Awaken the Genie Within

For the First Time

While sitting in my doctor's office waiting for the technician to return I noticed a picture on her computer of a kangaroo standing on a beach at the water's edge. It made me laugh and think, "Wow, I never saw anything like that before!"

Then I had an idea to play a game with myself for the rest of the day. I decided to look for things that I've never seen before. I was amazed at how much showed up for me!

Here are just some of the things I saw:
A person driving a 2-wheel car with a clear bubble top.
A hawk sitting on a tree in front of my house.
A feather float down in front of me while walking, with no bird in sight!
My son folding and putting away his clothes without being asked. :-)

So, why in the world am I sharing all this with you. Well, it's pretty simple, really. Seeing things for the first time made me feel more alive in my day to day life and kept my spirit's up. I paid attention in ways that I don't normally do and the Universe rewarded me greatly.

I know it's not earth shattering stuff, but it was fun and because of that, I invite you to spend your day looking for things to see for the first time. At the end of the day notice how you feel. I'd love to hear about some of your sightings. If there's enough response I just might post it for others to read. I'll even keep it anonymous if it makes you more comfortable.

In the meantime, happy first time sightings!

Moving From Ego to Spirit

We all get irritated and impatient with others from time to time. Sometimes we can find ourselves unable to control our emotions even when we promised ourselves we would remain calm no matter what. And, we all know, that it doesn't feel so great after experiencing these moments, leaving us with regrets and thinking of better ways to deal with the issue only after the fact.

When you find yourself in circumstances that have you in an emotional state that you don't want to be in, do your best to remember this; the only thing that's really happening here is the ego has taken over and your Spirit has been denied.

Give yourself permission to take a moment and simply say, "Wait, I need to start over. This isn't the way I want to behave." And then you do just that. Start over. Only this time from your heart.

When you express this to the other person, it gives both of you the chance to step back, move out of ego and connect in Spirit. Creating a very powerful experience between two people.

Always keep in mind that you don't have to continue in a direction that doesn't feel good in the moment. And when it feels yucky you can be certain which part of you is in charge. Your emotional guidance system never lies, listen to it. You'll always end up heading down the road your heart originally intended.

Learning Your Passion

"How do I find my passion?" "How can I figure out what it is that I really want to do with my life?"
"And even when I find it, is it possible to make money living my passion?"

These questions are asked day in and day out by thousands of people. There was a time when I asked myself those questions over and over again without an answer until I realized that what I spent most of my time learning about was my passion.

Human nature, communication, spirituality, universal principles.

When I finally stopped worrying about what others might think, the more I honored that part of myself,  realizing, while in my learning process, I was completely connected to my Soul and the work I was meant to do.

Now, it's important to know, even although I had this awareness, I still had no idea how to turn it into a career. So I decided to keep all possibilities open and trust that if something felt this powerful within me, then the Universe would abSOULutely show me the way.

So I ask you, what do you enjoy learning about more than anything in the world?" "When do you find yourself in greatest joy and peace?"

If an answer shows up followed by a resounding, "YES!" chances are you hit it. Don't ask others for their opinions. It doesn't matter what they think. This is not about them. It's about you!

Research your passions to see if you can create a way to bring it into your life every single day and be paid for it. Yes, you deserve to be paid to do something you love doing with your heart and soul.

Trust that you wouldn't have such a strong connection to something if it wasn't meant to be in your life in as big a way as possible. The only thing that ever holds you back from manifesting your dreams is you. Or should I say your Gremlin and the habitual stories s/he tells you over and over again stopping you dead in your tracks once again.

Slowly Speeding Forward Step by Step

At the end of a coaching session yesterday my client expressed that she wanted more to do during the week between sessions so the changes she desired could happen more quickly.

Although this sounds like a logical way to go about creating change for oneself, it can often be the exact way to set you back rather than move you foward. When you've finally committed to the journey necessary to create new outcomes in your life, it is a very exciting time and quite normal to want to speed forward.

The problem is, when you attempt to speed forward without really taking the time to connect deeply with everything you're learning, you'll find yourself standing on a foundation with a lot of cracks in it. And the minute you hit a speed bump, what you built up to that point will come tumbling down faster and harder than ever before.

Patience is such a mandatory part of your growing process. The more you try to force something to happen sooner than it's naturally ready to take place, the less prepared you really are to expand on it for greater growth and results.

It's great to be excited about the next step and then the next. I encourage that above all else. Just make sure before you move onto the next step that the one before is solidly under foot.

Life isn't a race. Wherever you are in the moment is exactly where you're meant to be or you wouldn't be there.

Enthusiasm At The Soul Level

Although I usually wake up with great enthusiasm for the day, this morning I woke up and I realized I hadn't written the post you are now reading. I have to admit there was a bit of disappointment in myself for not doing so because I'm really committed to delivering messages to you three days a week, on the same three days. Afterall, since you're kind enough to come read what I have to share then I believe I owe it to you to be consistent and deliver.

I've been a bit distracted because my son's been home sick and that definitely changes my priorities. And with knowing that, I found myself filling with joy and gratitude for the ability to be here for him and still be able to do what I love doing every single day. Coaching my amazing clients, writing, and creating new ideas to bring more value to people.

The more I thought about that, the more enthused I got about my life and loved that I was able to now start my day with enthusiasm instead of disappointment!

Now, here's what really inspired me to write this post.

When I went to my computer to check my email I was blown away to find the following quote in my inbox.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
--Samuel Ullman

I felt as if the Universe had given me a prize for shifting my emotions. My soul truly felt enthusiasm for life. A much better feeling than disappointment, that's for sure!

So, next time you wake up and are feeling a little off, find a way to see a reason or reasonS for filling yourself with joy and gratitude. It's always there, I promise you!

Now I'm going to check in on my son. :-)

Embracing Age

There was a great article in the Parade section of the LA times recently. It was about people who are in their 50's and 60's and why they don't think of themselves as old. They have fantastic outlooks on life and feel blessed to have gotten to this stage of their life.

Here's some of the more fun things that I read.

Senior Citizen was replaced with:

1. Seasoned Citizens
2. OPALS - Older Persons with Active Lifestyles
3. EngAgers
4. Geri-Actives

When they turned 60, it became:

1. Sage Age
2. XYZ Group - eXtra Years of Zest
3. Age of Dignity
4. Bonus Years
5. P.S. Stage - Post-Sixty

What a great way to think of one Self when society chooses to label you with "senior citizen".

The people interviewed in this article were such a breath of fresh air in a society that puts so much emphasis on youth. I am 48 years old and don't feel a day over 47!

Okay, I'm kidding. The truth is I feel way younger than my 48 years. Spiritually and emotionally I know I'm better than I was in my 20's and 30's. 

Quincy Jones had something wonderful to say in the article that just tickled me pink!

"When you're over the hill, that's when you pick up speed."

Is that great, or what!

Getting older can be one of the best parts of life. With age can come more confidence, wisdom,  patience, self-empowerment, knowledge, taking life less seriously and so on. If that's how you want life to be for yourself, then take whatever steps you need to to get you there.

So, for those reading this who are 50 and older, take on one of those names above and let go of the senior citizen idea. If you're younger than that, just think what you have to look forward to!

Self-Aknowledgement

I gotta tell you. One of the best obstacles I've ever gotten over was learning how to acknowledge myself for something well done. For as long as I can remember, I always thought it was rude or egotistical to comment, out loud, when I felt good about an accomplishment.

Well, I'm here to share with you that nothing could be further from the truth. And before I go on, yes, there is a difference between acknowledging yourself for an accomplishment vs. someone who continuously brags about how great he or she is at everything they do.

Okay, now that we're clear on that issue here's a few reasons why acknowledging yourself is a good idea:

1. You create an energy within that increases the level of your vibration which in turn puts you in alignment with attracting more of what you want for yourself. Law of Attraction!

2. It makes it easier to learn to accept compliments from others. And nothing will turn someone off faster than not accepting their compliment to you. When you don't, it's as if you're telling the other person, "Your opinion isn't worthy." Or "what you have to say is unimportant." Ouch!

And perhaps the most important of all:

3. Self-acknowledgment leads to greater Self-love. If you don't have Self-love it's impossible to know how to really love another.

So c'mon. Let me hear it. Send me your Self-acknowledgments!

Okay, fine. I'll start. I'm really proud of myself for creating these posts three times a week and truly enjoying what I write about!

Tag, you're it! :-)

Opinion of the Spirit Within

It's becoming more and more apparent to me that the deeper I connect to my Spirit within, the less tolerance I have with others opinions when they're hurtful or demeaning to another human being.

While reading an article about Barry Manilow, I found myself feeling frustrated with a critic's comment that was written 19 years ago! Even though I'm not a Barry Manilow fan, the comment this man wrote made me want to defend everything Manilow ever sang in his 30 plus year career.

It was just down right mean and it made me wonder why we think we have the right to put such harsh and demeaning words toward someone else's life work. Whether you're a fan or not, the fact still remains that Manilow had something to share with the world and he found a way to authentically express himself and make an impact in many people's lives.

Yeah, you could say the Times writer was "authentically expressing" himself as well.

However, wanting to come from a higher place in my life these days, I really do believe there's a way to critique someone else's work without completely turning it into something absolutely worthless and in the writer's words, "sentimental sludge." 

Opinions can be worth listening to but that's all they are. An opinion. It's more important to listen to your own heart and make your own decisions. I realize making a decision about buying someone's music or going to a movie or buying a book because of a critic's comments may seem trivial, but it's important to be aware how easily you can allow yourself to be influenced by someone else that may keep you from experiencing something really wonderful for your own Soul.

And, you just never know when something that was said in a movie or song, or something written in a book, will have a significant impact on your life!

Stepping Into Change

Stepping outside of a comfort zone is not easy for people. I see this almost everyday with my coaching clients. The bigger the next step, the harder it is to take it.

They're scared.
They've made mistakes in the past and didn't like the feeling.
Not enough people agree with their decision.
They don't like risks without a guarantee of coming out ahead.

I often lovingly tease them about that last one. Afterall, if we knew there was that kind of a guarantee it wouldn't really be a risk, would it!

Well, in spite of all those fears, something else shows up for my clients which always ends up skyrocketing them forward.

Being more uncomfortable with feeling uncomfortable.

In other words, we usually don't change until we're so uncomfortable that it brings us more pain than we're willing to tolerate anymore.

Just being uncomfortable is one thing. It's easier to step back into the comfort of what's familiar and still not feel any real pain.

However, once the pain reaches the surface with no more room to push it back down into hiding, then your supposed place of comfort now contains pain and that becomes your springboard for moving forward.

What's perfect about this scenario for my clients, whether they realize it or not at the time, is this:

By the time they get to that place, all the tools, strategies and their ability are deeply in place so they don't end up with a crash landing. On the contrary, they end up landing softly on a foundation more solid than they've ever had in the past.

So here's the deal. As you dance between getting ready and being ready, trust that you are gaining whatever knowledge and confidence you need to spring into action and land softly. And, if you're looking to get there faster a coach is a great way to make that happen!

Giving Praise

A girlfriend and I were having lunch a couple of days ago and I asked about her son who was getting professional help for some behavioral problems he was having.

She shared with me that he seemed to be doing better and went on to say:

"There's a good change in his attitude."
"He's staying out of trouble, but I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"It's hard to trust him yet."
"He is doing things that he's never done before, which is great. But still, I need to stay on top of him just in case."

As I listened, it occurred to me to ask a couple of questions.
"Have you told him how proud you are with how far he's come?"
"Have you thanked him for the things he's now doing that he didn't do in the past?"

She said no. And because she's a very bright woman she followed it up with:
"I really need to say those things."
"I am proud of him."
"I am grateful for what he's doing now."
"All I keep doing is looking at what he's still doing wrong and get on him about that."
"How's he ever going to feel good about himself and continue to improve if I don't encourage him for everything he's now doing right!"

And then she said:
"If I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, it will!"

I just smiled and told her I loved her and what a great mom she is. The conversation moved on to a new topic.

I invite you to look at your close relationships and then ask yourself:
Do you spend more time letting them know what they're doing wrong?

Or

Do you often express your appreciation when they go out of their way for you or do something simple, yet thoughtful?

People loved to be acknowledged. It's the driving force that keeps them wanting to continue doing well or doing something nice for others.

I gotta go now because I need to call my husband and thank him for finding my keys this morning when I was running late for a meeting and bolted out the door without saying anything!