Live What You Know

Waking up is more than it seems. You KNOW more than you've ever been "taught"! You chose to be here now. Make yourTRUEself proud!

Tag: awakening

November 29, 2015

Shift Happens

what you do

This quote has been on my mind sporadically since I came across it. It struck something deep in me when I first saw it; since then, I have continued to let it roll around in my head and take on various meanings and inspire a variety of learning opportunities.

There are several ways to look at it. It can be interpreted in so many ways, depending on our state of mind when we see it, hear it or think about it. Here are just few things that may occur to us:

  • At a glance it can evoke the feeling that lots of people say a lot of stuff that they don’t exactly live up to or in alignment with. Always too easy to see what others are getting wrong; feels much better to see what is lovable about them.
  • It can also make one wonder about their own actions and if we ourselves are truly living what we speak about or living aligned with what we value most, etc.
  • It can simply beg the question, “I know that is the best thing for me, why am I not doing that?”
  • The old, “Actions speak louder than words,” can also seem the easy comparison or conclusion.
  • Considering how we listen to others occurs to me as well…can I hear what isn’t being said or in some cases ignore what is being said and look at the actions? Can I look past actions or directly at them and hear or feel what is really being said at the deepest level?

If we can take it up a notch, through a lens of deeper awareness, we may look at these words through this perspective:

  • We may consider our deepest intuition and what makes us do the things we do, say the things we say, etc. To know that intuition well is to know the Miracle of Life. It knows what It is doing. Walking with our Divine Intuition is so much more relaxing (among other great and meaningful things) than walking with the smaller version of us that remains wrapped in fears and judgment.
  • By leaning back and looking at the many versions of “me” we have known over our lifetime so far, we can ponder the changes and the versions we have seemed to be throughout the years. We may cringe at our younger years or hopefully just smile and love ourselves with gratitude for becoming more of the person/spirit we are opening to. We can awaken to the Divine Knowing of who and what we truly are.
  • The shift happens…what we do, how we behave and who we are changes over time…we only need Live what Life would have us Know…it is always teaching us, guiding us and Loving us. The quote above can gently remind us to Live What We Know.

Obviously, these thirteen words strung together by Emerson can lead us to consider a myriad of possible meanings; some inspiring, some disappointing. I think the key to getting the most out of something like this and just about anything we ever encounter is to look within and figure out what it means for us. We can observe how we choose to live and how that shift begins to show up in our daily lives and the things we spend our time doing.

When we look at these words and apply them to what we think we see on the outside or in others, we may get stuck in painful memories or recall past experiences that can make us pretend to live in a world without enough Love. We must find the courage to look within and let these words comfort us in the moment of Life we are currently in as we do our best to BE and Live more of who and what we really are.

On a personal note, I’ve been somewhere in the shift for many years. I now know that not everyone likes to see change or the beauty of fresh unfamiliarity in lifelong relationships or even newer ones. Our journey towards our truest self that is a lifeline for us is not always seen as positive by everyone. Sometimes others just cannot see us. Misunderstanding and the painful feeling of not truly being seen as we grow can be tough. Sometimes we have setbacks or things happen that can make it seem as though we aren’t moving far enough along the path. The pain can block us or clog our flow if we let it seem real for too long. Those setbacks are blessings. They are the blessings that awaken us to the truest part of Life…the One we are meant to Live. We must remember that we are just where we are meant to be in Life and at the perfect place to Open up and allow abundant Blessings for All to flow through us.

Today, I pray to see recent suffering as a blessing and hold firm to the knowing of who I Am. I am reminded that although there have been painful repetitive experiences that I have known since childhood, I am not bound by that pain and continual misunderstanding. I can release the guilt that I have always felt since childhood and set it free knowing it does not serve me or anyone or anything around me that I may bless without it. Page 241 of A Course In Miracles says, “…it is only your guiltlessness that can protect you.”

May we all love our choices and see the shift in our lives today. May what we do speak of Love for ourselves as well as for others. May we know deeply that our intentions are pure and we are led by the Divine in Us. May we have compassion for others’ reactions to our choices without taking those reactions personally. May we unclog the flow of Life by surrendering and releasing guilt and see only the Oneness and Beauty that Life is beyond all the mirages caused by fear. May we be thankful and filled with gratitude for All.

Sending you Love and Joy!

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October 26, 2015

Wholeheartedly Living Your Dreams — While Fearlessly Co-Creating Even More

dream big and may you

I adore the view from my morning reading chair!

I am so grateful for the ritual that begins the gift called today each weekday in our house. On this day, I felt the warm embrace of a loving universe as I read with my two little ones reading nearby. So good for the soul…my babies happily enjoying literature as a daily habit, my puppy content in my lap, a sweet phone call from my dear husband wishing me a happy day right in the middle of the experience and so many great lessons in literature for me to devour and contemplate. There I sit with a heart full of gratitude as I thoroughly enjoy every minute of it.

The words, images and messages on my chosen cups this day provide a wonderful balanced blessing. I love dreaming big. I have many more things I can easily see myself doing and truly feel called to accomplish in the years to come. Sometimes I get impatient with myself and dream of doing more now or feeling as though I must push harder to make things happen sooner. But, the truth about dreams is that I am already living many big ones now. I must feel what is around me now as deeply as I feel the urge to lay the foundation to create future dreams to come.

A morning reading ritual doesn’t just happen, it is the fruit of many of my dreams that have already come true. Some dreams I had since I was a little girl and some I didn’t even know I wanted until I was in the middle of creating them in unknown territories completely out of my comfort zone. Co-creating these so-called circumstances I find myself in now was no coincidence; they didn’t just happen to me. We can always look around us and be sure that whatever Life we see and feel we are living—we made it so. We create our reality. From the largest to the tiniest detail, we co-created it all and we decide how long we keep the dream alive and/or when we create new ones…big and small. We truly live all that we know and can only dream up that which we truly believe and are ready to receive.

So, the other day I was making the kids’ sandwiches while they finished their morning studies. I had just completed another module in the course I’m taking about creating a conscious business or igniting my visionary ignition switch. All the wonderful information I had just been given about publishing, self-publishing, building a platform and much more was swirling around in my head. I am really enjoying the course and feeling very inspired by it. I also feel a bit pressured by it at times or in need of reminding myself that there is plenty of time and not to worry about it or let it stress me out (the course teachers do a great job of reminding us about this too). It is all wonderful information that will be there for me when I’m ready to use it. A good friend once shared a daily mantra she uses to calm herself. She simply says, “I have plenty of time. I have all the time I need.” I like this mantra. I’ve been pulling it out and using it again lately. Thank you Jennifer.

Anyway, I had a distinct moment while spreading Vegenaise on the kids’ sandwiches. I sort of snapped out of the swirling head stuff. It was interesting because I was truly inspired and feeling quite grateful for the discussion about my passions I had just enjoyed listening to. I know I am meant to hear this great information and I know it will bless me in many ways over the years to come as I navigate my journey through all the things I feel called to do. But, as I looked down at the kids’ four pieces of bread, it hit me how truly great it is to make their sandwiches. I was overtaken with gratitude that they were there in the next room and would enjoy lunchtime with me very soon. I loved thinking of our morning studies and the writing workshop we would do together in the afternoon.

It occurred to me that I could put lots of pressure on myself to get a platform built, get a brand going, figure out how I want to publish, find ways to reach more people, etc. and be sorry if I don’t balance it just right. I could spend the next few years really focusing on that and making it happen. It may keep me so busy that I forget to enjoy making the sandwiches. Then, in a few years when the kids may not be around as much, I could have all those things necessary to pursue my dreams, but I would really really miss making their sandwiches. I may long for the days when I used to do that if I’m not truly present and really indulge in it now. Being here now and somewhere else later is always the way. I just need to balance living the dream and creating the new ones. I have to believe it can be done. I can do it well in peace with Divine guidance and timing if I listen well from my heart. Not from my head.

I remembered with love the days when the kids were learning to write the alphabet. They would sit at the kitchen counter waiting for their sandwiches and I would write letters in mustard on their bread for them to guess. Oh, how that seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time. When was the last day we did that? How did it stop? Oh, how fun that was! They even asked for that recently and I think I was “too busy” to do it just then. Argh!

Anyway, there is no answer to the exact formula for following dreams. Our soul knows why we’re here and if we let our soul drive our life more than our head, it will work out just fine. All things can and do happen at the perfect time. Of course, balance, trust and listening to the Divine is the answer to everything. So, I finished up making lunch and allowed a space in my experience there in the kitchen where I felt thrilled by the memories of mustard letters, gratitude for the experience of making sandwiches the kids still love to eat with me on this day and comforted by the dreams that live and grow in my heart and the code of my soul each day to keep me inspired through many more versions of me and my day-to-day life to come.

The image above of Snoopy and Woodstock (or Wubberbock as my son called him for years and we still fondly say today) dreaming together is such a thing of beauty. Two unlikely friends, dreamed up and shared from one man’s imagination with so many…what a gift! I see love and acceptance shining all around them, blue skies and possibility everywhere, what a wonderful world this can be and so much more. I love how Snoopy and Wubberbock just go about their business doing what feels good to them at that moment in time. Perhaps that is where the balance finds us.

The beautiful words that held my coffee this day remind me of how our soul might advise us if it could gently remind us where we come from, who we are and why we are really here. May we feel the blessing of truly being here and feeling the miracle that it really is.

May we dream big…while we dwell in a state of awakened
realization of the dreams we’ve already created.
We can balance both.
Love will show us how!

Sending you love and joy on this day and all the days to come!

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October 10, 2015

Try New Things!

Try old things in new ways!
Let Life guide you!
Courageously go with It!

try new things

Familiar sayings and quotes we all know. May we experience them with open hearts and allow them to bless us in new ways today!

Over the years I’ve jumped head first into new things with no experience, ample reasons not to try, plenty of fear of whatever it was and a more than sufficient list of excuses if I had wanted to use them instead. At the same time (and not without years of seeking with heartfelt intention) I had a strong connection with my inner voice, a willingness to follow my heart wherever it may lead, an unending belief in miracles and a willingness to be open to whatever Life was showing me without labels, attachments or judgements. Of course, my awesome team at home (designed and born from blessings received with heartfelt intention) who believe in me fiercely and look at me with perspective that blesses me helps a great deal; they always provide unending amounts of acceptance, encouragement and support as they stretch out their open hands to walk with me through anything and in any direction. Their love and the way we approach Life together makes everything possible. I am so grateful!

Life is now pushing me towards going for bigger dreams. It is exciting and peaceful at the same time. It could easily be scary if I decided to look in the direction of fear. I’ve learned how to Listen to Life a bit more consistently and it feels good. These days, the thought-identified me or the one who believes the silly things our minds try to tell us sometimes, is in the driver’s seat much less often and for much shorter distances than it sometimes has been before. That doesn’t mean I always remember how to Listen the way my soul has been teaching me…just more often than yesterday…each yesterday, as they come. In my experience, it feels a bit different than I may have thought to Listen with a capital L as a regular practice. Maybe it’s personal for each of us, or maybe quite similar. I’ve had various ways of doing it over the years. Right now, it feels more impulsive than it used to. The deep knowing and just feeling something is right or meant for me is still there, it’s just that the decisions or right action come much faster. Maybe it’s just that the voices can’t get in there with scary stall tactics so much anymore. Who knows? This Listening to Life I’m talking about has much the same feel it had when I was first out on my own as a young adult and “knew” a lot less. Only now, it is coupled with an added depth and flavor of what it is like to get back to that and know how lucky you are and how right it feels to look at Life that way. It’s a lovely way to Live, to just Know that All will be well and feel that anything is possible, not because I’m fresh and fearless, but because I curiously crave the unfamiliar and have walked with fear in so many ways that the ridiculousness of it always brings me back to what I really Am…Love’s vessel.

Change is the only sure thing in Life. It can happen to us, or we can get in there and co-create the Change we are meant to. We can open to the world Life is trying to put before us. It is a delicate balance to let things be and to co-create what is meant or possible. Something may be whispering to you today. Some dot may connect for you that shows you how the Universe has been trying to point you towards something. You Know what you need to Know today. You only need Listen and courageously balance being guided and taking right action. You know what to Live more of today.

I’m trying lots of new things lately. I’ve shared about some of them here and will share even more soon. It is fun to see the countless connections, seen and unseen, that have occurred to create the change we are seeking, accepting or creating. We do not walk alone. We are so deeply connected to one another it is amazing. Those of us trying to Listen and Be guided are working together in wonderful ways. I love finding ways to support those who are facing fears and really pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and even those that are just excitedly and curiously following a feeling. When we do that for another, we do it for ourselves. The momentum of connected moments, experiences and possibilities open up in our Lives and we find ourselves vibrating at a higher frequency, having better conversations, sharing more than separating, Loving more than judging and much more…we find ourselves truly Living. Over time, we become more…bit by bit…dot by dot. Cheers to connecting the dots together!

Here is one new thing I tried this year:

Gussy

His name is Gus. The decision to get him came quick, seemed impulsive and felt absolutely right. Silly thoughts tried to make me take my time, do more research, wait until the “right time”…but, I didn’t listen. Thank goodness. He is ours. He was meant for us and we were meant for him. This is what he was doing right next to me while I wrote this; he’s a wonderful writing buddy. This little “new thing” of mine has blessed me and loved me in so many amazing ways this year. Thanks for being our perfect new thing Gus! We love you and we are so grateful for how you love us and the frequency of love and joy you always hold no matter where we are or what we are doing. Dogs are so much better at getting and giving the thing we all want and need the most…Love.

Sending you love and joy today and always!

This is dedicated to two special people in my life that are consciously creating change in their own lives and in turn, mine as well.

To Coach Steve:
Thank you for practicing what you preach and pushing yourself to become comfortable with being uncomfortable while you transition to a whole new way of doing the thing you have done so well for so many years. Thank you for blessing our lives and staying true to your pure intention of helping develop good people who play great tennis AND have a whole lot of fun doing it. Many blessings are coming your way.

To Siri:
Thank you for sharing your heart so openly with me over the years; I love knowing your new passions and watching as you let yourself be guided to new things. I am so grateful for how our timing has always lined up perfectly with each other over the last few decades. I love the way we support each other with our tiniest wishes, biggest dreams, terrific tangents and even our silly thoughts while loving all things in each other…the beautiful and the messy. You are going to heal so many and bless the world in so many ways. Grateful to be your soul-sister! XO

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September 28, 2015

Shift Happens

what you do

This quote has been on my mind sporadically since I came across it. It struck something deep in me when I first saw it; since then, I have continued to let it roll around in my head and take on various meanings and inspire a variety of learning opportunities.

There are several ways to look at it. It can be interpreted in so many ways, depending on our state of mind when we see it, hear it or think about it. Here are just few things that may occur to us:

  • At a glance it can evoke the feeling that lots of people say a lot of stuff that they don’t exactly live up to or in alignment with. Always too easy to see what others are getting wrong; feels much better to see what is lovable about them.
  • It can also make one wonder about their own actions and if we ourselves are truly living what we speak about or living aligned with what we value most, etc.
  • It can simply beg the question, “I know that is the best thing for me, why am I not doing that?”
  • The old, “Actions speak louder than words,” can also seem the easy comparison or conclusion.
  • Considering how we listen to others occurs to me as well…can I hear what isn’t being said or in some cases ignore what is being said and look at the actions? Can I look past actions or directly at them and hear or feel what is really being said at the deepest level?

If we can take it up a notch, through a lens of deeper awareness, we may look at these words through this perspective:

  • We may consider our deepest intuition and what makes us do the things we do, say the things we say, etc. To know that intuition well is to know the Miracle of Life. It knows what It is doing. Walking with our Divine Intuition is so much more relaxing (among other great and meaningful things) than walking with the smaller version of us that remains wrapped in fears and judgment.
  • By leaning back and looking at the many versions of “me” we have known over our lifetime so far, we can ponder the changes and the versions we have seemed to be throughout the years. We may cringe at our younger years or hopefully just smile and love ourselves with gratitude for becoming more of the person/spirit we are opening to. We can awaken to the Divine Knowing of who and what we truly are.
  • The shift happens…what we do, how we behave and who we are changes over time…we only need Live what Life would have us Know…it is always teaching us, guiding us and Loving us. The quote above can gently remind us to Live What We Know.

Obviously, these thirteen words strung together by Emerson can lead us to consider a myriad of possible meanings; some inspiring, some disappointing. I think the key to getting the most out of something like this and just about anything we ever encounter is to look within and figure out what it means for us. We can observe how we choose to live and how that shift begins to show up in our daily lives and the things we spend our time doing.

When we look at these words and apply them to what we think we see on the outside or in others, we may get stuck in painful memories or recall past experiences that can make us pretend to live in a world without enough Love. We must find the courage to look within and let these words comfort us in the moment of Life we are currently in as we do our best to BE and Live more of who and what we really are.

On a personal note, I’ve been somewhere in the shift for many years. I now know that not everyone likes to see change or the beauty of fresh unfamiliarity in lifelong relationships or even newer ones. Our journey towards our truest self that is a lifeline for us is not always seen as positive by everyone. Sometimes others just cannot see us. Misunderstanding and the painful feeling of not truly being seen as we grow can be tough. Sometimes we have setbacks or things happen that can make it seem as though we aren’t moving far enough along the path. The pain can block us or clog our flow if we let it seem real for too long. Those setbacks are blessings. They are the blessings that awaken us to the truest part of Life…the One we are meant to Live. We must remember that we are just where we are meant to be in Life and at the perfect place to Open up and allow abundant Blessings for All to flow through us.

Today, I pray to see recent suffering as a blessing and hold firm to the knowing of who I Am. I am reminded that although there have been painful repetitive experiences that I have known since childhood, I am not bound by that pain and continual misunderstanding. I can release the guilt that I have always felt since childhood and set it free knowing it does not serve me or anyone or anything around me that I may bless without it. Page 241 of A Course In Miracles says, “…it is only your guiltlessness that can protect you.”

May we all love our choices and see the shift in our lives today. May what we do speak of Love for ourselves as well as for others. May we know deeply that our intentions are pure and we are led by the Divine in Us. May we have compassion for others’ reactions to our choices without taking those reactions personally. May we unclog the flow of Life by surrendering and releasing guilt and see only the Oneness and Beauty that Life is beyond all the mirages caused by fear. May we be thankful and filled with gratitude for All.

Sending  you Love and Joy!

 

 

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September 19, 2015

What’cha Doin? or What are YOU DOING?

Life is guiding you, nudging you and loving you in the direction of  your highest calling, most joyful Being and most authentic self that will serve to create absolute miracles, abundant blessings and wildly inexplicable Love at all times. It may not always appear that way, but it IS always so.

“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” —John Wooden

Whatever happened or seemed to have happened in your experiences today, yesterday, the day before that or any other day you can recall, happened or at least appeared that way to you for a reason. Life is showing you something. Always. Believe it or not, the stuff that brings you the most joy or feels the best is where Life is speaking the loudest to you. We are meant for joy. We Are Love. We can do our most good and become our truest most authentic selves by following those natural states. May we listen well and by doing so, Love completely!

Beyond the messages we receive is a deep connectedness that allows them to happen at just the right moment in just the right way and sets them up days, months, years, even eons prior to allow the one you were blessed with today. The way the dots connect in our lives and the complex web of blessings that are continuously lining up for us is truly miraculous and beyond my reach in words to explain. I don’t “feel” this to be true. I am sure of it. You are too, or at the very least, you can be quite soon, if you take the time and effort to listen, watch, be amazed and therefore blessed at any and all times throughout your days.

Letting go of the labels and convenient category assignments (good, bad, awful, amazing) we so badly want to apply to every occurrence will guide us to much more of Life. Let us let go, listen and Live.

Sometimes trying something scary, facing a fear or quieting the cynic telling you it’s not possible is necessary to allow you to even more of everything you are meant for. You may have been listening well and following along in the way that makes you the most comfortable. You may even feel you have stepped out and tried harder, newer, scarier things…there is always more to push for, more to push through, more you can do, more you can be, more waiting for you. You already are Everything. The Universe is trying to help you see it, feel it and Be it.

Tomorrow, I’m starting a new course of sorts that plopped into my lap to help me “ignite the vision” in my life. There are so many ways the voice in my head said it’s silly or not the right time or that I don’t have enough time. Oh well, too bad, I’m going for it anyway. I have been listening and following along in my own comfortable and even sometimes uncomfortable ways for quite some time. I try to challenge myself in new ways as I go. I do that well enough. I know I can do it better. Go for more. Believe in more. Push myself. My Life can only become that which I can envision and create. I truly feel that I have a message to share and I want to inspire many and myself in countless ways as I go. I am up to new and exciting ways of doing things. I can couple a new learning or course opportunity with the deep internal listening I always believe to be of the utmost importance in our lives.

The opportunity I have committed to could only have come to me through the dots connecting in seven thousand or so ways that I can see and even more that are invisible. 🙂 I know if I don’t listen to this whisper from the Universe (seven thousand connections preceding it type of whisper), then soon it will become a scream, then a pounding over the head before I know it. Wish me luck as I push myself for more and learn the best way for me to be able to share with others in a larger way while staying true to Me. In many ways I definitely don’t “need” to follow this path. My life is great and would be seemingly “fine” without it. However, the way I am made, the way I hear my soul speak and the way I yearn to become All I am meant to be means I do need to do it…but in the best, most authentic, most trustworthy and powerful way. It is a true need, born not of desperation, but of purpose, meaning and a true desire to be the best Me I can Be. The same can be said for us All; we only need to listen well to hear it, listen closer to Know it and be guided from the depths of our soul within and around us to Live it.

Wishing you the courage to go for what the Universe is nudging and loving you towards these days. Hoping we all embrace the truth that joy really is our natural state. Knowing all these things to be true and more. Grateful to share with you here. Sending love and joy to as many of you as I can imagine.

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September 11, 2015

Nice to Meet You and Me

IMG_3407

                               -Hafiz

Whenever I go out and feel alive as I share my true energy and spirit openly, I love, like and enjoy whatever and whomever I come into contact with!

I give and receive back exactly what I put out. I meet ME in the world. We meet ourselves again and again in everything we encounter.

If it ever seems as though I meet someone or something that is anything less than pleasant, I must shine brighter to receive any light back. There is abundant light within. I can shine light on everything I see and it will shine back on me.

It’s nice to meet you and me.

Sending love and joy…hopefully everywhere I go and in every thought I create! If I don’t send enough, what reflects back to me will show me the opportunity to send more.

Always give what you think you lack.

Smile!

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August 28, 2015

The Very Best Will Come to Be

BE comfortable with whatever that is!

The part of you that doesn’t need to worry over situations is the part that can really look at Life and see a clearer sense of reality. That part of you is at home with the Flow of life, but it can also see when true conscious action is called for. Living the balance of Flow and Right Action can only lead to the awakened state we are all meant to call home.

“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life. It means fear is no longer a dominant factor in what you do and no longer prevents you from taking action to initiate change.”   —Eckhart Tolle

“The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.”   —Publius Cornelius Tacitus

“If uncertainty is unacceptable to you, it turns into fear. If it is perfectly acceptable, it turns into increased aliveness, alertness, and creativity.”   —Eckhart Tolle

There truly is nothing to fear. Fear is an illusion that keeps us from seeing clearly, from hearing truth and from experiencing reality. There is always much more going on in any given situation than meets the eye. There is no one way to look at anything. There are a multitude of ways to see everything before us. Our collection of  Life experiences, level of consciousness while we look, ability to see clearly and/or choice of filter or emotions we look through and much more determine how we experience any given situation. By far, the worst angle we can choose to look from is fear. The ability to live from the energy source that KNOWS All is well is a place with no fear; it is filled with abundant love for All.

Of course, it is easy to “say” all these things. But, when something happens that pokes our fear of the unknown, makes us uncomfortable or has us believe we may experience a great loss, it can seem almost unbearable and crazy to just roll with it. In the places and with the people we love the most, embracing the unknown can be the hardest and scariest. In my day-to-day life, I can usually feel that presence in the background that Knows All is well. I can see a grumbling thought start to form and release it before it gets hold, simply by knowing whatever it is will pass, it isn’t as it seems, it’s All good or whatever thought I may replace the lower thought with. That energy is there in the background, we just have to lean back and think and feel from there, rather than the little thoughts that try to take the forefront.

On larger issues, it isn’t always as simple as that. I think we have certain hot buttons or deal breakers that take us to another place when the stakes are higher, or seem to be. Lately, I’ve observed myself dealing with a big unknown that seems to have the ability to affect my life and my children’s lives in big ways. Nothing earth-shattering, just the seeming loss of a place we spend a lot of time, have a lot of great memories at and certain hope for a wonderful future at…one of those local little place gets bought out by the giant corporation and everything is changing kind of things. I won’t bore you with the details, but to us, it is a really big deal. We’re a tennis family, so I’m talking about our tennis addiction here. “Losing” a place we love so much and spend so much time at has been interesting. Vacillating between the optimistic thoughts, excitement for some much-needed positive change and the fear of things changing so much they just won’t work for us anymore has been interesting. I’ve found myself searching for all the great things online that would comfort me about the changes one minute, then thinking of where we should move, what I should do or what major change I could make to ease my discomfort the next. The unknown has been looming for many months with how long these things take. Now, we’re right in the middle of the big transition and it all seems escalated. The great news is, the plans in place for change at this place I have called my second home will take over a year to take shape, so I can work on this comfortable with the unknown thing for many months.

The truth is, things may work out great. The other truth is, they may not. Even though I have had many silly moments with this super important issue for my family, I always come back to knowing All will be well and it will work out just as it is meant to. If we love the new place, that is great. If we don’t feel at home there anymore, we can move on. There are many moving parts to the situation with all the other people involved. There are some really important people in our lives who’s lives are also affected. When the stakes seem high, the ground for practicing all we Know gets much more fertile. We are blessed to have these things come up to show us where we are really at in life. Challenges that really push us to a higher consciousness are such a gift.

A deep trust in All allows us to go with the Flow of Life as we are meant to. However, the Flow includes Us and our Knowing from the still space inside. We can access our place in the Flow and when necessary, take conscious action from there. Sometimes there are certain things you just know and feel you should do or take action on. The Flow does not always mean totally accepting and being okay with whatever happens. Sometimes, we are called to stand up and take action. In that spirit, I do have a meeting with the new management on Monday to share some concerns, discuss some situations, ask for what I need and listen with an open mind. I want to do my part to follow the action I feel called to while listening deeply to the Universal Flow and acting from the depths of my Soul. That is probably just a more complicated way of saying being comfortable with whatever happens and conscious enough to hear what is asked of me and where I am being led.

In the scheme of life, the example above of our recreational emergency, is a rather awesome problem to have. Of course, Life has many layers. I used this example because is sounds better than discussing the removal of my gallbladder three weeks ago and all the fun listening to life and conscious action that involved. Icky! I figured tennis was a better topic to digest in the morning. It is amazing how many things we all juggle at once and how hard it could all be if we don’t trust that the very best will always come to be.

Wishing you a sense of peace that is hard to imagine, impossible to describe and energizing to be around. Sending love and joy!

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August 24, 2015

Your Life Is a Canvas

“We all need this quiet unfolding: the passion to paint what we dream, the honesty to only paint what we know, the courage to stop and live into what we don’t know, the humility to return years later, and the courage to use the blood of our life as the colors needed to finish the embrace. This is the unfolding of the human flower. Until the face of our soul and the face we show the world is one, the same.” —Mark Nepo, from
Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, Staying Close to What Is Sacred


Paint Your Life

Use strokes of ambition, truth, peace and love.
Cultivate the courage to create in new and unfamiliar ways.

Realize what you know.
Expand what you know.

Use colors that make your heart sing.
Sing the song of your heart.

Let your masterpiece make eyes sparkle, smiles spread and hearts warm.
Continue the painting, keep learning, add new dimensions.

Look from every perspective and listen with all your senses.
Love with all your heart.

Live open enough to grow.
Strive to live all that you know.

Ask for more.
Give thanks.

See the masterpiece each day.
Be the masterpiece in every way.

Be gentle with yourself along the way.
See the love around you.

Smile!
It’s your creation!

We truly are creating our lives each and every day with each moment and how we choose to live those moments. We can only create that which we can imagine for ourselves. We must stay alert and be open to the wisdom that wants to guide us to all there is to imagine. There is always much more to imagine.

Wherever we place our attention, allow our thoughts to take us or have our minds rest, will surely become our experience. Imagine all that you can in ever-expanding ways and make it so!

As I lean back and look at the larger picture of my life thus far, it is obvious how it works. Much of it happened without me knowing it. Now that I know it, what will I paint? It will be so much fun to Live the question!

Wishing you love, joy and the courage to show the world your soul face.

NOTE: I’m returning after a bit of a break. I am so happy to be back. 🙂 For anyone interested, I’ve updated the “About” and “My Story” pages for more information about that.

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February 3, 2015

We Don’t “Know” and IT is Wonderful! Let’s Go With IT!

Trust Life.

IT knows what IT is doing.

We don’t “know” what is best or even how to label anything — ever. IT is wonderful (if we choose to see it that way)! We can let go of trying to know it all, label it all and figure it all out. Instead, we can just BE and experience all of IT without needing to call it one thing or another. IT works perfectly that way. IT is the only true perfection. IT gets to experience ITself that way, and that is what IT is here to do. Meaning, that is the only reason We are here.

Whatever we think it is — whatever seemed to happen or not happen, whatever seemed unfair, terrible, wonderful, amazing, like a blessing, sad, happy, IT didn’t happen the way we may think it did. IT wasn’t bad or good. IT was perfect!

Truth is — we don’t know if IT’s good or bad and we don’t need to. Labeling IT either way only keeps us from experiencing a deeper version of Life. Good and bad only exist in the illusion that most of us have agreed to call “reality” — it isn’t reality once we know who is creating Life and who is choosing what we are looking at and how we see it.

Deeper Truth is — there is no good or bad, there is only the exact thing the Universe/God/Life picked out for us to experience at the precise moment we experience IT. We can lean back and look for the message we are meant to receive. We can trust that IT is the experience we are meant to have because we are having it. This is the way of Life. It is going with the Flow. It is following our Heart. We can call it anything we like as long as we embrace the courage to do our best each and every day to Live IT.

It is easy to get caught up in judging situations. It is easy to waste time resisting what already is. It is easy to dwell in distracted doing. These seeming “easy” choices aren’t actually “easy” at all, they are the hardest ones to live. They only exist in the illusionary world of suffering. Even to call it suffering misses the point. If suffering leads to bliss, was it ever really suffering? Was it more like a trusted friend trying to wake us up? We do have a friend that we can trust no matter what form IT comes in. Our friend is Life.

We can build a relationship with Life based on trust and do our best to give IT our fullest attention. We can stop ignoring IT and/or wishing IT would change. As our relationship with Life deepens, something much better than “easy” will embrace us. That thing that is “better” than “easy” and beyond our habitual illusions is without a label. We could choose to call it peace, joy, love, consciousness, awakening, being, reality, truth and many other words. These are all just labels pointing in the right direction. What IT really is cannot be summed up in words, only felt deeply within. It is in the silence, not in words.

All is well. Thank you All, I’m grateful for every part of you!

 

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January 1, 2015

Today’s Outlook – Clear and Present, Tomorrow’s Forecast – Clear and Present

Happy New Year All! May you feel the air of unlimited possibility all around you today and each new day of the year!

I could think of no better forecast than the title above. What a peaceful existence it would be to rest in the state of truly living the wonder of each moment as it comes. We could leave behind the baggage we carry from past experiences and drop the unnecessary assumptions and predictions we often place on the future. We could travel lightly with a fresh perspective allowing Life to bless us in every way. Easier said than done, but always the answer.

In a recent discussion with my children, I was delighted to hear myself describe some specific ways we can choose to live our days with clear and present energy. Our discussion was a result of the typical sibling disturbance, filled with a lot of over-familiar responses indicating that past resentments and future assumptions were dominating the interaction between two precious little people who love each other very much but could not feel it in certain moments of their daily life. In speaking to them, I was able to break it down in a simple manner and give specific tips and tools that would surely help harness a more conscious experience for anyone. It was a review of the tools we ask them to use each day with some added ideas about clearing out our energy each night. The discussion was spontaneous and completely unplanned. I loved everything I heard and I knew the Universe was speaking to us all.

The one true answer to everything is to truly be where you are at fully and experience what Life is showing you in the deepest possible way. This intention will guide you effortlessly through the moments and connect the dots in your life in miraculous ways. Figuring out how to do this takes much practice, undoing of programmed mind activity, a deep desire to make the shift to a more conscious lifestyle and much more. But, it takes only one moment to become present. It is always the one that you are in. It takes no time at all. Even though there is much to learn and practice to hold it for longer periods of time, or on a more consistent basis, it actually takes no time at all to do it because this moment (now) is the only time it is ever possible. We can let the other moments take care of themselves as we fully embrace the one we are in now.

In our family discussion, I reminded the kids about setting our intentions each morning and exactly why we do that. I explained that it isn’t just to write it down in your journal because Mom wants you to, because that won’t work. We had a lovely discussion about the power we put behind our choices with our intentions and how the Universe matches our intentions back to us continuously throughout our days. We can’t say we have a certain intention and then forget it in the first possible moment we have a choice we could apply it to. We cannot go through life reacting to whatever happens I explained, we must decide what our intentions are for the day in the morning and then remember to use that spirit behind each choice we make (or at least as many as we can as we learn and grow). Then our days will be filled with purpose and meaning as our intentions guide us to the life and connections we are meant to live.

Having noticed that the kids still seem easily annoyed with Life, each other and even my voice early in the mornings just after a morning meditation, prayer and intention journal entry, it was obvious that they are living out past experiences over and over again. God gave me the language to speak to them about this clearly. I told them that if by 9:30 am, they have already forgotten their intentions and surrendered to reactionary choices and a mind filled with negative thoughts, then the spiritual practices they are doing aren’t working. In general, if it doesn’t feel good, it’s not working, I explained. I called on them to truly access the spirit inside them that will give more meaning to these practices to help support their intentions to live out their days in a more meaningful way that will bring less stress and allow more joy. I encouraged them to believe in their ability to truly decide their intentions thoughtfully and place their power behind the things they do and say. I asked them to play with it and see what they can do and make happen. We discussed the difference between being vague and getting specific and noticing how the Universe responds and works with us. Great words came about how they have the power to bless others and themselves with the intention and spirited action they choose to bring forth. It sounds over a child’s head, but they are much closer to the spirit world than we realize sometimes. They came from there and they can remember how to access it and use it to bless the world. The conversation was lovely and then we put it all together with some new ideas for even better practices.

We discussed how we can sometimes hold on to the past so much that it doesn’t allow us to be where we are at. We either relive the past or worry that it will happen again in the future. This simple choice, makes it seem real in our heads and then we have lost our way and fallen into unfounded and irrational reaction rather than spirited action. We used specific examples of disputes they have had and hearing and saying things to each other like, “you always” or “she/he always,” etc. We discussed the unfairness of continuously punishing each other for things that aren’t happening any more. We talked about being unable to hear what is actually being said or see what is actually happening if we look at the situation through the veil of past experiences. Love comes through in present moments, not in cluttered up past ones. We came up with the idea of clearing things our each night to allow for a more present and thoughtful morning that will allow us to get the most out of our chosen spiritual practices. We talked about clearing out our energy in the middle of the day if it starts to seem hard to make the kind of choices we meant to when we started the day. It was all very simply put and the plan started to seem comforting and accessible. I encouraged the kids to try clearing out the energy on their own with specific ways to talk to your deepest self, etc. I added that if they had some things getting stuck or some energy that didn’t clear, they should ask for help and we could come up with a better plan or try different ways, etc.

There was much more to it of course, too much to explain here. What started out as a lecture on bad choices turned into an uplifting guide/map for a future filled with present moments of joy. I said a prayer of gratitude afterwards for the energy that had come through me and around me in such a supportive way. It was a lovely moment. Of course, the holidays and all kinds of hectic schedules and situations grabbed hold of us just after this breakthrough. 🙂 But, this moment remains as good as any to recall the tools we have and the ways we can support ourselves to make good choices grounded in love and clear presence. The energy that surrounded us all that night in conversation can be accessed now and the tools are always there as long as they are needed.

May you be blessed with the ability to wish yourself a Happy New Year and start fresh in any moment of any day this year!

Clear and present blue skies are now!

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