Growing Pains

The last few weeks have felt like a slog. I had made several big jumps in growth and then bam! Nothing. Everything ground to a halt. I was frustrated. Then I took my own advice and was a little more gentle with myself. I backed off my self imposed expectations of the speed I should be moving, and that allowed me to step back and look at the situation.

I realized I was simply just in a different part of the growth spiral. Growth like everything else in life ebbs and flows. After there is action you need time to see what the results of that action are. You also need time to reflect. To give the outcome the meaning it has for you. I was, and still am in some ways, in the feedback and reflection parts of that particular growth I experienced a few weeks ago. When we can recognize where we are it makes it easier to be understanding with ourselves and the movement, or lack there of, we are seeing.

This week I am choosing to be kinder to myself as I figure out all the new moving parts in my life. I accept that this feeling of stagnation isn't really that, but time for me to fully integrate and understand what the changes in my life mean for me. I am trying to take a lesson from nature. Plants and trees know when to grow, and they know when to rest. The seasons can teach us so much about birth, growth, death, and renewal. We too are part of this amazing natural world even though we often have constructed lives that take us far from it. Lives that make us feel other. Part of my acceptance work this week will be getting out into nature and feeling Her energy. Feeling the rhythm of it all. I invite you to do the same beloveds. 

Just Do It

It's a new week with a new affirmation! We accepted "I'm right where I need to be." We affirmed "I know what to do." So this week we realize "I get to take action."

I first read this affirmation and to be honest didn't feel so great about it. I get to take action? What is that? I was very suspect of the word get. It didn't sound fun or positive at all. If I've learned nothing else in my Torah studies I know that a word has many meanings, and sometimes we need to look at it from a different perspective to really understand the gravity of the word.

I went to Merriam Webster and explored the word get. There were several things that drew my attention. Get: to obtain possession of; to seek out and obtain; to make ready; to prevail on; to succeed in becoming. Really looking at the meaning behind the word get transformed my understanding of this affirmation.


Get: "To obtain possession." To really OWN our actions, and all of their consequences.

Get: "To seek out and obtain." To seek our greatest good at all times.

Get: "To make ready." To prepare ourselves for the future.

Get: "To prevail upon." To succeed against the obstacle before us.

Get: "To succeed in becoming." To do what it takes to become the best person we can be.

I Get to Take Action! I get to make the best decisions for myself, do the best I can, continue to prepare for the unknown, and know that I can and will succeed in becoming the person I am meant to be.

This week we know where we are, know what we should do next, and now we do it. What ever "it" is. That may be something as small as taking 10 minutes each day to check in with yourself and doing some self care, or as big as asking for a raise or promotion. Only you know what that next right action is. JUST DO IT!

Adding to Multiply Happiness and Connection

Happy Fat Tuesday!  This of course means the Christian world is about to embark on the Lenten season.  I’m not a Christian, but I do love this religious season for its call to sacrifice, devotion, and focus.  A few years ago a good Catholic friend and I were talking, and she had decided she wasn’t going to give something up for Lent, instead she was going to DO something every single day.  I loved the idea of adding something of value to my life as well, so we headed off to conquer the days, her reciting the Rosary every morning and me chanting every day.  It was a wonderful experience that brought me closer to G-d.

After giving it some thought I decided to invoke this practice again this Lenten season.  I tend to be someone who with good intentions gets in over her head with my commitments.  My mind swirled with all the things I wanted to add.  I started to feel excited and overwhelmed at the same time.  So pulling a little self-care I worked on in February out of my tool box, I narrowed it down to 2 things I am committing to do for the duration of Lent.

Morning Prayer Time.  Every morning I am going to carve out time to pray and do my Course in Miracles study.  I’ve been doing ACIM when I have time to squeeze it in during the day, but I believe it is time to commit a specific period to it, as well as reach out to my Higher Power in a meaningful way every day. 

Embrace gratitude as a daily practice.  I will do this by writing something I am grateful for on the wall of a wonderful Facebook page called The Gratitude Circle.  During the holidays this year I participated in a 40 Days of Gratitude challenge with them.  It was wonderful not just to see everyone else’s blessings, but to also realize the little things I had to be thankful for that I often forget.

It may not seem like a lot, but I know for myself if I added any more than this I would feel too much pressure for perfection.  I just want to connect consistently with my Higher Power in a meaningful way.

Are you giving up anything or adding anything for Lent?  I’d love to know!

Happy New Year...Or I'm Always Right On Time Even When I'm Late

It is a new year, and as always I am late to the party.  I am just fine with that.  I have realized that “new” take me a bit longer to process.  I know I spend too much time in my head and too little time in my heart.  That is what January was about.  The realization, the decisions on change, and then the actions of moving forward into a new way of being.  I also started the study of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) and have committed to completing it this year.  I am 70 plus days in and loving it.  I have already decided to do it again next year, and deepen my study.

February was all about self-care.  Thanks to Maureen Muldoon and her Spiritual Vixens I slowed down and really took a look at what I needed for myself so that I could be available not just for others, but to also move into my calling. I found Maureen through her YouTube page during my search for videos on ACIM.  She’s a great spiritual teacher and so down to earth.  I joined her Spiritual Vixens Facebook page for their February self-care challenge.  I not only enjoyed it I learned about myself as well.  At one point Maureen challenged me to write a blog post and post it to the group.  Here it is!  Better late than never.  Maureen’s website is here, and her Spiritual Vixens Facebook page is here.

February was also a month of getting back into pushing into myself with hypnosis.  Ever so slowly but surely I am completing my certification, but I had stagnated in my personal practice.  I needed some shaking up.  Here comes Grace Smith to the rescue again!  Grace started a free Weight Loss Challenge on her Facebook page. It was 21 days of hypnosis as well as discussion of a book for those who chose to participate in the reading.  There were LOTS of amazing results reported by the participants, but I can only speak for myself.  As of day 21 I had lost 10 lbs., was sleeping better, changed my eating patterns, and had begun exercising almost daily.  I have kept with ALL of those new habits and continued losing weight as well.  Grace is going to continue doing different challenges, and she even has a website you can sign up for to access different hypnosis. Her Facebook page is here, and her website is here.  Take a look! 

I am excited for March!  I have a few new things I am throwing into the mix.  I plan to write more, read more, and get more physical. I’ve only just begun!