Free to be Gray!

Tomorrow I am going to get my hair done! I am currently in the endless “trap” of hair dye, that I’ve been trying to get out of for more than a year. My first conversation with my current (old) hairdresser was desperate!

I was home-dying a dark brown and my hair is growing in much lighter (and grayer). I don’t care that it is graying. In fact as far as I can tell from the new growth it looks pretty similar to highlights that I have paid Big Bucks for in the past! What I can’t stand is having it look “cottony” at the roots just 2 weeks after getting it dyed!

Well, I’m not sure how this happened, but here I am well over a year later, still dark brown, but now with some highlights… and getting it done by hairdresser! By this time now, I’ve had it! I like my hairdresser. I love the way she cuts my hair! But clearly my original problem (the endless touch-ups) was not solved.

Furthermore, she described a long process of trying to grow out and match colors… and well It all just sounds impossible to accomplish!

I talked to my coach, who seemed a bit puzzled by my dilemma. How could this be so complicated? I feel that I’m being held hostage by the beauty industry! She spoke to her stylist. Her stylist explained that some of the older hairdressers are not aware of a product from Rusk called Elimin8. It is supposed to pull dye out of hair without destroying the hair. The August Oprah Magazine has an article about hair and how it sometimes get away from you and I can certainly relate, even though the article doesn’t address graying (maybe that article would be in the AARP version of Oprah!)

My photo is on my about page. Consider that my”before” photo. I love my hair here, but the maintenance is just too much! It’s “not me”! I will add a new photo (an after photo) by next week or sooner! I am going to the wedding of my best friend’s daughter next Saturday…so if I don’t get the photo before then I’ll at least get one Saturday! If this works you’ll here a very loud Yippee! emanating from Michigan!!! I’ll be free at last!!!! …uh, and uh, if it doesn’t… that faint sobbing sound?… that’d be me!

This is an update. I had the process done to my hair. I had a hairdresser pull the color out. She used something similar to the Rusk product I mentioned… but not Rusk. Apparently this product doesn’t smell as bad. (Which is fine by me!)

I peeked at my hair at one point… it was orange!!! It’s not orange anymore though. She put in a demi-permanent tint. It is several shades lighter than it was. The goal is to give a softer line of demarcation when the roots grow out so it will blend more easily. I’ll have low lights put in on the roots to blend it a bit.

My hair is not that long and grows very quickly, so I’m hoping that I will have all new (never dyed dark brown) hair by the end of the year. Then I can decide if I want to keep low lights in it, or something else.

Whatever I do I want something that won’t need constant maintenance and look so bad when roots grow in! I am going to my old hairdresser for the cut… she does wonders with it! The new person is my color specialist.

Much like the acrylic nails that I had for a while… it just became a hassle(the upkeep)… not something that I enjoy… and the look is just not me anymore! I’m looking forward to the beautiful highlights that I see in the new growth! Why do we women let ourselves get pulled into these artificial processes? I know some men dye their hair as well… but they get one haircut and it can be gone… not so for most women. I want to simplify my life right now… and the hair color has just become a burden. One that I’m on my way to becoming free of, finally!

No pictures yet, I’ll have some by the weekend… it’s not that much different though. My 22 year old son couldn’t even tell…but then guys often have issues with color perception and how closely does he look at me anyways! LOL!

The Labyrinth

Yesterday I had a very interesting experience. I walked a Labyrinth.

Born and raised a Catholic, I had somehow escaped Labyrinth walking. Our church didn’t have one. I had overheard a conversation about it once between one of my classmates and a nun, but I really had no concept of what it was.

I thought it was like a maze at first. Being a resident in here in Michigan I have been in a corn maze before. It wasn’t an experience that I particularly liked. That’s an understatement! I did not like the maze at all! It was frustrating and I was tired and I thought I’d never get out! I didn’t see the entertainment value at all! But I was told that the labyrinth was nothing like a maze, they are very different.

My Life Coach and I were having a business meeting, but she wanted to know if I’d like to meet early and go to the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth to do a walk first. I said yes, not really knowing what was involved.

The Labyrinth at St. John’s is a beautiful replica of the Chartres labyrinth in France. The gardens are beautiful, it is clearly a wonderful and very special place.

But I mean you are just walking, right? Following a path on the ground… nothing to it, I thought. I was really not understanding the powerful impact a labyrinth makes.

Now I understand. It is powerful! I feel drawn to go back.

I have journaled my experiences in the labyrinth and I am “being” with them, exploring them. Nothing could have been said to prepare me for this experience.

Thinking about it today I think I was even more effected by it. The labyrinth is a metaphor for life.

Upon entering the path yesterday, I asked for answers. (I always want answers.) On the walk to the center I had many thoughts. Thoughts about things and situations that I want guidance and answers on.

Then I was at the center. I just stood there thinking, well I did it. I got to the center and I observed my feeling for a bit and looked at the labyrinth and the pattern, were it had taken me through it’s circuitous route.

I didn’t even consider at first, that I had to walk back out through it. But then, as I started to follow the path back out, I found that I was less distracted and just more quite inside. I was not particularly “thinking” of anything just walking along.

It became a mystical experience.

Today as I read about the stages of asking, being, and receiving I realize this is exactly what I did, but nobody told me to, it happened automatically. This is amazing! There is power in the labyrinth! If you haven’t walked one try it!

I think I will take my daughter there tomorrow. She is very intuitive and at a cross roads in her life right now. I couldn’t think of a better place to go to gain some clarity.

Defining Wealth

A point to consider when attracting wealth is, that wealth is not always judged in terms of money. Not that there is anything wrong with money, but it should be seen for what it is: energy. What most people are looking for is happiness and that can’t be bought. If money could buy happiness the Rich and Famous in Hollywood would not have the problems they have, do drugs, commit suicide! What we really desire has a more spiritual component of happiness… it is joy! But until we are clear on that we often look to material things to satisfy this deep spiritual longing… and that doesn’t work! At best this misplaced desire leads to frustration!

The joy can be created through:

• having balance in your life
• from being grounded in reality
• having a high self esteem
• having a positive outlook
• having an attitude of gratitude
• realizing what “enough” is

The last point is very important because with out it you will never realize that you are wealthy…you will always want more! Once you are “centered” you will create wealth!