Christy Joy Higby - Blog

Christy Joy Higby

Energize your Space

12/1/2015

HEALING, NURTURING, ENCOURAGING, INSPIRATIONAL SPACE

Creating and maintaining a space where you can recharge and heal with intention is essential to your well being. Walk around your home, is there a place that calls to you, revitalizing and full of joy? If not, please work on that immediately. If yes, yay! I'm so happy for you. Make sure you maintain it so that it grows with you, check in and update it at least seasonally.

Small additions can make big changes to your space. One of my favorites is stones. From the single Celestite by my bed to the happy bowl of tumbled stones on the book shelf by my computer, they always bring a smile. You can research what specific stones are good at or just pick one up that feels great to you and add it to your space. Personally, I collect them from lots of different places; the local crystal shop, my teachers, my backyard, my son, I even got some stunning quartz from Amazon.

Does your space feel limited in size or perhaps by items that are necessary but aesthetically unpleasing? I need a printer and a scanner in my office as well as more charging cords than anyone really wants. They have their use and their space, but I changed up their vibe a bit with a lovely scarf (it brings me more joy there than in my closet) and some of my favorite words. These are so bright and joyful that they pull the eye from the shelf of necessities and fill me with happiness. Especially that journal! It doubles up in fulfilling both my love of words on the cover and a home for so many more beautiful words inside.

YOUR SURROUNDINGS AFFECT YOU.
CREATE A SPACE OF JOY AND LOVE!

Each of us has a small handful of spaces in which we spend the majority of our time. They can drain us, or with a few simple intentional changes, they can energize us.
Do you have a recharge space? Somewhere you can just Be. Surrounded by Joy and Love?
If not, get started on making one. It will make a world of difference. You can start small, add something to your line of view that inspires you. Or go big and overhaul a whole room dedicated to your joyful space needs.

be the light

9/17/2015

Energy is directed through rods and arcs between them, or runs the filament-sized gamut to reach its goal, things heat up, the light shines and important things are illuminated.

While the small-scale intention was to get from one specific point to another, the light still spreads far and wide. It sheds light on all that needs to be seen.

Today I am grateful for all the crazy sparks of energy that are responsible for bringing vastly larger causes into the light. Just this week the light fell on a child with a science project and not only was his intelligence brought to the attention of the nation, but so were a vast number of issues. Hopefully because of that crazy mishap a new multi cultural understanding can be facilitated. Maybe some better school programs too.

And then there are the unsung heroes of medicine. It started with a jab at beauty contestant, a little flare of energy that the speaker said she wasn’t even paying attention to. Yet, within hours, the light was shining with loving appreciation on nurses that was both needed and deserved. Even better, the light spread throughout caregivers far and wide, giving them a spotlight that is long overdue.

That is just two of many. The light will shine on all that needs to be seen; you just need to be open to seeing it. Look for it, even. I am not naïve, I know what humans are capable of, and I don’t need a news source to tell me. But when I look for the light, I can see what humanity is capable of. There is support and love and as the light shines on, clarity. There is need for much more light, so I am grateful for the sparks that create it, no matter how crazy and misguided they are.

MAgic Mike and the art of healing

7/22/2015

Sitting at a matinee with six other women for a screening of Magic Mike XXL, without turning to look at each other, we began to bond. Talking aloud before the movie started, thrilled that we could hoot and holler like it was a live performance if desired because it was just us, a few ladies who took the afternoon to do exactly what we wanted. That in and of itself is a type of healing. It is called self-care. Quite simply taking time for yourself, to nourish the pieces of you that need attention.

Now if your path leads you to judge me, that is perfectly fine. I feel no need to hide that I thoroughly enjoy beautiful men dancing. Dancing in general, if you must know, regardless of gender or physical appearance, truly does nourish me. I simply love intentionally beautiful movement.

Back to the theater. Though I was not the one who originally offered the idea that a bit of verbal praise would be perfectly acceptable, I was certainly the first one to shout and cheer! Though it was not for what the others were holding their comments for. I shouted in excitement because I watched one of the main characters start making hand gestures that I was very familiar with. He was clearly working with energy over a fallen friend. Then he announced he was a level three Reiki Master healer. Now seriously, of course I hooted! I stomped my feet and I grinned from ear to ear the rest of the movie.

Not to worry, I thoroughly enjoyed all the rest of the reasons that we ladies had chosen to spend our afternoon there, but I took so much more than a rain of dollar bills from that movie. At another point this same character spoke with another about how they were healers in a way, and I couldn’t agree more. Attention, passion, love, joy, those are all healing to the body and the soul. These characters were talking about living out their passion, really embracing it. That alone radiates its own nourishing energy. Add to that that their passion is to offer women, singly and in groups, dedicated attention if only for the length of a song. And round it out with the fact that they are holding space for people to celebrated their authentic selves. Yes, without a doubt in my mind, I put that in the healing category.

Now, taking into account that possibility, if healers and healing can be found in a movie about road tripping strippers, can they not be found in everything? What other parts of your life, you world, need to adjust their description to include healer, healing, or healing space? Just in my immediate vicinity I see a journal, a snuggly blanket, a cup of coffee and a chair by the window that need to update their resume. Take a few minutes to let some things in your life expand their potential and your world will feeling so much better.

PS. I didn't have an image from the new movie so I grabbed my copy of the first Magic Mike. It has an amazing secret on the blu-ray: some kind and wonderful genius pulled all the dance numbers together in one piece in the special features, so if you have no desire to follow the storyline you can still watch the dance.

Clarity & Synchronicity

7/2/2015

It is 9:30 in the morning and this beautiful July day and already I can hear fireworks. It is only whistles and pops right now, but I have no doubt that it will not take long to escalate. I do love the light show, especially because when I was growing up they weren’t legal without a permit for a show, so I almost never got to see them.

Exploding showers of light. That is often what I picture when I am stuck with moments of clarity. I usually write as fast as I can in those times while I can still see the lights in the sky. Then there are those moments of absolute synchronicity. The kind where the fireworks of understanding just keep firing off until the light of dawn glows over the horizon.

I know I can always use more of both, and that is my wish for you too. So my intention this month is to send energy to each and everyone on this planet to find clarity and synchronicity in their lives. This month and always.

If you feel inspired, please join me in sending this intention as well as sending love, healing and joy to those who are adding their words below. Blessings to you. Namaste.

A Bee-Utiful Month

6/29/2015

It has been just a beautiful month. Some challenges, to be sure, but the amazing has far out distanced them. Earlier this month I discovered that the ‘weeds’ around my bird feeder that I had been leaving as shelter and nibbles for the creatures there were actually sunflowers. They are one of my most favorite flowers in the world! It was truly a gift from the birds, as it was their cast off seed that had planted them.

It was like a big hug from Mother Earth, the Fairies and my new winged friends all in one. Only one has shown its bright and happy face, but more are coming, that is very clear.

This morning as I glanced out over my garden I saw that two bumble bees had found that single sunflower and were happily doing their little bee dance around it. I was especially excited because I have barely seen any bumble bees at all here. Even more so because I have been sending them healing energy this month. I knelt beside the flower to take a few photos and to send them love in person. One was startled away as I approached but the other paused its quest and accepted the energy I was sending. I thanked him for all that he and his family do and he un paused and went back to his circling in the pollen.

I am so thrilled to wrap up this month of healing intention and love for the beautiful world around me with this stunning feedback from the recipients. I hope you had a magnificent month too.

Bee aware

6/19/2015

With summer heating up to the triple digits here, I am not enjoying my garden as much as I would like. From my window, though, I can see that the bees and other wonderful winged things are enjoying it for me. My last home was in a more temperate climate and I had many more plants, bushes, flowers and every other thing that the pollinators could possibly want.

The change to the heat and clay of Georgia was difficult in terms of my relationship with Mother Nature. I admit, I took for granted all the wonders of that last home with its epic growth rate and its sheer abundance. Now I am making up for it with bird feeders, raised garden beds and rising early to water all the lovelies before the heat of the day. I am also spending time and intention to send healing and love to the Earth, and growing things and other living beings. I often make it a priority to send special attention and healing to the bees. My father-in-law is a bee keeper and through him, as well as the media, I have been able to keep up on their decline. So this month I would like to invite you to join me in sending special attention to the pollinators that are so intrinsic in our survival.

I also invite you to comment with that which you would like showered with love, light and joy. After you post, please take a moment to set an intention of the highest good to reach all those who have joined you in posting here. Many blessings to you and yours. Namaste.

Just for today...

11/17/2014

I love Reiki! How can you not love anything whose principles are;
Just for today I will let go of anger.
Just for today I will let go of worry.
Just for today I will count my blessings.
Just for today I will do my work honestly.
Just for today I will be kind to every living creature.
Pretty much everything has the potential to be daunting, but if it is just for today, you can do anything.

If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about it, I’m happy to gush about it for a few more minutes. Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that I have been practicing for over a decade. It is defined as spiritually guided life energy but there is no belief system attached to it so anyone can receive a Reiki energy session or attunement.

It works with the body’s energies using the same concept of a body’s subtle energy field being import to its health as the principles of acupuncture and Ayurvedic medicine. It is not a replacement for medical treatment, but a wonderful compliment, and is found in many hospitals and clinics.

It is traditionally delivered while you relax in comfortable clothing via a series of hand positions. However, with me, you have the option of combining it with massage for a doubly relaxing session. Whether you get it with a massage or not, my clients most often report it as feeling warm and tingly.

If you would like a more independent opinion and in depth write up check out the medical section of the free dictionary.

There, now that the dictionary has taken on the technical side I can get back to gushing about the things that make me happy about it. In fact, I’m going to grab a section from my old Reiki website that I built on a defunct server, because I’m just as amazed with it today as I was in 2002 when I took my first class.

Reiki is simply positive energy, used for centuries to promote healing in the body. It is recognized by the American Holistic Nursing Association as an accepted form of treatment. However, using it to simply heal the body is limiting it.

Reiki can do everything from promote plant growth to improve the vibration of a situation. When it comes to personal development you will often hear that you need to release limiting beliefs or work through blockages. These blockages are in your energy and Reiki is ideally suited to clear them. When you hold an intention or a goal while receiving a Reiki session it is a powerful combination to be utilized in the manifestation of your dreams. Reiki has so much more power than we give it credit for because we have so much more power than we give ourselves credit for. Once you realize the applications are limitless you can start living the best possible life.

That was then, now I am even more about helping you find energy and empowerment. I’ve rolled in my life coaching, sprinkled in a little massage and maybe a sparkle of fairy dust. I will start offering Reiki classes next month, but you can book a treatment today.

Light and Love to you! Have a wonderful evening.

You deserve a massage.

11/15/2014

Do I really need to tell you why you need a massage? You are here already; you probably have a pretty good idea. But maybe you need to tell someone else, or maybe you are a certain stubborn neighbor of mine, so I’ll be a dear and help you out.

Massage is a complimentary therapy. That means, I will never tell you not to see a doctor, but that it can be used along with other treatments to enhance your results. It is a pain reliever, sure, you may not believe me in that brief instant when I am working on your knots, but in general it releases endorphins, which are natural pain relieving chemicals in the brain, as well as reduces muscle tension.

While we are on brain chemicals, it also increases the level of serotonin. That’s the one that helps with depression and anxiety. So all that relaxation is not only good for your body, but your head and ultimately your well-being. While its boosting the good chemicals it is lowering the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

It also gets the blood flowing. The improved circulation does amazing things for your muscles, organs and skin, like healing muscles, improving organ function, and reducing scar tissue and stretchmarks. Plus all that wonderful relaxation slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure.

And blood isn’t the only thing that is getting a circulation tune up. Your lymphatic system gets a boost in its flow too, and it doesn’t have its own pump like the blood does, so it will doubly thank you. Your immune system gets a boost while you are stimulating the lymphatic system because it helps your body rid itself of toxins and pathogens. Massage also helps boost the cells that are your immune’s systems first line of defense. That is one of the reason’s it is a staple in the care of everyone from newborns to cancer patients.

Just because it puts on its cape to fight the big villains like depression and cancer, doesn’t mean its too good to help with the day to day necessities like your urinary and digestive systems. It can also help balance sugar levels in diabetics and aid in weight gain for premature babies. There is even a small study showing that it helps with PMS symptoms. Bring some dark chocolate with you to share for good measure. One of my favorite massage teachers would regularly show up to class in a cape to illustrate the assorted super powers of the massage therapist. She also managed to illustrate many classes with lessons from Harry Potter, oh how I loved that woman!

When you do all the above your body rewards you with its best reward system: better sleep. Massage increases delta waves, those are the ones linked with deep sleep. Now if only I knew someone who had trouble sleeping. Don’t take my word for it, I wasn’t the only one taught these amazing health secrets. If you Google the benefits of massage you fill find all of this and more. You don’t have to see me, but you really should see someone.

So how often should you get this circulation boosting, detoxing, relaxing activity of happiness? My massage teachers more than a decade ago said every day. I don’t currently have appointments open every day, but the most common compromise between my time and your wallet is weekly or monthly. If you have pain, get seen more frequently and if you are doing maintenance still get a massage at least once a month for good health. Although if you have to skip a month or two there is plenty of research showing that some of the benefits of massage last up to a year. Ignore those, you don’t want to wait a year between massages.

Your body will thank you even more if you do an activity every day that promotes circulation and stretching, like yoga. Now, take a deep breath, pick up the phone and get on someone’s schedule right now. Enjoy!

Chasing the dream

10/28/2014

You see it all the time, memes about following your heart and chasing your dreams. You smile, you think about it for a moment and then you go about your day, ignoring that beam of light shining on your happy place and letting it accumulate dust and clutter.

I’d like to think I am a little more tuned in than most at going after my dreams, I am a life coach after all. Yet, there has been one little corner of my dream board that I wasn’t really going after. For years now I have wanted to create a retreat. Someplace for likeminded people to come together for sharing, healing, education, coaching, rejuvenation and more. The drawbacks ran from the obvious, that I am not in possession of a few hundred acres of forest land in the mountains; to the common ones that I have run into in my life and coaching; that once the retreat weekend is over you go home and lose your steam and settle back into your old habits.

Recently, I took a few hours for myself, asked for some guidance and mind mapped like crazy. I took all my notes, inspirations, plans and dreams and let them swirl in my mind then burst out onto the paper. The result is this that you see before you. A transformational community with a small membership fee to inspire you to be committed while it serves you and to withdraw when it no longer does. You can check out the full offerings here. My vision is to provide support, energy work, guidance, and a tribe of likeminded individuals and a positive space where you can stand in your truth and grow. Best of all, daily access, weekly energy sessions and new monthly content will be there to keep you engaged and energized in your journey.

This is my time for this dream, it has been years in the making, yet all that time I was accumulating lessons and experiences that I can share with you. Over the past decade I’ve been a Massage Therapist, Reiki Master, Life Coach, Leader and Mom. All the things I explored for my clients and myself in that time has accumulated and often repeated. I learned that people go through similar transformations as they awaken to their purpose and joy in life. While I have taken more courses than I can count, I also had to DIY together many a course because what I was looking for was scattered over several books and other sources. I have gotten even better at it over the past year and a half as a homeschooling mom.

Whether you are just looking for one piece of it, like a weekly healing or a circle of accepting people, or you are excited about the whole kit and caboodle, you will be welcomed and loved. This is your time to grow, embrace who you are, awaken to new possibilities and discover your true potential. I can’t wait to meet you on your journey!

All photos, writing and other content are copyrighted property of Christy Joy Higby, 2015

Testimonials

Working with Christy is such a delight! Christy offers amazing perspective and insight that helped me start my much awaited journey with confidence and clarity. I'm excited for her own journey to help so many others in great ways! Thank you so much Christy!!

-Darling Castaneda
Author of Redefining Perfection

Having my own business has always been a dream of mine but I had remained hesitant to take that first step. With so many interests, which one did I want to direct my focus towards to turn into a career? Christy helped me realize my strengths, passion, and purpose. She took away my fear of entrepreneurship by breaking down what seemed like a large and daunting undertaking into small obtainable goals.

After each session with Christy I feel renewed with positive energy and motivated to take the next step towards a more fulfilling and purposeful life.

-M. Mosher

Christy Higby has made such a difference in my life over the last year and a half. I met Christy as I was beginning a Women In Networking (WIN)group. After the first meeting, I saw Christy’s leadership potential, her drive, enthusiasm, and overflowing willingness to help others and I asked her to join me as the co-coordinator for WIN. Christy took on a lot of the group’s responsibilities while building her business and raising a two year old at the time.

I was and still am so in awe of everything that Christy accomplishes with her life. Christy has introduced me to the wonderful world of Reiki and massage as she has a degree in both. Her positive energy attracts so many people to her and drive her to success. Christy has worked alongside of myself and others to help develop us as leaders in our direct sales businesses. She is there when you need a helping hand and always has a wealth of resources at her fingertips to share.

Christy Higby is an excellent life coach and one I am very thankful for. She has changed my business and in turn, my personal life. If you are looking to take things to the next level in your life, than you want Christy Higby as your life coach and mentor. You will be glad you made the choice!

Michele Drivas

Third Grade Teacher and It Works Distributor