“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”
Maya Angelou

My conversations with women lately have been heavy. With constant news of disaster, tragedy, harassment, and violence, it is hard not to feel sad. Even women who don’t recognize their connection to the collective energy sound more tired and overwhelmed.

Now more than ever, we need to call on our our inner light.
But in such difficult times, how do we:

• Stay detached from the negativity around us
• Uplift ourselves
• Uplift others

I am often asked how I always stay positive and calm. I don’t. I lose my way from time to time. (Ask my husband. He has front row seats to my most human moments.) But when that happens, I call on my sacred responsibility to rise and shine. One of the things that helps me bounce back is a daily practice I have kept for the last 20 years. I start each morning with a routine that connects me with the light. My daily practice keeps me going, and, when I need a bigger “reset time,” I take a break from the busy-ness of life and spend more time deepening that connection.

Ignite your spark – beacon in!

Yes, I know. “Beacon” is not supposed to be a verb. But, as far as we are concerned, it is a verb and a much-needed one at that! You see, beloved, depending on where you are in your spiritual journey, your inner light might be dim, or it might be bright. But it’s there, ready for you to tap into whenever you want.

Simply knowing there is always a spark inside your heart that you can connect with can help you face stressful situations and ignite the process of overcoming challenges.

There are two ways to beacon in:

Connect with the inner light.

Bring in divine light.

Connecting with your inner light means getting in touch with your inner wisdom, your intuition, your inner Goddess who loves you unconditionally. When you beacon in, the light reminds you to love yourself, to be kind to yourself, and to feel worthy.

Brining divine light in means developing and maintaining a “beaconing in” practice. Being consistent with a daily light-connection ritual makes you more successful at accessing your inner wisdom, inner strength, and intuition when you need them. Reiki has been my main practice since 1996, and I love integrating self-Reiki with different forms of meditation.

Reiki and meditation are not the only way to connect with the light. While writing this blog post, I got an email from one of my students, who said: “Last night I felt unbalanced due to my busy schedule and not connecting as much as I’ve wanted to for the past few weeks…since I had some free time…I did coloring/painting meditation and it was captivating and I got lost in it!!! I think I’ve found my new hobby!”

What a creative way to connect with the light!

We all have our moments when we are restless, tired, or stressed. We all have our moments when we feel disconnected. I spoke with a woman this week who said: “I need to check out sometimes because what’s going on around me is too much!” My advice to her was to spend a few minutes every morning connecting with the light and doing it again throughout the day whenever she felt the need to check out.

Here’s a question for you, beloved:
What do you practice daily to help you ignite your spark?
How consistent are you with your practice?
And if you don’t have a practice in place, how about creating one?

Once you are beaconed in, you can beacon out.

Beacon out means:

Remembering that you are a beacon, and accepting your responsibility – our responsibility – to be a source of light and guidance for others.

Creating a deeper connection with the light that is inside you will eventually make you shine so bright that you will radiate your light to others. Not only will you be able to raise your own vibration, but you will contribute to raising the vibration in the world.

Sharing your light can take different forms. If you are a healing art practitioner, a teacher, a therapist, or a coach, you can actively help people through the work that you do. But you can also make a difference simply by rising and shining, bringing curiosity, wonder, joy, and compassion into your daily life. By making a practice of maintaining connection to the light, you make a difference with your being, regardless of what you do.

Here is an opportunity for you to beacon out: Head over to the comments area below, and share one way that helps you stay connected with the light.
And if you want me to light up the path for you, come learn Reiki with me.