Self Care Tip for Today: Be impeccable with your words...towards yourself and towards others.

Be kind and loving towards YOUrself.

The Four Agreements, a best selling book written by don Miguel Ruiz, four principles are outlined to practice in order to create love and happiness in your life. Adopting and committing to these agreements is simple. Actually living and keeping these Four Agreements can be one of the hardest things you will ever do. It can also be one of the most life changing things you will ever do.

As you practice living these four practices your life will dramatically change. In the beginning these new habits will be challenging and you will lapse countless times. With practice these agreements become integrated into your being and every area of your life and become easy habits to keep.

http://www.toltecspirit.com/

FEAR & PLAYING SMALL

FEAR is presenting everywhere. It's in our world, in our communities, in our relationships, in our lives. Feels a bit like being in a 'free fall'. No control. No GPS. No light at the end of the tunnel.

Fear freezes me in my tracks. Fear dims my light. Fear makes me play small.

And that fear is mirrored back to me everywhere.

Today I choose differently. I SURRENDER. I choose to use my fear as a reminder to breathe and to shift into my heart space, and to shine my bright light. I choose to play BIG. It's who I am. It's who God intended me to be. Brilliant. Gorgeous. Talented. Fabulous.

It's who God intended YOU to be TOO!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Nelson Mandela (Marianne Anderson)

Be well, Shine brightly!

What 'INSPIRES' you?

This looks like a simple enough question but I have had many clients simply say, "Huh? What do you mean by 'inspire' ?"

The word 'inspire' has its root in the word 'spirit'.

Many of the great philosophers speak to this concept in stating that one must be 'in spirit' to be 'inspired'. Genius, creativity, innovation...all connect with inspiration first.

What does 'spirit' mean and how do we get 'in spirit'?

'Spirit' is the essence of you. It's what makes you, Y O U, unique and different from everyone else. What inspires you and connects you to the essence of you---your soul or your spirit---is unique to you.

Think about what makes you feel happy? Joy-filled? Elated? Giddy? What activity have you been involved with and have completely lost track of time?

It may be an activity, or a person, or being immersed in nature or whatever you feel feeds your soul. THAT's being 'in spirit' and THAT leads to inspiration, innovation and genius!

Connect with spirit everyday for total wellness in body, mind & spirit.

Be well.

Dive Deeper

What exactly does the 'Dark Night of the Soul' mean? I had heard this phrase from other who were experiencing a particularly difficult or challenging time in their lives with things not lining up the way that they had planned; a challenging job market; financial woes; relationship troubles; health issues. Fear. Doubt. Anger. Frustration. Not a comfortable place to be and certainly not a comfortable place to stay!

Feeling many of these same feelings myself in this time of 'active waiting', I wondered, "Am I experiencing this 'Dark Night of the Soul'?" and if I am, what does that mean? I started to dig deeper and found some comforting information from one of my favorite authors, Sue Monk Kidd:

"Before new life can grow and emerge, darkness is a crucial step to the process---a caterpillar in the chrysalis; a seed in the ground; a child in the womb; True Self in the soul.

To hurry this process along or to 'pop out' of it too quickly or to eliminate this crucial step of darkness in any of these scenarios results in a form of 'caterpillar soup', and not the intended butterfly at all. The darkness, or the incubation, creates the conditions necessary for development and growth.

Entering this darkness is not easy. It's scary and it feels lonely. And having the courage to stay with this darkness and to allow the incubation and to not 'pop out' early to be more comfortable is even more challenging.

But rather to know that I am 'incubating'---and to know that this is a critical part of my process of becoming my True Self ---is allowing me to let go and surrender to the butterfly that is 'in progress'.

Be well.

Floating

I have had the great good fortune of being truly blessed with many soul sisters on this journey. They fill me up, inspire me and remind me of my truth. I was talking with one of my dear soul sisters from Santa Fe, New Mexico earlier today. We were commenting on this period of time in our journey which we call the 'waiting'...and that we feel ready for 'what ever is next'. In talking with her about her 'work' to actively wait, I am reminded again of my own work. We are not in 'control' of our destiny at all. This is an illusion. We think and we DO rather then simply 'Be'. This thinking and doing is the control or the resistance we create which stops our ability to receive the abundance that is waiting for each of us. The ego, not the Higher Self---thinks we are 'driving'; thinks that we are 'in control'; thinks we know best. Its not in the swimming but in the floating! We think when we stop swimming, that we will sink. But actually we will float. And this excludes the brilliance and power of Universal flow. This eliminates unconditional love for ourselves.

We agreed to try an experiment, a different way of BEING for both of us this week, starting with compassion and unconditional love towards oneself first. We agreed to be 'Compassion Partners' for the next 5 days. We will practice sliding into 'heart' energy several times daily voluntarily and certainly during times of stress, fear or doubt.

How? As we know any skill takes practice, :

• Take a deep belly breath (pranayamic breath) in through the nose and let it out through the nose.
• As you breath in, softly close your eyes and 'look' down (inside) towards your heart space(this may feel warm or like butterflies. Love.)
• Open your eyes when you're ready.

That is sliding into the 'gap'; connecting with Source, Universal energy, Higher Self, the infinite power of you, Oneness, God.

Letting go of the 'doing' and spending time in the 'BEING' might make all of the difference in the world for you and will be reciprocated to you as love, compassion and peace. Let go and float!

Be well.

Detachment

For those of you who have been following my blog, you know that I have been in a space of "active waiting", a term coined by Sue Monk Kidd's in her book, " When the Heart Waits". The term refers to the time in our lives that requires no action, but rather in-action or 'BE-ing'. This can feel passive, as if one is doing nothing. For someone like myself, who's middle name is action, this has been a very challenging time indeed. Kidd points out that the waiting is the work, and I am living testament to that statement! But the reality is that I had no other choice. Nothing was lining up; nothing was fitting; nothing was happening. My 'driving skills' had failed me. I had lost control. There was nothing else to do but wait. And so I waited and prayed. And found I had only God to trust; that He had a better plan for me.

During the waiting period, I had the great good fortune of a 10+ day trip to New England where I spent quality & quantity time with many of my favorite people, who welcomed me with opened arms! I actually had more invitations then I had days to spend! I spent barefoot days on many beaches, took long walks, slept late, did jigsaw puzzles, ate ice cream, took in a movie and basked in the unconditional love of family & friends.

As I returned home, I couldn't quite remember what all of my 'waiting' was about. And realized that I have been in a perpetual state of waiting the better part of my life. I have found myself asking, "What exactly have I been waiting for?"

Life feels really rich right now, in this minute with four beautiful healthy children who love and (generally) respect me, many friends who accept me and love me exactly as I am, food in my belly and clothes on my back, a strong relationship with God and a few dollars in my wallet. Perfect? No. But darn close!

I implore you to be with your 'waiting' when it comes---because it will come---without taking the easy exit; the quick fix. Just be with the waiting. It's when God allows your soul to grow up.

Be well.

Detox Your Way to Beauty...

Reading food labels and understanding the ingredients of foods that you are putting into your body make a huge difference in your life. And as always, no packaging is the best packaging: Out of the (organic) ground and onto your plate.

What about your skin? Its your largest organ. Although it does not actually breathe, it does detoxify or toxify the body with the products that you choose to put on it! Check out the ingredients of any product in your beauty arsenal at:

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

The Environmental Working Group gives you free information about the toxicity level of most products that you may use every day. Lets take a look at an old favorite:

Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen: "Smells good, its approved for use with babies--must be safe!"

...ITS A TOXIC NIGHTMARE! RATED A 7 on a scale of 0-10 (10 being highest hazard)

The info is free. Its easy. You can access the website on your blackberry BEFORE you buy.

Choose total wellness.

Choose to surround yourself with non-toxic food, products & people. Be well, be sustainable, be in spirit.