How exactly did photography save my life?

Before photography entered my life, I was so caught up in walking a path that was not my own. It was the result of living up to certain expectations that was placed on me by others and that I placed on myself which was not based on the truth of who I was. I was on a path that I thought would bring me happiness and “success” by enduring 6 years of advanced education so that I could get a job in cubicle nation.  The emptiness I felt inside at the end of each day was too hard to bear.

I had always enjoyed taking pictures in my spare time. I liked the feeling it gave me of soulful satisfaction and depth to an otherwise one-dimensional world. I held the camera in my hand; felt it’s weight and then as if by magic it summoned something wonderful in my heart & mind.

I lifted the camera to my eye and suddenly the world started to take shape. My imagination saw the world through the camera’s viewfinder. A bird taking flight, two dogs kissing, a butterfly perched on a flower, a long windy road that led to the unknown. Is this what my heart saw? And if so, how beautiful that I saw it? I somehow became a part of the scene in a photo. I felt actively connected to the world that was taking place right in front of me. It went from a vision in my mind to being captured in a photo and just like that my pointer finger became the executor of my hearts imagination.

Photography gave me life that I didn’t know I needed; it acted as a direct channel to my heart. I discovered myself and the truth of who I am in a photograph.

My life had truly begun. Photography reacquainted me with my heart and for that I will forever be grateful. Photography saved my life.

With Love & Light,

Ariane

Reiki is one of those things where you just have to see for yourself because everyone has a different experience from it.

I'm happy to share this recent interview I did with Reiki Master Wen-Chi! Here she breaks down the meaning of Reiki and why it is so effective. Even in mainstream healthcare facilities.  Take a look at what she had to say!

First a little bit about Wen-Chi:

Wen-Chi Chen is a practitioner in Traditional Chinese Medicine (since 2001), Reiki Master / Teacher, also a visual artist.  She learned Reiki from Hyakuten Inamoto sensei, the founder of “Komyo Reiki Kai”, which presents Reiki as it was understood and commonly practiced in the 1930’s in Japan.

For over a decade, Wen has utilized many energy healing tools to help people release tension, enhance creativity, achieve personal well-being and spiritual growth.

Ariane Hunter: Please describe in your own words, what is Reiki?

Wen-Chi Chen: Reiki is a combination of two Japanese words rei, or “miraculous” “transcendental” “sacred”, and ki, or “life force/energy of the universe” .

Reiki healing art is a “laying-on of hands” healing technique that uses the vibrations of love and harmony of universal life force to heal, balancing the subtle energies within our bodies. Reiki addresses physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances. The Reiki practitioner serves as a vessel that supplies healing energies where they are most needed. Reiki energies flow out of the practitioner's body through the palms of the hands while they are touching the recipient's body or without touching.

AH: From what I understand about Reiki healing, one word that is used to describe the process is ‘attunement’ into the universal channel that facilitates a persons healing response.  Could you please elaborate on this?

WC:  Anyone can be initiated into Reiki Ryoho and become a Reiki practitioner to heal themselves and others. This is done by means of a ritual called "Reiju" or "attunement." 

A Reiki attunement is the process by which a person receives the ability to give Reiki treatments.  Attunements are what separate Reiki from other forms of healing; the Attunement ceremony replaces the need for extensive training by opening you up as a channel for the healing energy of Reiki. Once a person is Attuned, they can heal themselves and those around them. This power never leaves you once you are a channel for Reiki energy, you are connected for life.

 AH: We have seen hospitals and healthcare facilities adopting the practice of Reiki for the treatment of their patients.  What type of healing effects can Reiki have on treating physical and emotional pains?

WC: At hospitals and clinics across America Reiki has been gaining acceptance as a meaningful and cost-effective way to improve patient care. There are close to 200 hospitals in the United States where Reiki is offered as a standard service to patients. Reiki is quickly becoming a favorite among alternative health care.

Reiki sessions cause patients to heal faster with less pain, Reiki accelerates recovery from surgery, improves mental attitude and reduces the negative effects of medication and other medical procedures.  It is very useful for making people who are extremely stressed feel calm.

AH: For those of us who may not have experienced a Reiki session before, would you please describe your personal experiences with it as a practitioner who has given and received Reiki healing?

WC: Few years ago when I received my first Reiki healing, I experienced a major shift physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  For the first time in my life, I felt compassion, freedom, happiness, inner peace, and love for myself. My life has since completely changed, thanks to Reiki. I decided I wanted to be able to give others that same feeling of well being and since then I became a Reiki practitioner and teacher.

I have also seen amazing changes in people that have come to me for Reiki treatments or classes. Many felt that their attitude has become so much more positive and experienced an inner strength that they never knew they had before.

People almost always told me how peaceful and relaxed they felt after Reiki healing. Many became free from all pain after years of physically and emotionally illness.

AH: What about this healing technique makes it so effective? And what changes could one experience as a result of receiving a Reiki session?

WC: Reiki healing is so effective and powerful because it is not from the practitioner but comes through the practitioner from the energy of the universe (or higher wisdom / higher power).  Reiki knows where to go within one’s energy field to heal.

It activates the inner healer in both the giver and the receiver.

Reiki triggers our own self-healing abilities, and improves and maintains health, working on all levels, body, mind, emotions, and spirit, bringing us to heal our whole selves. The energy is coming from a transcendental part of ourselves that is connected to an infinite supply of healing energy, therefore, each one of us will experience different results and changes according to one’s individual needs.

AH: If one would like more information on receiving a Reiki session or learning more about it, how can we get in touch with you?

I’d be more than happy to share Reiki healing and information with you. This Sunday, April 29th I am having an Intensive Reiki Class
＊You will learn a basic knowledge about Reiki and a basic hands on healing art.
＊You'll be initiated into Reiki by means of "Reiju" or "attunement" that will empower you to be a Reiki channel.
＊From this time on, Reiki energy will flow throughout your hands and do a fine job of healing. It means YOU are now a Reiki practitioner (healer) for the rest of your life.
＊This class is for beginners as well as experienced Reiki Practitioners who are serious in exploring to learn Japanese Reiki as it was taught in 1930s.

TO LEARN MORE & REGISTER, VISIT: http://reikibywen.eventbrite.com/

Email:   wenwellness@gmail.com | Visit my website:  www.WenWellness.com

Tel:  212-460-8686  /  917-304-3660

My heart hurts when I see us hurt in this way. I want so much to hold a mirror up in front of you and show you what I see. A strong unique radiance of who you are; an amazing human being. 

I know what it feels like to be bought and sold into a dream that is not your own. I know what it feels like to be out of touch or disconnected from that place deep within you that wants something more than what you’ve been settling for. And most of all, I know what the voice of fear sounds like and the paralyzing hold it can have over you. This is the pain I struggled with for years and years. Even today that pain still presents itself. But I must say that over the years that pain has gotten smaller and in some instances unrecognizable. It is unrecognizable, because as the pain melts away, I am beginning to see myself without the identity of pain and thus, the real me. 

Pain is an inevitable part of the journey, but suffering is not. We have a choice, everyday and in every moment. For some of us it is not until that pain becomes so unbearable that we take the risk of flying than to keep sinking deeper and deeper into the comfort of our own pain. I cannot promise you that you will not fall or never experience pain again. But what I can promise, it will reveal the identity of who you truly are. A strong beautiful radiant human being who is capable of transcending all pain into love.

With Love & Light,

Ariane

What are we really looking for when we search for something we believe can ‘fix’ us? Who do we really want to be? What do we really want to have or feel?  Are we looking for a quick fix to relieve our pain or is it something deeper than that? 

Your purpose changes all the time throughout the course of a day and your entire lifetime.  It all boils down to what you are doing in the moment; this very moment. Your life purpose consists of tiny moments that come together to create something Great.  Anything you do, do it with care, do it with love and attention, and do it with full Presence.

So after you click off of this post, what will your purpose be…?

See Beauty…

Ariane

I had the awesome pleasure of working with him just recently to do his portfolio shots.  During the shoot, I got to know a little bit more about Brendan and what motivates him as an actor.  It was so wonderful to hear him speak of his craft.

On the day of his shoot, a windy yet sunny afternoon, here is what we came up with!

Thanks Brendan for sharing your passion for acting with me.  I wish you nothing but the best in your journey!

See Beauty...

Ariane

So what has kept me away for so long? Well, I promise it wasn’t because I ran out of things to say.  No, not at all. It’s because I’ve fallen victim to the thing that creeps into our lives and has no mercy: busyness.

You’ve been there before, right? Suddenly your conversations with others start sounding the same way; “oh, I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you, I was so busy” or “I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had time to do that”. Whenever someone would ask me simply, “how are you?”, my answer was always, “busy”.  I started to see this as a problem. Really? Is that the one thing I want people to know about me, is that I am really busy? 

We all have busy lives, myself included but to what point does that busyness consume us to the point that we thrive on it leading us to blot out the things that really matter to us?  

In the thick of being this “busy” lately I am learning to reassess some things in my life.  The thing that I like to ask myself when I am caught in the whirlwind of busyness is, “Who am I being in this particular situation?” and “Is what I’m doing in alignment with what I want for my life?” 

I can give you one example of this of how busyness has been showing up in my life lately.  Typically my days consist of hours dedicated to life coaching, photography, work projects, yoga, meetings, events.  I can honestly answer my original questions “who am I being in this particular situation?” and “is what I’m doing in alignment with what I want in my life?” with confidence knowing that I am being the person I want to be in these instances and it feels closely aligned with what I want in my life.  The areas of my life where I don’t feel so confidently about my answers are when I've neglected myself for the sake of something or someone else. If I’m saying yes, when I should be saying no or otherwise doing or not doing something for the wrong reasons. And we all know the icky feeling that comes from that.  So while there are so much we want to do in our lives, sometimes all it takes is a quick check-in to see what areas need to be reassessed to make room room for what we really want to do.  No easy task but really worthwhile to learn how to do.

Life takes you in an assortment of directions; sometimes we just can’t help that. But what we can do is exercise our power of choice and check in with ourselves by asking these two questions:

1. Who am I being in this particular situation?
2. Is what I’m doing in alignment with what I want in my life?

Check in with yourself by answering these questions whenever you feel overwhelmed and tugged in a hundred different directions.  

How has busyness been showing up in your life?

See Beauty...

Ariane 

The journey to 30-year-old-Ari started when I moved to New York City and cruised full speed ahead when I discovered photography and now, coaching.  These three things changed my life in a very specific way. It’s almost mysterious the way all of this was conceived.  Nowadays, instead of sleeping till the afternoon, rolling out of bed and not having a clue of what do to with myself, my days look a little different.  I’m waking up at 6:30 in the mornings, drinking coffee, which I never did, and writing in my journal.  Walking down the street is no longer a simple act as I stop at least three times to photograph something with amazing light because I just can't pass up the shot. Now turning a new corner as I immerse myself in the coaching world and annoy everyone around me as I try to coach them on everything from discovering their passion to what to fix for dinner.  Ahh it's the little joys of my life that keep me going. 

Now I’m not saying my life has now become this spectacularly exciting thrill filled with posies and pixie dust but it is interesting just to reflect back on the choices I’ve made that has brought out some pretty significant changes for me in my life.  And it feels good to say those choices helped me to become who I am today. Life feels pretty darn good right about now.

All of this makes me wonder what else life has in store for me.  Motherhood? Marriage? World notoriety?  Heh, heh, heh.  A girl can dream can’t she?  Hmm maybe some day….

What has all of this taught me? That life is a big mystery; a mystery to everyone who walks its path. Enjoy the mystery and don’t fear the unknown.  Learn to love it and embrace it. That is part of the thrill of living.  A thrilling life is waiting for you around every corner, all you have to do is turn into it.

Happy Friday!!

See Beauty...

Ariane

• Letting go of insecurities when my inner critic starts to take hold
• Knowing that I have something valuable to contribute to the world
• Let my voice be heard
• Stop believing my fears and start believing myself

That was only nine short months ago.  Since then, this is what playing big helped me to do:

• Created and organized the nationwide street portrait challenge event and awarded the winning photographer a free business coaching session
• Co-curated an inspirational personal growth book, The Inspired Way
• Become clear on my calling to help others through coaching

Why am I telling you this? Because I believe in growth and I believe in action.  There cannot be one without the other.  Participating in the Playing Big program allowed me to do both.  Through inner work on myself and being a part of a dynamic group of like-minded women, I’ve gained the tools to make a profound transformation in my personal and professional life.

I would like to pass this amazing opportunity along to you.  To join in this program and discover what me and so many others have: the opportunity to play big in our own lives.

Registration is now open for the program.  I invite you to take a peek at what it’s all about.  Tara Mohr, the creator and leader of the program breaks it down quite nicely and answers all of your questions.  And if you still want to know more, I’m more than happy to answer any lingering questions you might have.  As a past participant in the program, I can share with you my experiences with the program first hand.

Is 2012 is your year to Play Big?

See Beauty…

Ariane