratitude for their strength, beauty and roots. Feel the ground beneath you, be grateful that you can feel the ground. Breathe. Be grateful for your breath.
You can start to wake up each day and ask what will this day bring? And give thanks before you’ve even stepped out of bed. Thank you for this day. And you can think about, “How can I feel my way through this life?”
Use this week to ramp up your love dispensary. Take small acts if at first it feels unnatural to feel. Keep in mind that we all come out of the womb only knowing love and feeling…it is over time that it hardens. Once you start to feel and show your feelings by showing someone else you care or have emotions — you give them permission to feel and care and love as well. It is contagious. Love can cure so much. You can be part of spreading that love. Send love to everyone and anyone. Even those that seem to be unlovable. You can just send love to them. You may be surprised at the impact your loving act will have in the world. The world needs as much love as it can get.
We leave you with, how are you leading a heart-centered life? You get to live this particular life once — how can you feel your way through it? How can you help others do the same? It starts with you. Wake up and feel that heart beating. Acknowledge it. Thank it. Cherish it.
We love you.
KAREN'S DOWNLOAD
Just for a moment, put your hand on your chest. (Really, just do it for a second….)
Feel your heartbeat. Feel your chest rise and fall. Inhale deeply…holding the air in your lungs like a big virtual hug - and then deeply and fully, let it go.
FEEL the wonder of you BEING ALIVE.
Your heart is the center of your being, your body, your conscious and unconscious thoughts. It is the measure of your emotions - your barometer of life.
Send your heart some gratitude. For all the work that it does for you. Without even thinking about it. You don’t have to schedule time to visit it, or talk to it. It’s always there for you…doing the mechanical work of keeping your body alive. Of giving you a place to feel.
When you think of your spirit, the SOUL of you…it is your heart. It is your earthly and heavenly connection to all. It is love and action. Wisdom and strength. Conscious and unconscious. Physical and non-physical. The duality of it is a miracle.
Listen to its wisdom. Your heart knows the soul of you, every emotion. It was the first evidence of your life force and it will be the final act before you leave. It knows all, remembers all and feels all.
It is the imprint of you.
So in this moment, honor this source of vitality for your mind, body and spirit - this triad force of strength that is your essence. This is where your soul family speaks and where love for you never ends.
SEEKING CENTER PODCAST SCHEDULE
JANUARY 17: Your Witchy Bestie's Guide to Help You Create Your Own Magic
JANUARY 24: What You Need to Know About Embodiment in 2023 (Plus, Toxic Positivity + Living Multi-Dimensionally)
JANUARY 31:Getting Deep: Scientific Ways to Overcome Anxiety + Reclaim Your Life
Plus, Support Facing A Diagnosis
FEBRUARY 7:Give Your Soul A Voice
FEBRUARY 14: The Love Experiment You Didn’t Know You Needed
WE WANT TO BE FRIENDS
We want to hear from you.
Are you at a crossroads in your life? Are you seeking guidance? What do you want to hear about? What practices have you tried? Do you have a healer or practitioner or spiritual modality that we need to know about?
Email us: connect@seekingcenter.app
And follow us on instagram at @seekingcenterrobyn and @seekingcenterofficial.