Listen Within

Change can be scary

2011-11-28T22:35:00.000-08:00

Is there an area of your life that is trying to change you? We're coming up on 2012 and there are so many energies on the planet now that are moving and opening us to a greater life expression. I know for myself, there are a couple areas in my life where I need to move forward. Yet I have been living in the old energy that is no longer working because it has felt comfortable and safe. These areas are holding me back from being fully self-expressed. I need to make some changes. It's frightening because I cannot see what's on the other side. Yet I feel the Universe nudging me daily towards these changes. I find myself clinging to what is comfortable. Clinging to the past. Clinging to the way it's always been. Afraid to step out into the unknown. Not trusting the Universe. Hanging on like a child to what I thought was security and safety. Change is frightening. We have to let go of what we have in our hand in order to allow something new to come in. In the moment we are letting go, we cannot see what is up ahead or on the other side. We have to go on faith alone. We have to put our trust and faith in God, in a power greater than ourselves. It requires taking baby steps and getting support until we are ready to take the leap. Once we let go of what has been holding us back, once we truly surrender and let go, then we stand in God's grace as the new circumstances rush in to fill the void. Our lives are made new and our happiness grows. Our lives become better. We become more of who were are meant to be.

Daily Spiritual Practice

2011-09-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

When I begin my day with at least a half hour of spiritual practice and contemplation, I find that I am in a profound witness state during the day. Meaning that I am aware of each event unfolding just the way it is supposed to and I can allow it with ease and joy. I am able to see and be open to the gifts and blessings that come my way during the day. And I am more able to handle the "triggers" that sometimes come up with family members or traffic, etc. When a "trigger" occurs, I can catch myself and choose how I will respond rather than react to the situation.

Beginning my day in spiritual communion with God/Spirit and then in contemplation (listening to God), I consciously create a day that is filled with love, a sense of right and inspired actions, a knowingness of my purpose and life path, and a sense of being in communion with nature. The decisions I make and the actions that I take feel truly inspired, rather than haphazard or reactionary.

I am grateful that I am willing to do whatever it takes to put God first and Ego in the back seat one day at a time.

The Power of Focused Intention

2011-09-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today I am aware that to create and accomplish any of my dreams, I need to hold a focused intention of what it is I want to create. I don't necessarily need to know "how" it will be created or manifest. That's the Universe's job. But I do need to do my part and hold the creative mental space for the dream to manifest into the physical world.

Then I am gently and lovingly guided in many ways toward manifesting and creating that thing that I wanted to create. It is working with Universal Law.

There is a Power and Force in the Universe that will work with whatever we place our attention or intention on. I believe that is how some people consistently manifest their dreams and create the life they love.

It is my great joy to help other people learn to work with these Universal Laws and empower them to create work that satisfies and fulfills them, relationships that work, abundance in all areas, and creativity in their lives.

How I Stay Focused

2011-02-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have tried many different ways to try to focus, prioritize and stay on track. I believe the more creative one is, the more difficult it can be to stay focused and to complete tasks. And I'm very creative! You should see my desk! It's always in a state of different piles of things to be completed!

So the best way for me to stay focused is to think about my day upon awakening and think about the highest and best use of my time and energy for that day. Maybe it's cooking a healthy meal, going for a walk or to the gym, coaching a few people, spending time with my family, running errands, having some quiet contemplation time, doing my spiritual practices, or creating a new aspect of my business.

Working from home, it's very easy for me to get distracted from what I want to accomplish. I can easily throw in a load of laundry instead of working on my new website, or decide to make healthy brownies instead of learning how to use my new blog account, or spend too much time talking to friends on the phone instead of writing a presentation. I love exercising, so I can spend too much time doing that daily and not doing the paperwork on my desk. I work at prioritizing every day.

What works the best for me is to have an overall idea of what I want to create that day. Spending that 20 minutes or half-hour in the morning during my contemplation/meditation time helps put my mind in a higher state. I'm less likely to be reactive, or negative, or distracted if I've taken that time to think about my day and decide what I want to accomplish. It also helps me to write down the most important things.

The challenge comes in as I begin doing the tasks. Sometimes my family interrupts, phones ring, pets need attention, or something will present itself that I hadn't planned on. So I find it's a dance of surrendering to "what is" and asking myself "What's important now?" And then doing my best to do that task and complete it before moving to the next thing.

It's a huge priority for me to cook and eat healthy, organic, whole foods, which do not come in packages or cans, so each day usually finds me washing, chopping and steaming veggies, or making green smoothies, and preparing lean proteins, or cooking brown rice and planning and fixing and eating three healthy meals. So everything else I do has to fit in between all that. Some days when I'm on the run, I miss lunch and eat an apple and a food bar. Oh well! When you add an hour of exercise or more to a day, there are really only a few hours of productive time to get things done. And I sleep alot. I'm one of those 9 to 10 hours a night sleepers. I've always been that way and probably always will. Those people who only need 6 hours of sleep get alot more done than I do.

But I learned years ago, when I read the book, Search For Serenity, that I can only live a life that works for me. A life that brings me Serenity. I cannot accomplish or do everything that I see others do. I am not them. I am me. I have to create a life that works for me. I know what I can and cannot do. I know what stresses me out and what calms me. I know what makes me happy.

When I live true to myself, I naturally am able to prioritize my life in a way that works for me. When I am trying to be like someone else or tell myself I "should" be able to do what I see others do, and I compare myself with others, or try to please others and not myself, that's when I get into trouble and get off track with my own needs and priorities.

So the ultimate self-care for me is staying true to myself and doing the things I love and things that feel right to me. I love being of service to others and assisting others to grow and I can only do that when I'm on track with myself self and being true to myself.

How I Eat Vibrantly Healthy

2011-01-30T09:52:00.000-08:00

I would like to share how I eat and how I'm achieving vibrant health. People ask me alot how I stay lean and vibrant and how I eat. So here goes:

I usually go to the grocery store every 5 days or so. I start in the fruit and veggie section and load up my cart with lots of fresh fruits, veggies to steam, veggies to blend in green smoothies, veggies to eat raw. I buy several bunches of spinach, kale, chard, the deep leafy greens, tomatoes, asparagus, cabbage, zuccinni, corn on the cob, bell peppers, etc. Then on to coconut milk. Silk has come out with an unsweetened coconut milk in a carton. Fresh organic eggs, lean chicken breast, turkey, and fish.

I make sure to have some healthy treats on hand as well. My favorite easy "Ice Cream" are the So Delicious coconut bars from Whole Foods. No sugar, no dairy, no wheat in them. My favorite store is Whole Foods and I'm fortunate to live a half mile from the Chandler location store. Then I come home and put it all away, which is a challenge because refrigerators just aren't made for so much produce. I have to lay out the chard, kale and greens in the bottom ("meat") drawer, and I have a small second fridge in my garage. I have fruit baskets for the fruits, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic, butternut squash on my kitchen counter. I have toasted nuts in jars.

I want to credit Chef Rachel Matesz, The Healthy Cooking Chef, who wrote The Garden of Eating cookbook because she taught me so much. She has a DVD of 19 healthy recipes and her cookbook is my absolute favorite. Not only are there amazing recipes, but she teaches how to eat to be our healthiest. http://www.thehealthycookingcoach.com/

Yesterday, after I went grocery shopping, I made Fresh Pesto sauce for some rice pasta I am serving tonight. I made a batch of healthy brownies, with no dairy, or sugar or gluten. I freeze them in individual servings so my family and I can have a healthy treat whenever we want. I also keep fruits and date/coconut rolls handy for desserts or applesauce.

I have had to get completely off flour, breads, gluten and dairy and refined sugar this last year. I also make from Chef Rachel's book, Fluffy Nut Butter, which is a nice dip/sauce to have for over veggies or to dip fruit slices in. I make sure to have healthy snacks on hand during the week, as well as my staples of par-boiled veggies and nut butters, steamed rice and lean proteins, and veggie soups.

Last night I baked some sea bass and stir fryed some brussels sprouts to go with it. We also had steamed jasmine rice with seaweed in it. (I know, doesn't that sound delicious?) Actually, it is! I used Wakame and Hijiki sea veggies. It adds a little salty flavor, plus iodine and lots of good minerals. We enjoyed a green smoothie with it. And we topped the meal off with warm freshly baked gluten-free brownies. Chef Rachel has a dessert cookbook I really enjoy, called The Ice Dream Cookbook. And she gave me the brownie recipe and told me about Elana Amsterdam's Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook, which I love as well. Now I can make cakes, cookies and other deserts with almond flour and agave nectar or honey!

If I leave the house for a while, like this morning, when I go hiking, I'll make sure to carry an apple and some toasted nuts to tide me over between breakfast and lunch. I also have fresh salad ingredients on hand, and I love Chef Rachel's Lemonette fresh salad dressing from her cookbook.

Eating this way, especially the organic, greens and lean proteins have made my eyes shine bright, my body work it's best and my body is now naturally about 118 pounds, without even trying. I was a vegetarian in California for 10 years and it took a toll on my body. I find I need some lean protein at least once or twice a day to maintain my best health.

I hope this gives you an idea of how I eat and stay healthy. The resources I mention above helped me immensely. Once I set the intention to have vibrant health and eating, I drew into my life the teachers and resources I needed in order to learn to eat this way. I love how the Law of Attraction works. And with my clients that I coach on healing their relationship with food and their bodies, we work together to discover how they can make healthy changes and create new healthy habits around eating so that they can Live Their Best Life!

Minding My Own Business

2011-01-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

How much time and energy do we spend or waste each day worrying about what our spouse or partner is doing?

It is amazing to me how much time and energy can be wasted by trying to manage other people. What they say and how they say it, what they eat, whether or not they exercise, when they go to bed, how they spend their time, how they spend money, etc. It's tempting to think that we will be happy IF we can get them to be what we think they should be.

I recently caught myself with a new way to try to control my spouse. This one is subtle and snuck up on me. I was obsessing about whether he was growing fast enough spiritually and whether or not he was doing his "inner child" work. Yikes! I had to get a hold of myself and put my Mind on my Own business!

One of the books that really woke me up to how I control was The Surrendered Wife by Laura Doyle. I saw myself in that book and have learned over the past ten years how to surrender control and let the other person be who they are. This is much easier said than done. It is something I have to work at daily. But the rewards are worth it. When I can put my energy into Minding My Own Business, practicing self-care, making myself happy, doing what I need to do for my own life purpose, spending time with people I enjoy, and relaxing, then it helps me to take my mind off of what the other person is doing or not doing and I have emotional freedom and peace of mind.

Divine Spirit, help me remember today and every day to Mind my Own Business.

Ego is Edging God Out

2011-01-19T20:58:00.000-08:00

Seems like it's a daily struggle to keep ego under control. Ego likes to judge. Ego likes think it's right. Ego does not like to be challenged. Ego wants to creep into relationships, projects, careers, decisions, family gatherings. When Ego is present, we are Edging God Out. May I remember every single day that I am here to serve Divine Spirit. May I remember to submit my will to the Will of the Creator. I am simply here to Love and to Create.

Begin by checking in!

2011-01-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

To Live Your Best Life, it is important to check in with yourself every day. I start each day with at least one half hour of quiet contemplation. It focuses me. It uplifts my thinking. It enables me to stay on track throughout the day and not get derailed by negative emotions or choices that are not in my best interest. This one habit, when practiced daily, has the power to change your life.

You have to start somewhere!

2011-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

You have to start somewhere! Having worked from home for the past twenty years, and being in my mid-fifties, I have not yet learned about blogging or how to use the internet for my business. So I sat down tonight all by myself and decided to begin. That's how life is. If you want to do something, anything, you just have to start. Take one step towards it. You may make mistakes. You may do it wrong. But if you are willing to begin, you will learn how to do it.