Out to Sea

As I awoke this morning I consulted with an app on my Kindle, Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening.   This has become my habit on leisurely mornings.  Today I was looking for a quote that was mentioned at Yoga on Wednesday.  Instead I found a different entry, a story about a troubled man who in his frustration and confusion finally turned to seek guidance from a sage.

The sage listened to the man and looked deeply into his eyes with great compassion.  He offered the man a choice.  He could either have a map or a boat.  The man looking at the other  confused and troubled pilgrims around him chose the boat.  The sage, kissing him on the forehead said, “Go then.  You are the boat.  Life is the sea.”

Indeed, we are the boat on the sea of life.  Everything that we need, we already have.  We connect with our life course through our breath.   Our breath takes us out to sea.  Our ability to listen inside and connect to our breath is our map.

I didn’t find the quote I was looking for, but I found the passage that I needed for today; a lovely reminder that as the new year approaches I have everything that I need.  I am complete on the sea of life.

 

Happy Holiday!

Hello readers! I am back after long hiatus! I hope you are all having a good holiday! I certainly am! I received the cutest, most environmentally friendly and locally bought gift today from my dear friend Donal! It is a Möbius!

According to Wikipedia: “A Möbius strip made with a piece of paper and tape. If an ant were to crawl along the length of this strip, it would return to its starting point having traversed every part of the strip (on both sides of the original paper) without ever crossing an edge.”

My Möbius, however is special! It is wearable!  It is made of Alpaca fiber from an alpaca grown right here in Michigan at the Trickle Creek Alpaca Ranch! I love my fawn colored Möbius!  I can wear it as a shawl, a muffler, a cowl or a head wrap (my intended use at this point!)   You can find out more about Alpacas and the other great clothes made from them at www.tcalpacaware.com.  The fact that my friend supported a local business makes this gift even more special to me!

How are you supporting the local economy this Holiday Season?

Sidewalks Promote Community Feeling

I intently shoveled my sidewalks yesterday!  We’ve had quite a bit of snow this week.   I shoveled a path through Monday’s blizzard but yesterday we had a significant  snow and some winds causing drifts so I broke out the shovel again.

I am currently living in a community that has sidewalks.   I am on a corner lot, so I have lots of sidewalks to shovel when it snows.  In my old neighborhood I only had a driveway to shovel.  There was no concern for community, it was my driveway and I could choose to shovel it or not.

Having sidewalks is different.  Especially in this walking community.  Knowing that my Orthodox Jewish neighbors would be trudging through the snow in a few short hours to go to Shabbat Services gave me a reason to shovel my sidewalk right away!  I felt that I couldn’t let them down.   (Also you never know who has an Uncle Moshe, the personal injury lawyer!   )

Sidewalks, I’ve decided,  promote a feeling of  community.   As I looked out my window this morning I was happy to see that the walks I shoveled yesterday were still clear and being traversed by a group of Orthodox families on their way to Synagogue services.   It enriches my life and warms my heart to have neighbors to care for!

Here a plowing service takes care of my driveway, so I have no shoveling concerns for my own behalf .  It is for my neighbors that I maintain my walkways, especially when Shabbat is approaching. My neighbors observe the Shabbat as their ancient tradition mandates, by walking, not driving to the Synagogue.  It is in respect for them and their tradition I shovel my walks, grateful for my opportunity to do a mitzvah!    Shabbat Shalom!

Change The World!

My coach and I were discussing the desire to change the world.  She used to feel that one person could work to change the world.  I’m not sure that I ever gave it that much thought before… but I can tell you that now I see that the world can only be changed via groups.  That group may be as small as just two people… but my point is an individual can not effectively change anything.

Why you ask?  And I’m sure you are hopping up and down with many examples of one person who did indeed change the world!  I say to you… that one person… John Kennedy?  Martin Luther King?   Oh let’s use King… it’s Black History Month after all!  Okay the great, revered MLK had other people that he worked with… he was not alone… he had a group, even in the beginning there was someone who supported King and his ideas… someone who believed in him.

That is why we need a group… we all have a seed of greatness within.  But tell me have you listened to how you talk to yourself recently?  Would you talk to a friend that way?  Even if you are highly advanced very aware individual I’m sure that at the very least that voice is sometimes full of doubt if not harsh self criticism.

Having another individual, say a coach for example, who can hold a non judging space for you makes a difference.  A coach can hold a space of possibilities and belief open for you, where you might shut the door on yourself.  Doing so gives you room to blossom into your greatness.

When I talk to my clients I am amazed at their courageousness!  I have worked with clients who faced impossible situations!  They have non nonchalantly told me they were fighting cancer, or other diseases.  They have been committed to making something happen even though building their dream meant temporary hardship and discomfort.  My clients are committed to a dream or goal that is bigger than any obstacle they encounter!  They are brave people!  It is my job to give them support in their weak moments… to assist them in finding the strength to go on… to understand and accept them and have faith in them… to be a mirror for them so they can see their greatness.

What do you want to accomplish?  How are you doing alone?  What would achieving your dreams mean for you, for your family, for the world?  We can make it happen together!  Dare something worthy and call me!  Together we can unlock your greatness and let your light shine to the world!

More on Avatar

After seeing Avatar last night I woke up feeling like I had been through alot!  I mean I was well rested, not tired, but feeling like I had experienced sensory overload… and I think that’s the Avatar experience.  It was fun to feel part of the movie, it was a powerful experience and I’m happy to rest now.  It’s been a very quiet very low key day today.  I felt I needed that.  I didn’t really feel like doing much today.  It was raining out and felt like a good day to stay inside, do some laundry, catch up on some reading, meditate and blog.   It is only now in the evening that I realize just how impacted I was by the larger than life movie and special effects!   I’m glad I saw the movie on Saturday so I had Sunday to recover.  The movie certainly delivers an experience!

Avatar and The Pod Myth

When I watched Avatar win awards on the Golden Globes and James Cameron said “If you are the one person who has not yet seen Avatar…”   I self identified!  Yes! I was that one person!  Not any more!  I saw the 3D IMAX version of Avatar last night and it was great!

During the movie I found it interesting that the people utilized “pods” to gain access to the  playground of  Pandora, when they wanted to relate to the  peace-loving race of 10-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na’vi.   This immediately brought to mind the movie  The Matrix, where in similar fashion a pod was utilized to enter the  alternate reality of the Matrix.  In this case the Matrix was fashioned to keep humans docile while there energy was being harvested as a power source for intelligent machines and the alternate reality kept them from ever really engaging with real life.

At one point Jake Sully in Avatar becomes so disoriented he can no longer tell whether the world or his experience on Pandora were the true reality.  In the Matrix Morpheus offers Neo a Red Pill to see the Truth, a blue pill will return him to ignorance.

While the pod in Avatar is utilized by scientists to study the culture of the Na’vi, benign in comparison to that of the pod in the Matrix, at least until co-opted by the military, the common theme of pods to transport us to a playground where we can play out different scenarios, or maybe play out our karma reigns.

Earth may truly be that alternate reality.  The pod,  something we engaged in before this  incarnation.  A place where we set an agenda of sorts for this lifetime, where we develop sacred contracts to be fulfilled on earth.

There is a disturbing article on CNN about the Avatar blues. I am curious if Avatar might awaken something in an unaware individual.  Perhaps it is the realization of the emptiness of their life or the wrongness of their path that brings on this effect.  Avatar could precede a spiritual awakening or crisis in such individuals.  Such a crisis could be an initiation that will lead to a spiritual practice  bringing fulfillment, peace of mind, and the realization of a need for life changes to those hit by the Avatar blues.   Could this movie experience provoke a mass spiritual awakening for the sleeping masses?  We can only hope!

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mild case of the  Avatar Blues send me an email.  I would be happy to offer a complimentary half hour life coaching session to such individuals.

A New Year!

Twenty-Ten has begun!   A new year and a new beginning for all of us!  Can you feel it in the air?  I feel a kind of optimism from others a feeling of  ”last year is behind us now it’s time to move on!”

As I settle into this year and into my life I look forward to assisting others in living their dreams!  After years of being afraid to even acknowledge my own  dream, let alone live it… I have learned that anything is possible!  I have learned how to be be firmly grounded and how to cultivate my personal chi! By doing so I live from my unique, authentic  essence.  You can learn this too!  I can assist you!

Are you tired of “settling” in life?  Do you feel locked into a way of being that no longer fits you?  We all have something to contribute and once we discover what that is and learn how to unleash our passion behind that purpose, nothing can stop us!

This year is the new beginning you’ve been waiting for!  It’s a new year and a new decade!  Make your dreams come true now!  Awaken to the voice within!  Find your passion and live your authentic life!  Do what you love and love what you do! If you want to know more about living in possibility email me to set up a complementary coaching session now!  It could be the difference between “settling” and “soaring!”   Contact me today me today for this limited time offer.

How Starbucks Saved My Life…

This is the title of a delightful little book by Michael Gates Gill, that literally jumped into my arms like a frisky puppy as I was holiday shopping at Borders Bookstore the week after Thanksgiving.  It is no secret that I love Starbucks, even now that I no longer drink coffee, having discovered that I have a food sensitivity to it.  Somehow I am stilled pulled to their stores.  I can always find something to drink or eat there; I love the stores’ ambiance and I’m drawn to the company’s integrity.

How, I thought, could Starbucks save someone’s life… but not once did I doubt that it was possible!  Starbucks is a great employer and a force for fair trade in the marketplace.  My son worked for them in Metro Detroit when he was in high school and again when he first moved to NYC.   I vaguely remember him saying working in the NYC Starbucks was nothing like working in the Detroit stores.  Having read Gill’s book I now understand what my son was unable to convey to me at the time.

Furthermore, coming from a 20 year career in the advertising industry myself, I identified with Gill.  I could feel his pain.   I too remember feeling old in an industry that worships youth.  He spins a delightful and charming story… an inspiring story of difficult changes and personal growth.  He may be one  of Starbucks best marketing tools for their PR department!

Even more so he shares an important message with us…  happiness is found by living life without pretense.  The key then to Gill’s “saved life” is merely set within the backdrop of Starbucks.  When we live honestly and authentically, owning our failures without blaming others and living within our means,  peace of mind and happiness are a natural byproduct.

Working at Starbucks is optional, although obviously not a bad place to be.  Working with a Life Coach would certainly be of value to someone on such a journey or someone interested in living authentically!  Working with a Life Coach can help one discover and develop their essence, their life force, their personal chi.  Gill reminds us that it is not the destination but life’s journey itself that is the reward!

Practicing Qigong Gives New Appreciation for the Seasons

I don’t like the winter.   Or at least I didn’t.  I’ve never liked the cold weather and it seems like it’s dark all the time here in Michigan between the shorter days and the overcast and cloudy skies.  Gloomy winter days used to be all I associated with winter.

Qigong has changed that for me.  I’ve been practicing Qigong since May of 2008.  It has changed my outlook, my life, and dare I say – my karma.   I still don’t like winter weather… but I must say that I have more appreciation for nature and enjoy being outside even on cold days now.

I actually love the winter months now… I associate them with very deep and intense meditations.  I’ve learned that in the winter there is an energetic pull inwards.  This results in deep inner work and meditative states that are easier than usual to achieve.

I discovered this last winter and remember that in the spring when I noticed a difference in the “feel” of my meditations I really missed the depth.  Now that I realize that it is seasonal I will thoroughly enjoy the winter energy while it lasts!  The next couple of weeks are especially good!

This week is great with solstice around the corner and the yin new moon in a couple of days the inward pull of the energy will be the strongest of the year.  I plan to meditate and revel in it both in my regular Qigong practice and my sitting and standing meditations as well.  It is a very special time of year energetically!

I think it is no coincidence that this time is observed with holidays in so many religious (and pagan) traditions!  Whatever your tradition… have a happy holiday season!

Defy Gravity with Caroline Myss

The great thing about being a healer is having great clients that the Universe speaks through!  Really!  It was last summer that one of my dear Reiki clients told me that she didn’t know why but she felt compelled to tell me to read some Caroline Myss.   Great, I thought!  Another book to add to the pile by my night stand!  Don’t get me wrong, I love reading and I’m a voracious reader… but with all my coaching classes and my involvement in the coaching community sometimes I feel like I have too much of a good thing!  If I have to read one more book, no matter how good it is,  I think to myself, I’ll scream!

Well enough of my complaining… so I did nothing when my dear client shared this message with me… and then several weeks later the newest book by Caroline Myss landed in my mailbox, with a request from the folks at Hay House to review it!   And then in November I had the pleasure to hear Caroline talk about this wonderful book in a live online event!

The book is Defy Gravity:   Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason and it is a book that belongs on every healer’s, coach’s and therapist’s bookshelf.

Myss shines a light on the fact that healing is a mystical experience but as a society we are not comfortable with mystical experiences… we utilize reason… after all we are  “reasonable people”  and we become “driven” in our spiritual pursuits as we are in our material lives.  We’ve merged the east/west philosophies and utilize pop psychology, yoga, vegetarianism, ecology, nutrition, self awareness as the path of becoming a conscious person, but we back away from the sacred… from devotion… from intimacy with God.

We attempt to reason our way to enlightenment… when in reality grace is the only path to enlightenment and to healing.  Rather than being driven to “get stuff” we are called to give.  It is the ego and fear that get in the way of our realization that life itself is reverence, “stuff” is not.  Grace allows us to connect on the most human and the most divine level…  but only when reason and ego can be pushed aside to allow that connection.  It is in  a space of grace that healing can take place.

This is where we go in both coaching and healing.  In a powerful coaching session egos are left at the door a safe space, a sacred space is created .  It is okay to be vulnerable  and the energy, the spirit, can be felt when one is operating in a state of grace.   Myss delves into the shadow side of the graces as well and aligns both the graces and their shadows with the chakra system.  True healing takes place in grace,  otherwise our base shadow side becomes entangled, and the outcome tainted.

Ultimately it’s the unreasonable path, or the path beyond reason,  that we as healers, coaches and therapists must go to serve our clients.  That is where the grace resides that provides a space for true healing to take place.  It is through mysticism, devotion and intimacy with God and dare I say worship of God and the keeping of the sacred, that healing takes place.