Spirituality | Michelle Cromer

Always Go

Michelle Cromer September 4, 2023 Leave a Comment

I travel. A lot. And I am constantly asked why. Why go? Travel balances the chi within me and animates my spirit in a way that nothing else seems to. I seem to stay in a heightened state of awareness by being in new places, in which I am mindful, receptive, and ready to be transformed.

So, I want to go as long as possible, forever if I can, feeling as if I’ve never truly arrived, and be at complete peace with the journey of it all. I don’t need life’s little checkpoints to convince me that I’m growing and progressing. The memories I accumulate will do that. My confession is that I fall in love with so many places I’m always half broken-hearted by goodbyes. And I don’t believe in non-attachment. There’s no passion in that. I believe we leave tiny pieces of ourselves in every place we’ve loved, and in every person, we meet along the way.

When I come home nothing has changed. But I have. And, that changes everything.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Take the Trail Less Traveled

Michelle Cromer August 14, 2023 Leave a Comment

For the first time in our history, we spend more time with our screens than with people. The average person checks their phone approximately 150 times in 16 hours. Our devices are contributing to stress with feeling worse, jealous, depressed, and annoyed after checking updates. We are addicted to technology. The more plugged into things we get, the more disconnected to nature and to our souls we become. It seems we live in a world of smartphones and dumb people.

In the age of speed, I think that nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In the age of distraction, what could feel more luxurious than paying attention? I learned this on El Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage and spiritual quest that others had taken in Northern Spain for more than a thousand years. While preparing for a journey, you own the journey; once you step onto the path, the journey owns you. Life slowed as I walked an average of 20 miles a day, day after day after day. Lessons and messages began appearing around every corner, and reflection became an everyday activity. And in the silence of my weeks, I began to hear the clear voice inside of me.

Whether it was hiking through the sun gate on top of Machu Picchu, or trekking through Mount Kailash on the high Tibetan plateau, all the hikes of my life have nourished my mind, body, and soul in ways I find impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Here are a few reasons to lace up your shoes, put on your backpack and look forward to outdoor adventure.

1. Hiking keeps you present.
According to the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca, to be truly happy is to enjoy the present moment, and I have to admit he knew what he was talking about. It’s hard not to be present when it’s just you and the world, one foot in front of the other, breathe in, breathe out. You can just be.
Additionally, walking or hiking meditation is a common Buddhist practice wherein the goal is simply to walk and be present with every step we take. While more traditional seated forms of meditation aren’t for everyone, a long hike helps still the mind that’s constantly thinking about what we have to do next. It’s one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

2. Hiking puts nature into perspective.
Up mountains, over hills, along plains, and through forests, hiking is a great — and increasingly rare — opportunity to get in touch with nature. It’s a pertinent reminder of how small we are and how vast and beautiful the world is. And, studies have shown that being among nature is a great stress reliever and can help lower incidences of depression.

3. Hiking invites a sense of adventure.
Hiking can be a unique way to explore a new place. My very first hike was in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert in Copper Canyon, Mexico, and it was a life-changing experience: we hiked all day and, climbed hills for awe-inspiring views and made our way down to the thermal springs at the bottom of Tararecua Canyon. Every minute of this adventure sowed the seeds that would lead to my love of hiking.

4. Hiking gives you space.
Physical space, of course, but more importantly the emotional and mental distance needed to momentarily place aside the pressures of balancing work, relationships, friendships, finances, and health. I’ve come to important realizations about myself while wandering. Alternatively, I’ve gone hiking and let my thoughts dance from the mundane to the ludicrous. And that’s OK too; both are necessary. But both require space.

5. Hiking fosters relationships.
This year I have plans to hike Mount Shasta in Northern California and the highlands of Scotland with mis amigos del alma – friends of my soul. Hiking gives us an opportunity to drop down into a sacred space and affords me the opportunity to have meaningful dialog with those that I love.

Everyone wants to reach the top of the mountain, but happiness and growth occur while you’re hiking it. Happy Trails!

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Healing the Spirit’s Immune System

Michelle Cromer June 5, 2023 Leave a Comment

Healing the Spirits Immune System

Health and well-being are different, but each has its own ‘immune system’. While the body develops many kinds of diseases the spirit suffers from many forms of dis – ease. However, all dis – eases of the spirit have one cause. While the body can heal itself ‘naturally’, the soul needs to heal itself ‘consciously’ by becoming more aware. Only ‘realization’ can generate the transformation that heals the spirit.

The immune system needs four things to function properly – food, water, exercise, and rest. The signs your immune system isn’t working properly is you get sick – or if it is comprised you get the flu or some of us with a comprised immune system get cancer.

Signs your spirit’s immune system is comprised can range from a quiet feeling of uneasiness at one end of the spectrum to states of extreme stress that might include anything from deep sorrow to utter range to abject terror.

4 ways to heal our spirit’s immune system So, how do we heal our spirit’s immune system?

Here are four tips on how to heal your spirit’s immune system:

Develop a practice of visualization or meditation. There are so many apps now you can download and make stillness part of your daily routine.
Release Old Stories and Heal Wounds. This can be accomplished through traditional therapy or through energy modalities like Reiki energy healing or reflexology or acupuncture.
Practice Self Care. Give yourself permission to go get that massage or take an extra-long soothing bath or go on the trip.
Have a practice of love. When we practice loving people who are hard to love, forgiving people who have hurt us, or serving others who are less fortunate … then we are learning advanced techniques of love. The goal is to practice love with such dedication that we move past the point of having to think about it, to just do it automatically.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color. Visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

8 Ways to Set your Chi in the Morning

Michelle Cromer May 22, 2023 Leave a Comment

Setting your Chi in the morning — Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

It’s been decades since the sun caught me in bed, it’s my favorite time of the day. Investing more thought and time into morning routines can single-handedly change how the rest of your day unfolds. Adding these eight chi-boosting habits to your morning will help to improve your mood, and your relationship with others, and you will be able to manage your stress and anxiety. The important thing to consider is to create a morning ritual that makes you feel good about yourself. Here are mine:

Silence –sit in silence and focus on your breath. Notice the sense of calm that comes over you. You will feel peaceful.
Reading – grab any book, and read for 10 minutes. You will feel motivated.
Affirmations –an affirmation is a powerful reminder of the unlimited potential that exists inside of you. Write your own. You will feel empowered.
Visualization –what do you want? Put images on a board that motivates you and represents your heart’s desires. Take time each morning to pause at each image and feel what it would be like to manifest what you want. You will feel inspired.
Journaling –the simple act of writing down things is powerful. Start by writing down all the things in your life that you are grateful for. You will feel grateful.
Photo by Alexy Almond from Pexels
Exercise –moving your chi physically every day will prove to empower, inspire and get your chi set for the rest of the day. You will feel energized.
Prayer – speaking to a higher power will ease stress and set the tone for the day. You will feel holy.
Meditation – sit with your eyes closed and when a thought enters your mind imagine that you are tying a red balloon to that thought and allowing it to float away. When you empty your mind you will find that you make room for innovative ideas and solutions. You will feel deeply connected to the whole.

Sunrises are breathtaking; the sun starts subtly as if it is afraid to rise. Then the dawn breaks over the horizon like an egg yolk spilling across the clouds. The sun, a true artist, creates beauty on its canvas, reminding me that this picturesque site is not what I love about mornings. I love how they resemble hope and the promise of new beginnings.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

New Era

Michelle Cromer May 1, 2023 Leave a Comment

Last month– while I was in Egypt, Pluto entered Aquarius for the first time in nearly 250 years.

The next few months are a powerful portal. During this time, you will likely get a taste of what Pluto will bring over the next 20 years. If you are conscious of this energy, it’s possible to co-create with it and manifest some incredible things.

Pluto is a generational planetary object. In a way, you can track the generation you belong to by the sign Pluto is in. It takes 248 years for it to orbit the Sun, and it can stay in a zodiac sign for between 12 and 30 years.

Since 2008, Pluto has been in Capricorn. Pluto represents transformation by way of death and rebirth, and it reveals the shadow side of whatever it touches.

As we saw with Pluto when it was in Capricorn, it exposed the shadow side of our systems, financial and otherwise. Starting with the 2008 financial collapse, at the exact moment when Pluto first entered Capricorn, this energy has spent the last 16 years basically annihilating many of our hierarchical structures – the old ways, the old paradigms.

Now Pluto will change signs and move into Aquarius, which is a rare event. Aquarius is about consciousness, revolutionary energy, and innovative ideas. The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, the French and American Revolutions were taking place.

Aquarius is about equality and objectivity – it’s a humanitarian archetype. It affects the collective, including the systems and structures that have been in place, but it also works on an individual level. Aquarius is about being different, embodying your most unique self, and living outside the box.

And because Aquarius is all about consciousness, we will be undergoing a transformation of consciousness – it’s a crucial time to get clear about what you’re committed to.

In fact, this is probably the most powerful moment of the year to set intentions, and not just for the month or the next 6 months. It’s about setting intentions for your life. Everything is shifting and changing, which opens the door for a massive surge forward – it’s a chance to envision a new beginning.

Whether you’re pledging yourself to a relationship, your family, an ideology, a career, or a behavior, this energy is about trusting your gut, and being unflinchingly loyal once you’ve made that decision. It’s a time to rise above outdated thinking – like basing your sense of power on how you look, what you own, or what people are saying about you – and commit to a greater mission and purpose.

There are profound energies at play now, so pay attention to signs and synchronicities – they are here to guide you to the right commitments.
If what you’ve chosen feels genuinely right for you, then this is the time to tap into your courage and go for it.

The theme right now is about entering a new era, and about observing the old ways and hierarchies dying – because they can’t stand anymore.
You – and others around you – have reached a time where your energy and power need to be in service to something greater, and they need to be imbued with love and compassion. This is a moment for you – and the world at large – to make a huge leap forward into a new way of thinking.

It’s important to ask yourself now: “Am I going to move along with humanity’s direction, and can I live with it?” and, “If so, what am I going to co-create with it?”

Or are you going to try and hold onto the old ways, and keep yourself small and disempowered? Are you going to keep thinking you’re not enough, because you don’t look a certain way, don’t have a certain amount of money, etc.?

The future is about the growth of your spirit and your soul. How is it evolving? How is it contributing? Are you connected to something deeper and truer to you?

Because if you’re not, you’re likely putting your energy and your commitments into things that are not right for you. And this is the moment to change all that.

When you commit your energy and set your intentions to manifest what is truly authentic for you, you’ll be filled with energy. You won’t be drained or exhausted.

Know that what you contribute to life is directly related to how you use your energy. It’s time to take responsibility for yourself and for what you put in this world.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

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