Shine Your Light
I am seeing an alarming trend of people walking through their life anesthetized. Numb. They whittle away their limited hours and days watching others live instead of consciously living their own life. They conveniently view others through the lens of a television screen, computer screen, or even a cell phone. With the push of a button, they fall into a trance of being a voyeur in the life of another and justify this as living. I want to shake them, "Wake up! Do you know how many people are waiting for YOU to fully show up in your life? You…
Putting the LIGHT back into Enlightenment: An Action Plan
Free yourself from judgment. Each judgment you have is a complaint with the Divine Mystery. Let go of your attachment to being right. This doesn't mean you can't be right, only that you can't keep score. Let go of your attachment to being wrong. Scrutinizing your actions to identify your "mistakes" is a justification for self-judgment. The opposite of being wrong and the opposite of being right is the same-just being. Stop trying to fix yourself. You are not broken, you don't need repairing, and you don't need to try harder. All you need to do is accept yourself as you are. Get over thinking…
Accepting and Embracing What Is
As I am taking a deep breath on a crisply vibrant morning, before setting fingers to keyboard, I am humbled by the magnitude of this question. I gaze back at the previous chapters of my life with a blend of bewildered awe and 'if I knew then what I know now'. I imagine the steps and turns in the dance that has become my life and the various partners with whom I have taken them and it seems that it has all been perfect and then along comes a sense of wistfulness and 'if only'. The words of what I…
Find Your Inner Whistle
Okay, okay, I'm going to make a bold statement. I admit it - I'm over 50 now, yes I am. It is a hard pill to swallow. But I'm getting there and am starting to get comfortable with it. I used to hate walking down a street and getting whistles from the men around me. Now, there were never hundreds, but I got my share. BUT... and again I hate to admit it but... when the whistles started disappearing and finally stopped altogether, I missed them. I missed them... I really, really missed them. So I looked in the mirror.…
It’s Time to Accept Others – and Yourself!
We are all unique individuals with our experiences, culture, perspectives, and beliefs. We need to embrace these differences that define us and own who we are in order to be true to ourselves. So often people feel they need to conform, fade back and shy away from what truly makes them unique and special to all of those around them. We need to be free to show up as ourselves and let our own light shine in all we do. Not only do we need to accept ourselves, but we need to be open to others and their differences. Even…
Get high on inner happiness!
"So many silly wasted years trying to find happiness in all the wrong places". That's what I tell myself these days. Advice to the young woman I once was (if I were to listen!) would be: "Stop trying to find happiness in sensory pleasures like eating out, smoking, drinking, loud music, fine clothes and jewellery, the newest car, expensive holidays and thinking only of yourself all the time, because I know now that none of these things bring you lasting happiness." Phew! All that pressure to conform and trying to make other people like me! It was so exhausting! What a…
Finding Your Confidence
There is no wrong, there never has been! There are those who know and then there are those who innocently don't know. We all have a desire to define our divine design. What is your heart's desire? Have you come to terms with what you are here to accomplish for yourself? How can we make ourselves feel committed to accept every experience we have lived and more importantly know that every decision we have previously made was right at the time? We all have a deep seated longing to know what our purpose in life is, to help us accept…
Making the Most of the Hand You’re Dealt
Life has a way of dealing each of us a deck of cards that ranges in numbers and colors. Each and every day we wake up and pull a card and the day has been defined. There are good days and great days and sad days and unhappy days; however there is one thing that is is guaranteed – you have the freedom to accept what you are dealt or you can fold. Over the course of a little more than four years, I had no idea what cards I would be dealt or that I would desperately need to find…
Accept the Real You
Strive to be all you, all the time. Be the Nancyest of Nancys or the Janest of Janes or the Billyest of Billys. Are you so busy wearing masks that you've lost touch with your authentic core? Don't judge the real YOU. Just OWN it, love it, express it, BE it. Change can be scary as hell, but it can also be transforming. Go with the flow of the Universe and be willing to allow change into your life, even when it feels uncomfortable. How would you live if you took fear out of the equation? Are the fears you…
Love Yourself, Love Your Life
Loving and believing in yourself is the key to thriving abundantly. When you love yourself—unconditionally—your mindset shifts to the energy of love and abundance. It enables you to have more peace, confidence, and happiness which empowers you. When you feel powerful, your attitude changes from pessimism to optimism, and, you will attract more uplifting people and experiences in your life. To have self-love, appreciate who you really are. You are much more than your physical self. You are a magnificent spiritual being within. Your true essence is that of pure, positive energy, love, and light! You are of infinite worth.…
Making Choices with Love
I've learned that I regret not so much the choices that I make, but the choices that I don't; not so much the things that I've done, but the things I haven't done. Not so much "mistakes" made, for there are truly no mistakes, only opportunities not explored. And there is the seed of growth and development in each of these. I've learned to allow myself to become, more and more, the witness and the witnessed, the seer and the seen, the observer and the observed. And I've learned to do this with a minimum of judgment. Although not with…
Allow Today to Unfold as it Should
Embrace what is. Let go of any notion of what should be. You believe in the power of positive thought. You have learned to anchor yourself in the morning. You pray. You meditate when you rise. You do your yoga stretches. You envision the graceful unfolding of your day, a day in which you experience joy and are of service to the world. These are all terrific habits. Sometimes, however, the universe has other things in store. Better yet, sometimes what the universe has planned for us is better than anything we have envisioned for ourselves. Even if what unfolds does not…
Love is the Only Answer
If I only had one word to describe and answer the questions I have posed to myself since I have been a little girl, the word would be Love. I would wish people were able to reach out to one another, to share, to cooperate, and to serve, realizing there is nothing to lose by being open-hearted, generous and fearless. There are only two emotions - love and fear - that determine our success and our joy in life. If one chooses love, there can be no fear because that person is willing to risk being different, unique, and to…
As Simple As ‘Be Happy!’
BE HAPPY! (Easier said than done right?!) When we are truly happy in the moment of life, we feel full, complete, whole and satisfied. Time stands still. Clarity is in our hearts. We LOVE life, others and ourselves. We feel good and authentic inside. And when we feel good, we do "good" in this world. We share our overflowing happiness with others, which then recycles right back to us. Our happiness is a gift to the world. So if it is that simple - BE HAPPY - why do we make it so elusive, difficult and complex to achieve? Because…
You Have Everything You Need in This Moment
In this lifetime we can waste precious time and energy living for an external result, acquiring other's approval and needing things outside of ourselves for happiness. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that achieving goal after goal will not automatically create the happiness we crave so deeply. And when we live for something in the future, whether it’s a thinner body, the perfect mate or enough money in the bank to buy an island, we rob ourselves of the perfection of this present moment. We will find ourselves chasing a false dream, believing that when we have the…
A Caring Future Is In Your Hands
It is hard to put a lifetime of experience into so few words. There are so many angles to look at it from and most lessons come from the past. I want to look at what lessons could come from the future, a future we can all aspire to today. There is a future reality where all ages of life are valued. A baby is never ill-treated by uncaring adults. A young child is never bullied or insulted by his friends. A teenager doesn't consider taking their life because there is no hope for a job or career. No child…