I am my Favorite Place to be Lost

Is there such a thing as truly being lost? I suppose it might feel that way if you venture far enough down the rabbit hole, but what if that journey is just an adventure of discovery? What if every time you made a "wrong" turn you learned something new about yourself that wasn't even a part of your consciousness when you awoke that morning?

We've been taught to fear the unknown; the uncharted. To deeply enmesh ourselves in the comfort of the familiar and safety of the status quo. How to color within the lines while daydreaming as an escape from the confines of the pages we've been convinced we have to fill in order to live meaningfully. But... what if it didn't have to be an escape? What if our escape was our reality? If our page was the fabric on the sofa or the wallpaper in our grandmother's kitchen? A simple safety in knowing that what feels perfect and true for us really is exactly that.

The bulk of the discomfort on this Earth is resulting from old programming forcing us to believe that we need to think, feel, act, and be a certain way. That anything contrary is foolish, naive, and ungrounded. Many of us are beginning to feel anxiety surrounding our life paths. Things may feel like they're all wrong but without the ability to discern why. It's important to take the time to sit in solitude and dive deep right down that rabbit hole. Get lost. Explore every single dark corner until you know it like the back of your hand. Take this journey and create your own map to self awareness and discovery.

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I'll have the cake, please. Yep - I've plans to eat it, too.

"We are in the world to experience abundance in all areas; so whenever we recognize, name, and then appease whatever is missing in our life, we allow the universe to fill that void." - Andrew Bloomfield, How to Practice Vedic Astrology

We're mighty quick to notice what's lacking in our lives. Money, love, resources, friendships, fun, the perfect job, means to travel, that fancy motorbike from Tron. We notice these things and feel a pang - a longing. It leads to a lot of wondering about what it would be like if we had that 'thing', whatever it may be.

We see the people who have these things in their lives and wonder what they're doing differently. What sort of magic do they hold that allows them such a free exchange between their energy output and the abundance and prosperity they receive?

Simple answer: it's all in how you view your cup. None of this half empty/half full bull. Their cups are not only full - they're overflowing. This creates such a powerful channel for attraction.

So, what's the secret? What we think, becomes. Our thoughts have energy. Thinking wills things into existence... all things. So if we're thinking about how terrible our Monday is going to be, chances are it won't be a very peachy day. If we think we're going to ace that exam we have coming up, we're going to ace the exam. Where it can get a little confusing is if there are any underlying doubts. We may have the faux confidence that's bolstered by a niggling doubt in our abilities - so while we're trying to convince ourselves we're going to do well, our behind-the-scenes doubts could overpower our desire to succeed.

How do we overcome that? We remove all doubt. Train ourselves to understand that the barriers exist only in our minds. You want the motorbike? Visualize it as yours. Know in your gut that it will be a tangible existence. No more "If I had this... if I had that..." It's already yours. You just have to know how to ask for it without feeling guilty about it.

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To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

Square Peggery

I was always... different. Born and raised an only child; a natural introvert. I was that kid who always opted to play alone during kindergarten. That five-year-old jerk that refused to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance because I was so introverted that it pained me to partake in any activity with my peers. In fact, my favorite thing in Ms. Stork's kindergarten class was this game that I was so inventive with I can't even begin to recall any details of it, other than the family of cats that walked around in human clothing. Kind of like the Busytown books. Except it wasn't anything remotely close to Busytown, so that meant I was extra strange in the eyes of my class"mates".

Funny how that happens. If you think differently from those around you, they're so quick to make you an outcast. If you're not expanding on an idea that's not already popular with the masses, they think you're flying two sheets from the wind. Though, considering all of the kites I lost to the clouds, that's not entirely far-fetched.

In any case, my point is that we're not meant to follow others. Be your own leader. Dance to the beat of your own drum. Mine sounds like rainbows, dragons, and the Milky Way. Not your cup of tea? Good. It shouldn't be. We all have our own unique bucket of antics. Similar to a fingerprint, only more telling. Do your own stuff. And please, for the love of the universe, stop mirroring and parroting others.

You have a very unique set of gifts and talents. When you deny them, you not only deny your self-growth, you deny the rest of us a bright light on this chaotic canvas.

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To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

Trusting the Blind Curve

Photography: Brooke Pennington | www.brookepennington.com

We all get to that point where we can no longer see the straight, ongoing trajectory of the path we've worked so hard at creating for ourselves. There it is; that epic moment of panic. That blind curve looming in front of us that elicits our finest "Oh sh*t!" reflex.

Some of us are lucky enough to experience this in the daylight, so there's at least an inkling that something is about to require our undivided attention. As for the rest of us? Well, we may as well be on that ominously winding road on the side of the mountain, in the middle of the darkest night weighted by the thickest fog, with no sign of the moon's forgiveness.

No illumination to guide us. No clarity in sight. No whispers helping us direct the wheel. We have nothing to rely on but inherent instincts. It's in this suspended moment that we're forced to trust our internal navigation. The beauty in this is, of course, cloaked by terror;  but it's exactly that which frees us. We're forced to act alone without external influences.

With our entire world muted, we have little else to consider outside our own senses. Trust the blind curve. As long as we follow our instincts, we'll never find ourselves on the wrong side of the road, even if the destination differs from our original intention.

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To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

What about the boogeyman?

Well, what about the boogeyman? He's imaginary. Made up. A figment of our imagination. So what's the simple interpretation here? We fear imagination. 

Well then... that clears up quite a few things, doesn't it?

However we came into being, we were somehow created with this brilliant ability to imagine anything we want to. ANYthing! We were given this amazing gift and what's the first thing we do? We stomp all over it and treat it like a zombie virus. So that in turn creates this weirdly obscure fear that our visions, dreams, thoughts, wishes, and desires are pushing us one step closer to becoming Patient Zero. Nobody wants to be the origin of the zombie apocalypse, so I guess it makes sense that we pretend we don't have any imagination.

Every single one of us is our own boogeyman. The only reason we have fears is because we choose to subscribe to them, whether they originate with us or not. What we should be doing is imagining this gallant luck dragon engulfing the zombies and illuminating the shadows where all the boogeymen dwell.

At the moment, I'm willing to wager you're judging my sanity from my placing zombies, boogeymen, and luck dragons in the same instance. Just remember that logic we employ imposes limits. Heavy limits, at that. Try to feel happy and light when you're bogged down with fear as you turn every corner. It's not easily done.

Your imagination is just that - all yours. Why would you willingly sacrifice that to fear?


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To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

Reiki DOES NOT do the work for you!!

If you know me personally, or have been following this tiny little blog so far, you probably have an inkling that I'm a big fan of Reiki and the fact that it can help to heal physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional issues. However, while Reiki is an amazing healing method, it won't do the grunt work for you. Let me ramble on a bit in an effort to explain.

Physical issues are usually energetic imbalances represented in a physical form. You'll most often hear these addressed in terms of chakras (there are seven main chakras, for those of you who are curious.) For example, if you're experiencing a stubborn cough that won't go away, it's probably related to your throat chakra which governs communication, creativity, and expression, among other things. This could be addressed by taking a moment to reflect on it and see if there's anything you're not communicating well, or if there's a feeling you've been brushing aside and ignoring instead of addressing with yourself (self-expression and communication.) You could also surround yourself by the color associated with the chakra (the throat chakra is blue), or sing more to help open it up.

I mention this because Reiki helps immensely in balancing these energy centers to enable you to become a clear channel for your higher self. But it just won't do the grunt work for you. If it's a recurring issue, or an old habit or pattern that you've refused to work on yourself, Reiki won't do any good. It's kind of like changing the oil in your car without replacing the dirty filter with a clean one.

It's so important that we work on our old habits that no longer serve our higher selves or our greatest good, simply because our task here is to grow and move forward. If we actively try to improve ourselves, the Universe will provide whatever it is that we need. Those of you who might be scoffing at this - just sit back and ask yourself if you've actually tested and trusted it. I can guarantee you that if you're recoiling from that idea, you haven't let go enough to see what happens. Try it - you'll end up surprised at the results!


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To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

Insecurities: Worse than leftover meatloaf.

There isn't much I find to be worse than leftover meatloaf, so insecurities are kind of a big deal. They're debilitating, powerful, and all-consuming. If we let them, they breed self-doubt like cancer. But if you can cut off the sugar supply, the cancer won't have much to feed off.

Why is it so easy to fall prey to this kind of negative energy? Because we've been conditioned to value other people's opinions more than our own. We've been trained to stop listening to our intuition and gut instincts. Mostly due to fear - and it's usually a fear of attracting what we want without encountering many obstacles. I mean, if you could do, have, or be anything you wanted you'd probably feel like you had some crazy super hero power. With great power comes great responsibility, no? That idea packs quite the punch and can be a tad intimidating. So, I get it. It feels safer to pass the blame to friends, family and peers rather than taking responsibility ourselves for what's not coming to fruition in our lives.

So how do we get away from these self-defeating habits? It takes a lot of practice, but it's not difficult stuff. No crazy college degree or skills required. Ready...?

Stop listening to people. 

That's all. If you want or need to, stop asking people for their opinions before you make a decision. If you're receiving a ton of unsolicited opinions, just tell them you appreciate the space their concern is coming from, but you prefer to try your own method first to see how it pans out.

Try it once or twice and see how it sits with you. The more you practice this, the easier it will be to follow your own compass. You'll find that you end up relying less on feedback from others and will feel much happier and free!



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To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.