Exuberance

"You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world"
-Sheila Graham

Have you ever felt that way about anything? Wanting something so badly that it erupts through your skin!

It reminds me of my child and basketball. Jack tried out and got onto a team this year and his passion and commitment is apparent in every cell of his body, while he's playing and when he is sharing his enthusiasm with us. I can literally feel and see his exuberance in the way he carries himself, in his voice, in his nonstop story telling and while he is practicing. Exuberance abounds in his very being and I get to choose to engage with that wonderful energy.

How do you tap into your belief that you can have anything you want and then be exuberant about it!

"There are voices that we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

It can take a moment, an hour, a day, or a weeklong retreat to connect to our inner voice and to feel the ebb of the outer voice. I utilize time daily to stay connected, the time varies the intention doesn't.

After taking time for yourself is it easier to hold onto your own voice?

What are the most familiar cultural voices that trigger you to shift into being unsure of whether you ought to listen to your own voice or the voice of others? Voices that say things like; to be a good mother you have to... to be a good boss you must...to make the most money you've got to...

I have found it helpful to recognize the cultural voices that most commonly put my own voice into question. I pay more attention to myself in those moments, I am able to check in with what I am feeling and needing. By recognizing what I am needing I am able to find my ground and my voice. It's with a sense of relief that I settle back in to myself.

How is it for you?

Singing

I love to sing!

I don't have a voice that knows how to do it well, at this point, and I still get a huge amount of joy from it. This weekend we went to hear Tom Rawson a folk singer who encouraged the audience to sing along and not to worry whether you sang out of tune or not. In fact he had a couple of songs where he sang out of tune himself.

It made me wonder about the lack of singing in everyday life anymore.

How much have we lost not spending time singing and making music together?

Would it create more peace and connection in the world if we all spent some time making music together?
I think it might and at best it certainly couldn't hurt.

One of my neighbors and I committed to meeting occasionally and singing together and I am looking very forward to those moments.

How does it feel for you to belt out a song; be it in the shower, the car, on stage, at church...?

"I would like to be know
as an INTELLIGENT woman,
a COURAGEOUS woman,
a LOVING woman,
a woman who teaches by being." -_Maya Angelou

A friend gave me a card on my last birthday that had this quote on the front. I felt so honored to receive it. I also know that I love playing with the concept of being versus doing as you all may know by now.

How do we show our love, courage and intelligence?
How do we pay attention to our being in the midst of all the doing?

In part it is learning how to bring your inner voice up a notch and to decrease the volume on the outer voice.

For instance, I don't read the paper or listen to the news on a daily basis, my TV is in the closet. I stay informed by reading an alternative paper, by checking news via NPR a couple times a week. I have found that to listen all the time pulled me to far out of myself, I took it too seriously and wasn't able to stay focused and present with what was right in front of me. This is my way of decreasing the volume of the outer or cultural voice and I am sure there are other ways.

How about you?

Retreat

I just returned from a three day retreat at Breitenbush. Retreat has such a wonderful impact on my life. By spending time caring for myself I am able to reconnect and recommit to what is most important in my life. Which is being a grounded, present, joyful presence in my life and the life of those around me.

Retreat is a time for renewal and reflection. I reflected on how grateful and blessed I am for all that I have in my life including the opportunity to take three days off and leave my family.

It doesn't have to be three days, I find taking a hot bath, a quiet walk in nature, a Saturday filled with open space are retreat times too.

What would be your ideal retreat?

"Each of us inevitable;
Each of us limitless-each of us with his or her right upon the earth;
Each of us allow'd the eternal perports of the earth;
Each of us here as divinely as any is here."
-Walt Whitman

Red

Hello,
I am going on a short retreat, will be back connecting next Thursday or Friday and will send out a new recipe at that time. In the meantime wanted to share this website with you http://www.joinred.com/home.asp This site gives us each an opportunity to choose products than can support others who are suffering from AIDS and other debilitating and deadly illnesses. Please take a moment to have a look!

Cooperation

What do you want when you are asking for cooperation?

Are you wanting to know what would work for the other person as well as yourself and try to find common ground or are you really simply wanting them to do what you want?

"You can't make your kids do anything. All you can do is make them wish they had. And then, they will make you wish you hadn't made them wish you had"
-Marshall Rosenberg

I think this statement pertains to more than just kids, it can be anyone in your life, that you feel you need to make do something.

Think about it, how would life shift for you if gaining understanding, meeting needs, and cooperating were the touchstones of your relationships?

Believe

"Believe what you believe not what you think other people think you are supposed to believe"
-William Kittredge

This quote is from a journal my friend is the editor of, for more information on the journal you can go to www.highdesertjournal.com


The longer I work with individuals and groups and continue to stretch myself I see over and over again how deeply our beliefs shape our lives. Many of us don't take time to reflect and discover how they affect us.

One sure way to a more joyful, balanced life is to uncover what you
believe and live it with a passion.

Pay attention today and uncover one belief you hold and how it impacts your life. Is it one you wish to keep or would it be worthwhile to explore its affects more or let it go...its your choice, choose from your heart!

Who are you now?

Who are you now?

Each day, each moment we are offered the opportunity to do things differently. To be more present, loving, kind, connected...

This is the beautiful gift of being human, the awareness that we can change some part of ourselves, explore some part of ourselves, try on new behaviors, let go of old, be silly, be kind, be mean, be soft...

Who in this moment do you want to be?

In your heart?

"Tenacity is following your heart-when the whole world is screaming to get back into your head"
-Sonia Choquette

In order to go with your heart you need to be able to recognize the difference between when you coming from your heart or your head.

When I am leading from my heart my body feels(this is hard to describe) content, happy, comfortable in my skin... When I am not I notice a discontent and perhaps a bit of disappointment. It's a hard feeling to describe but I do know when I am there.

How about you?

I had a little communication moment today that helped me connect with my need for commonality. As I continue along in this path of exploring balance I recognize that because a lot of my choices don't necessarily jibe with mainstream culture I at times feel like a fish out of water. At these moments I recognize the need to be inspired by individuals who also find themselves on the edge so to speak.

I love the idea of continuing to acknowledge my need for commonality and community and I want to believe it can be found anywhere. It's not others that need to change it's that I need to be looking from my heart, from a place of feelings and needs. To not notice the differences as much as the sameness in each of us.

Is there potential to find a common interest with just about anyone? I have to say in this moment I believe that is true. Will it be easy to find and connect to...that I am committed to exploring. Ah...a new twist on my adventure in this life!

I feel a great deal of excitement as I write this. Recognizing the potential I have to be just that much more awake and in the moment with everyone.

Does this resonate with any of you out there?

Habits

"The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably, thought and act"
-Orison Swett Marden

Take a moment to acknowledge yourself for all the habits you have that support you to live your best life!

Beliefs

What beliefs do you hold that empower you and what are those that disempower you?

Consider asking yourself this question about different areas of your life, career, relationship, health…

It’s helpful to brainstorm and write it all down. I have found myself most open to brainstorming right after I wake up in the morning. If you are interested take ten minutes to do this exercise and see what comes up.

What beliefs are serving you to grow and what are holding you back??

It’s important to identify both the more personal beliefs and the global ones i.e. “If I can be compassionate with myself, I can be compassionate with others.”, to” All women are this busy".

"The only true security in life comes from knowng that every single day you are improving yourself in some way, that you are increasing the caliber of who you are and that you are valuable to yourself, your work, your friends and your family"
-Tony Robbins and me

Consider this

I was listening to an Abraham tape and they shared something I really resonated with so I thought I would share it with you.

The next time you judge or criticize someone notice what it feels like. Do the same when you take the time to appreciate or compliment someone. Pay very close attention to how you feel; mind, body and spirit with both types of interactions.

Now choose to do more of what feels great for you and most likely it will feel great for the other person as well.

Simple exercises like this have been so helpful for me. They are a reminder to practice kindness and I love reminders.

Have a beautiful Fall weekend!

Change your mind, change your life.

Spaghetti Squash Italian Style

Fall has arrived and it almost always fills me with a deep need for more savory, warming foods. This can be a really simple dish if you choose to use a good quality jarred pasta sauce.

1 spaghetti squash (if you aren’t familiar this is filled with strands of squash that look just like spaghetti!)
Your favorite tomato sauce- no time to make one on your own- Newman’s and other organic sauces in the health food store work just great.
My sauce recipe:
1-2 cans diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons of oregano
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, fined diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
Can add, chopped red pepper if you have available
½ cup kalamata olives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Set oven temperature to 375 degrees. Pierce spaghetti squash with a fork in several places and place on a baking sheet. Depending on size this will take ½ hour -1 hour to cook. It is done when you can easily pierce it with a fork. When done slice squash open, scoop out flesh and toss with some olive oil and a bit of sea salt.
Sauce:
In large sauté pan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on med/high heat, add onion and garlic sautéing until onion is translucent.(add bell peppers and sauté for a minute or two). Add tomatoes and herbs; allow sauce to simmer on low heat, stirring regularly. Sauce can simmer for as long as you have, the longer you simmer the deeper and richer the flavor. You can add a bit of red wine to enhance the flavor if you have less time to simmer. Add kalamata olives before serving. Add salt and pepper and adjust seasoning to taste.
Toss squash with sauce and serve. You can add grated parmesan, sausage or other protein to this meal as it suits you. We generally serve this with a green salad and a slice of whole grain bread.
Enjoy!

Awakened doing

Awakened doing; Eckhart Tolle shares this thought so beautifully in his book "The New Earth". I find this concept so important to moving forward in our lives.

Here is his definition of awakened doing; "In any situation and in whatever you do, your state of consciousness is the primary factor; the situation and what you do is secondary".

I'm imagining that concept is pretty foreign to most of us brought up in the Western world. We get and give so much recognition for what we do. Yet when I think about the people in my life that I have great appreciation and love for what they do is not what is important. What is important is who they are as a human being, how they commit to connection, how present they are in the moment, how loving and kind they are...

It's not what we do but how we do it and who we are being when we do.

In any situation I can ask myself; Am I excited, interested in doing this or am I resentful and irritated? Can I shift my consciousness in that moment or am I willing to not do...what are my options? I want to be present for who I am being and recognize when that may not be of service to other.

Does shifting your consciousness to placing more attention on who you are being mean doing different things or simply doing the same things differently??

I don't have that answer, you get to explore what it means to you, if you choose!

What would our world look like if we began to look at our purchase power from a place of sustainability and a healthy global economy?

I often hear individuals sharing their concerns about the cost of local and organic products. What I have come to recognize as I listen to these concerns is that we need a new way of calculating cost. Most of us have been trained to look at what something costs purely from the financial perspective, what it takes from our individual pocket. This way of thinking can limit our perspective and our ability to see the bigger picture and support ongoing life on this planet.

Perhaps it would be helpful to reeducate ourselves to understand and see the true cost. Questions like; How much fossil fuel did it take to get this product to me? Who am I supporting by buying this? What is the overall environmental impact of this choice...
Is it possible to shift into a sustainable perspective as you go about your daily life?
What I would like to consider is; what are the possibilities for our planet by making this shift?

How about you?