by Erin Williams

            I have always felt drawn to angels, even as a young child.  My mother had them displayed in her artwork all over our house as we were growing up.  I have always felt connected to my angels, praying to them and asking them for guidance whenever I needed their help. 

            I remember being in Istanbul, Turkey last year and touring Hagia Sophia, a beautiful church facing the Blue Mosque in the center of the city.  It is one of the only religious buildings that has changed hands between the Christians and Muslims several times, so it actually depicts Muslim and Christian art side by side.  Throughout the centuries, and all the changing of hands, one piece of art never changed…the angels.  The Church director explained to me that the existence of Angels is the one thing that all religions can agree upon.  So four beautiful angels are depicted in the four corners of the main dome and have remained throughout it all.  Throughout battles, fires, and drastically different religious orders, these angels have remained.  How beautiful, I thought. 

            My knowledge and trust in their existence was always just faith…faith in the Divine, until I actually saw my first angel.  I have no idea how you will receive this.  Maybe you have also had experiences like this as well, maybe even more profound.  As for me, even though I had always led a very intuitive existence and felt a deep connection to Spirit, I had never actually seen anything with my physical eyes.  That is, until then. 

            My husband was out for the evening and I had just finished reading Sleeping Beauty to my daughter (she has a taste for the Disney classics). I quietly closed the door to her room and sat down at my dining room table.  It had been a particularly difficult day, but nothing to out of the ordinary.   I sat at the end of my table facing one of the chairs that was pulled out a bit and angled in my direction.  That is when she first appeared.  In the chair across from me, I saw iridescent, transparent energy in the shape of a big beautiful angel.   It wasn’t as profound as you may have thought.  I sat there just staring, thinking “is this really happening?!!” At one point, I actually took the paper that was close to me and began sketching what I was seeing.  It was like begin able to see the vibration of beautiful music in the shape of an angel right there in the chair next to me.  I felt wonder, validation, comfort and a really deep and profound sense of support.  It lasted about one minute, but at the risk of sounding very cliché, it felt like an hour.

            Since then, my ability to connect with the Angel realm and sync to my intuition during counseling and when I need it, has expanded dramatically.  The one thing I would like to convey to you about your angels is to talk to them.  They are indeed a real part of our lives, and they are there to help.  I am still so grateful that my angel appeared to me on an ordinary weekday.  My message in that has always been, you don’t have to be in such a desperate state to receive Divine support or help.  The only thing that must happen in order for us to feel this connection and support, is that WE HAVE TO ASK FOR IT.  Remember to ask.  Then trust and know that your prayers are ALWAYS HEARD and ALWAYS ANSWERED.  The answers my not come the way you thought they would, but they always do come.  Remember to ask your angels for help with the everyday stuff to.  Also, never worry that you will be taking them away from more important things when you ask for everyday support.  They are not bound by time and space, so they are able to be in an infinite amount of places.  Thus, angels are able to help everyone simultaneously….pretty cool actually.

            It is my hope that this will spark your own renewed connections to your angels.  They are there with you.  They are listening, and they love, love, LOVE you unconditionally!  See yourself as they do….as a perfect, beautiful, and Divine being that is infinitely supported on an amazing journey. 

Wishing you love, light, and bliss!

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD, CHt

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams angels, believe, magical

by Erin Williams

I was recently at Starbucks with my good friend Georgia, sipping our lattes laughing, and talking about life.  At one point in the conversation, Georgia introduced me to one of her favorite quotes, “Who were you before you started putting yourself last?”  I can’t seem to get it out of my mind.  It brings up some really great questions.   For some of us, we’ve been putting ourselves last for so long, that we truly cannot remember who we were before that!  This powerful question deserves some pause, and certainly an answer. 

                So I ask you, “Who were you before you started putting yourself last?”  Were you vibrant, happy, beautiful, and full of life and love?  Were you energized and radiant?  Close your eyes and picture her.  See and feel what it is to be her.  How does she look?  How does she sound when she speaks?  What does her laugh sound like?  What is she wearing, doing, and saying?  How does she feel?  Now, take a few deep breaths and breathe her in.  She is you.  Plain and simple.  Just think about how many people benefit from basking in her radiance.  That radiance is a gift that needs to be protected and nurtured, and you my friend need to do the nurturing! 

                Invest in yourself!  Join us on our Women’s Goddess Retreat to Santorini, Greece, or pamper yourself at the spa, or take yourself on your own rejuvenating trip.   Treat yourself now in small and grand ways!  Ask yourself every day, what do I need today in order to feel good, nurtured, and happy?  Feel what it is like to be your best self again.  You are amazing, inside and out.  Your needs are important too!  If you don’t put yourself first, no one else will!  You are beautiful and divine, and deserve all the happiness and bliss in the world. 

Love and light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD, CHth

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams Greece, nurturing, self

The Healing Powers of the Sun by Erin Williams

Living in Michigan during the winter can honestly get pretty tough. Although, the snow is absolutely beautiful when it first falls; little white crystals falling from the sky, it gets pretty old when you get a foot in March and have to clean off your car before work. So, we decided, mid-March to take a trip to sunny Sarasota, Florida. 3 hours on a plane and we were transported to palm trees and warm sunshine. When I stepped out of the airport and the warm, humid air hit my face, my entire body relaxed. Once I inhaled the slightly salty air with a deep breath, my shoulders that had been up at my ears for the past 3 months, dropped down to their proper place. It was truly lovely.

     Yesterday, we took our daughter to the beach, where the sea flows into brilliant aqua-blue and sparkling emerald green colors. The sand was filled with beautiful, sea shells in an array of pale pinks and purples. The sun was warm, the air was salty, and the fresh scent of the ocean was everywhere. The relaxation that accompanies the beach for me is unparallel. Every muscle, every cell seemed to relax into warmth and perfection. It all inspired me to write a bit about the importance of sunshine and its immense healing powers.

     If you are so blessed, and I hope that you are, to be in a place that is sunny and warm for the winter, you already know on a personal level all about the sun and its magical healing powers. If however, you are like me, and live in a colder place for the winter months, and can escape to the warmth, do it! What do we do when we have to go home or stay home in the snow? Take at least 5 minutes each day and picture the sunshine with all five of your senses. What the mind believes, the body agrees with. So take a few moments and revivify your favorite time and place where the sun is shining and you are feeling warm and relaxed. What does it look like, sound like, smell like, and feel like? What are you doing? Experience it now! We know that the brain reacts the same way and will release those same feel good chemicals whether we are actually living it, or if we are simply thinking it. So find a quite place and time each day and put yourself there. Really feel that sunshine! The benefits of doing this are profound.

     Finally, don’t forget to send some gratitude to the sun for all its healing powers and thank it for helping you to heal. Remember what a luminous being you are and the same light that is given from the sun exists within you as well. Set an intention to grow this light inside of you and what as you light up a room. You are beautiful, whole, and pure perfection just as you are. Wishing you a beautiful and sunny day!

Love and light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams

by Erin Williams

Hello beautiful friends! I am very inspired today to write to you about the incredible power behind morning affirmations. For this entire week, bless your day by beginning it with a morning affirmation! Here’s how it works; first, make sure that whatever is waking you up in the morning, whether it is music or an alarm, it is nice to wake up to. You want to make sure that you are not jolted out of bed by some obnoxious beeping or buzzing noise. Pick something relaxing that will still stir you out of bed. Next, before you jump out from under your covers, lay there for a few minutes. Take some deep breaths and stretch your body out across the sheets. Picture in your mind what you want to happen. It could be for your day, week, year, life…whatever you choose. Simply picture it, and feel what it would feel like if it already happened. Let the joy and bliss of that picture wash over you. By doing this, you are literally swinging open the gates of manifestation. You are inviting all of this wonderful energy into your life and ensuring that you will attract only the best people, situation, and events that will all act to support you in whatever it is you are picturing.

Finally, before you get out of bed, sit up and write down some affirmations (positive statements) that support what you desire to happen. It’s good to have a journal and sparkly pen next to the bed. Of course, it doesn’t have to be sparkly, it is just more fun! If this is too much for you in the morning, do it before you go to sleep so that you have it for the next day. Put your affirmations up while you are getting ready. Feel free to also take them with you and have them throughout your day. Here are some affirmations to get you started;

The Universe/ my angels/ my guides/God, supports me in everything I do. Life is only getting better and better. I attract wild abundance. I am deeply and profoundly beautiful. I am my best self. It is easy for me to accomplish my goals. The relationships I choose all support me at the highest level. I am relaxed and centered no matter what is happening around me. I am in perfect heath. I love myself unconditionally. Be creative and make up your own affirmations (remember to put everything in the positive please). Watch as your days get brighter and your life gets better and better and your wildest dreams become reality!

Many blessings friends!

Love and Light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams

This week, I ask that you strive for the ultimate self-love.  I ask that you wine and dine yourself like you have fallen hard, and are trying everything you can to win yourself over (of course, without the silly hard to get games).  I mean it!  I want you to leave yourself love notes around the house, send yourself encouraging and loving emails, buy yourself flowers and chocolates, and sign yourself up for something that you will truly love.

            Next, get out some paper and make a list.  How many things can you think of that you absolutely love about yourself?  If you run out of things, fake it before you make it!  Now, make sticky notes of 5 of the best compliments you gave yourself, and put them up around your house.  It’s one thing to think it, another to do it!  So do it!  Challenge yourself everyday this week by asking yourself:  how can I nurture myself, care for myself, show myself more love today? 

            Let go of any and all guilt, and be a total glutton of self-love.  I ask you, how happy will you allow yourself to be this week?  How many fun things will you allow yourself to plan?  How many good feelings will you allow yourself to have?  You are luminous, radiant, deeply and profoundly beautiful, and I could not think of someone more deserving of all that love than YOU.  Enjoy yourself, my friend.  Happy Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Love and light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams

by Erin Williams

When we, goal-oriented, over achieving, multitalented, and accomplished women decide to “heal”, we have the tendency to over do it. We buy every book on Amazon that mentions “heal” in the title, and then quietly berate ourselves as we use them as coasters around the house. We sign up for every yoga class offered at the gym, and then have a hard time controlling the competitive side to ourselves, that needs to have a better downward dog than that 20 year old Crystal with the perfect ass…. no matter how many Motrin it takes. We then wonder why, after we’ve finished our dirt detox, and have mastered hip-hop yoga, do we still feel exhausted and cranky? Where is that inner peace and OM, we’ve been hearing so much about?

     I believe it is because we are missing out on the beauty of the ordinary. What is so extraordinary about the ordinary??? It’s a good question to think on. When we take time to notice what is happening around us in the present moment, we notice how beautiful the sun’s glow is on our skin. We notice how soothing the hum of the car wheels are on the pavement, combined with the wind seeping through the window, together creating your own personal symphony. We might notice how relaxing folding laundry can be, and how inhaling it’s fresh sent makes all your muscles relax. I believe we can connect with the energy of healing by being in the present moment, and noticing what is beautiful in the now.

     So stop what you are doing, and look around. What do you see? Take a breath in. How does it feel? No matter what you choose to do for yourself, enjoy it. Be in the here and NOW. Really taste that organic tea, really feel that yoga pose, and really smell that new lotion you bought yourself. All is good in your world, so take some time to smell the roses—literally. Notice the beauty in yourself and your day, and you will forever be surrounded by it.

Love and light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams

by Erin Williams

You know the time when you oversleep, so you jolt out of bed, rush though your shower, hoping everything got clean enough, and throw on the same sweater you wore the day before?  Then you realize half way through a conversation with your boss regarding your new web idea, that there is a princess sticker appropriately placed in the center of your breast.  So, what was meant as a “job well done” by your 4 year old who stuck it there yesterday, now looks more like a glittery Disney nipple tassel to your entire office who has said nothing to you about it!   You totally know what I am talking about!  We have all had these moments! 

             One of the best things about those moments is the way retelling the story or recalling the memory of it can make you laugh no matter where you are or what you are doing.  When was the last time you laughed?  Not just laughed, but LAUGHED uncontrollably, inappropriately, from your belly, and could not catch your breath?  Make it your goal this month to reach for THAT laugh every single day.  Once you set this as your intention for the day, the humor in everything will begin to open itself up to you.  You won’t help noticing how hilarious it is that the man in front of you has the license plate “BIG PAPA 2”, which will inevitably lead to the hilarious question of “what happened to Big Papa 1?”

            When you choose to see the humor in something and allow yourself to experience that bliss and laughter, you are connecting with the energy of joy!  The more you allow yourself to dwell in the energy of joy, the more you will attract things that vibrate on that level.  You will attract people, places, and situations that all mirror your joy and soon you will be surrounded by it.  So go out and laugh!  See a funny movie, watch a funny online video, surround yourself with your funniest friends, and laugh at life and yourself!  It’s just more fun that way. 

Love and Light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD

313.300.9232

Erina.williams@hotmail.com

www.healingplacecouseling.com

Erin Williams

by Erin Williams

Regardless of what you are healing from, you are not alone. We are all healing, all of the time. It is our nature to heal, and just as the body naturally knows how to heal a cut, the mind and spirit know how to heal emotional pain. Our only job is to help it along and take excellent care of ourselves. You, like everyone else in this world, deserve to be deliciously happy! The key to really healing deeply is to take some time to do your healing work and then GET UP, GET OUT, and GET GOING. Healing does not mean spending weeks on end in your pajamas, listening to sad FM, and eating the entire contents of the frozen food section at the grocery store.

Intentional healing means acting, speaking, and thinking in a way that promotes self-love. It means choosing to feel empowered, and letting go of feeling like a victim. You are a beautiful, powerful, intelligent, divine goddess. You may have been wounded, but your mind, body, and spirit already have what it takes to heal the wound. Now you only need to direct your powerful energy into the healing process. So here’s how to do it!

Break through any negative thought patterns keeping you from healing

Before the healing begins, let’s be sure your inner mean girl (your inner ego that often says inappropriate and nasty things to you) isn’t secretly planning on sabotaging mission HEAL. Here is an example of how to spot the sabotage and stop it in its tracks;

Your inner mean girl’s says: “You don’t deserve to be happy after what you did or said.” Well, here is what I have to say to that. We all deserve to be happy. I do NOT care what you did or how bad society or your inner mean girl tells you it was. You are perfect and human, and you deserve all the happiness and love in the world. Forgive yourself and move on.

Any thought patterns that tell you that you don’t deserve to heal or be happy need to be squashed immediately. You will arm yourself with words and acts of self love, and you’ll be ready anytime that mean girl shows up. After all, she’s cranky because she’s love starved.

Set an Intention

Be intentional about your healing! Write out an intentional statement to the Universe. Start with, “I intend to heal…” and then fill in the blank. Follow it up by telling the Universe how exactly you intend to help the healing process. Do you intend to take excellent care of yourself? Be specific. How exactly do you intend to do that? Next, ask for help from the Universe, God, your angels, or guides. How do you want them to help? You don’t need to be specific, but if you have something specific in mind, now is the time to ask. You will feel so much lighter and focused after doing this. It truly is a powerful agreement to make.

Buddha Your Brain with Mantras

Mantra is just a fancy word for positive self statements that make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s a self statement that equals the feeling of drinking your favorite hot beverage at Star Bucks or the best sex you’ve ever had….ok it usually is not THAT good. But mantras still make you feel all warm and yummy inside. Here are a few to try;

I love myself unconditionally, I am safe, I intend to heal from this, good things are coming to me, I attract love, abundance, and bliss, life gets better and better, and I am beautiful, divine, goddess.

You don’t have to stop there! The possibilities for expressing self love are infinite. Keep up the good work!

Get Up, Get Out, and Get Going:

Go get your hair done, put on clothes that make you feel amazing, sexy, and beautiful, and get out of the house. Set up lunch dates with friends. Go out for dinner or have a dinner party to celebrate anything…how about just celebrating how fabulous you are! Go get drinks with an old friend. Sign up for yoga class and GO to it. Whatever makes you happy—go do it! Your bliss is waiting for you, so go out and claim it.

You are amazing and perfection in every way. I intend for your process to be beautiful, filled with joy, laughter, and saturated in bliss.

Love and light,

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD

Erin Williams