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Our blog is now at the Global Institute for Awakening!

To go there right now, click:  http://www.GIAwaken.com/blog

After two years of hard work, I've built an organization that serve all exploring healing and professional healers seeking excellence.  

It is:

• A place where healers and those interested in genuine healing can connect with healing experts. 

• A place to get practical guidance about how to be a better healer, and fulfill your spiritual mission of healing.

• A place of inspiration and proven practices to better connect with your Source of Inspiration and inner guidance.  And more!

It's called... (drumroll PLEASE!)  The Global Institute for Awakening:

 
 
If you want to change the world by healing, check out our powerful membership benefits package! Learn to help your clients, family, and business better awaken their Potential, too! 

Grab our new FREE Spiritual Journey Wake-Up Kit at GIAwaken.com right now, with no further obligation at all.  Understand the components of your spiritual journey with this free ebook, audio and map.  Help your clients and others understand their path, too.

Check it out, and catch all my NEW blog posts since May 1, 2010, at:  GIAwaken.com/blog

I will still be right here, helping healers one-on-one, but catch my free calls and cost-effective classes over at the Institute, too.  Thanks!

 

Founder, Global Institute for Awakening

Check out our GIA facebook page

Follow the Global Institute for Awakening on Twitter

Healing a wasp sting

Not 20 minutes into the yardwork today, one of our kids was stung on the inner arm by a wasp.  Crying and saying, "it hurts" over and over, she was gently guided by everyone into my office.  The area was already pink, about 2" (5cm) across.  A bright red dot marked the center. I went to work.

• 4 minutes later it "mostly didn't hurt" (only a little bit when she "thought about it on purpose").  A small welt had begun rising around the red dot.

• 7 minutes in, the welt had elongated and frozen at less than a 1/2" (1cm) across the long way.  The sting didn't hurt at all.

• 10 minutes in, the red dot in the center was gone.  You could see a tiny circle there, but it was all skin color. The welt had reduced, and the bigger red area was much paler.  Pain and trauma behind her, back outside she went.

I am so grateful for the possibilities of healing!  I feel for people who wouldn't believe this was possible, who would assume that a wasp sting would really hurt for a while.  This isn't the first sting that's all but disappeared inside 15 minutes for me as a healer, and I'm grateful for every disappearance.

Are you fully open to life's highest potential?  Where in your life are you making assumptions that limit your full enjoyment of life and its possibilities?  How can you let these go?

Clearing resistance in meditation

I've been meditating more and more recently, how about you?  Most of us know meditating can de-stress you big-time and strengthen your ability to hear inner guidance.  But when you sit down, do a million thoughts come flooding into your mind?

Me too!  But still I sit down, and I always learn something.  Practicing dealing with mental interruptions makes it easier each time.  Like going to the gym, but you are exercising your mind.  Mental strength is crucial to unlocking your Potential to heal yourself and the world.

Here's an issue that came up for me right away in meditation this morning, and the spiritual principles I remembered to help me let it go and sink back into just breathing.

Issue:  A struggle to tune out my busy environment out of a fear that I might miss something. I might need to hear that!  I might need to get involved and fix that!  What is making that noise?  This is a long-term pattern for me: I also used to be a pack rat as a child and young adult, too -- I might need that some day! 

Spiritual Principles & Wisdom: Let go to flow.  Know and trust that what you need will come to you in its own time.  Right now, I choose to meditate, so I choose to let meditation come to me. 

When you are interrupted with outside sounds, thank and bless what you hear as a great opportunity to exercise letting it go.  Name it and thank it and send it floating away.  ("weird truck-y sound, thank you, let go...")  Return to watching your breathing.

Fixing is not flowing.  Thinking something can't be done without me is a form of pride or self-importance. This type of thought actually blocks energy flow!  By seeing something as broken or needing fixing, you judge it and limit its potential.  Fixing something broken can't get as good results as seeing its highest potential and getting out of the way of it coming to fruition.  Practice getting out of the way by letting go of these thoughts ("fixing, thank you, let go...") and getting back to meditation.

Bonus: Apply this wisdom elsewhere in your life today.  Let go of something distracting.  For isntance, instead of receiving 20 emails a day (I know that's not an exaggeration for some of us!) with products and services you don't need right now but are curious about, let them go for now and seek them out when you really need them.  Remain present, figure out what you need to do NOW, and focus on taking that next step instead of wondering about what you might do in the future. 

Did that help?  Happy meditating.  :)

Guest Article: Your Life and Style Is American Idol

by Tamara Gold

Do you go through your day feeling kind of pitchy?

Or perhaps no one is listening to you and you want to yell out, “Hey dogg, listen up, listen up, listen up. Okay, dogg…..”

You even go to your favorite store, touch a few tubes of the new Tom Ford lipstick line and think, “I’m just not feeling it.”

Your husband hums in the shower and you find yourself saying, “Honey, I love you, but I’m worried about your song selection. With all the great pop songs out there what were you thinking by humming ‘Yellow Submarine?”

What I’m thinking is that life mirrors “American Idol.”

Think about it a moment: Just like on “Idol,” we wake up every morning, style ourselves in the best way possible and then go out on that great stage of life to put on our best performances. Sometimes we win; other times we’re stuck in the bottom three. A detractor can makes our lives miserable. Other times, our personal Simon says, “You went from zero to hero. Well done. ”

What are the deeper lessons of Idol that apply to your life, business and personal style?

Just like Simon tells us on Idol, please stay true to who you are.

It’s time to recognize your own unique talents and stay true to the best vision of you. Think about the singers on Idol who are some mish-mash of what they think everyone else wants them to be as an artist. Suddenly, they’re schitzo!  One week, they’re crooning a country song and the next they’re doing some Zeppelin. It’s confusing because everyone else wonders, “Who is this person?” Just like on Idol when you figure out the best version of you then stick with it. Think about Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry who were always true to their unique visions. No one had either of them singing show tunes. Those songs just didn’t fit. People who are true to themselves can’t be anything else but beautiful and authentic.

Just like Paula used to tell us on Idol, show us a little more personality.

Don’t hide out. Your personality makes you magnetic and unforgettable. This is true when it comes to your personal style. Perhaps you’re like Crystal Bowersox this season and you dress like you live in a Seattle coffee shop. You know what? She’s perfect because her clothing reflects her true personality. Can you imagine how uncomfortable she would feel if they forced her to wear a tight mini skirt and low-cut shirt? Don’t let others dictate how you will present yourself to the world.

Do it your own way – because the world has enough cookie cutter types.

Your goal is to stand out from all of those who are simply auditioning. You don’t want to look like that cookie cutter girl with the same outfit, the same hair and even the same makeup. Your individuality will make you rise from the pack, and often this does start with clothing. Siobhan Magnus might wear a short tulle skirt with legwarmers and cowboy boots next week, but somehow it all works because she has style to stand out for the rest. Look at Adam Lambert. Like him or not, he commands the room from his ever-growing hair to his pointy-shoes.

Realize that everyone isn’t always a fan.

You can’t go through the day worrying if everyone will vote for you. There will be people who don’t like you or those who judge you harshly. Remember that Simon was rude to Jennifer Hudson and basically told her that she stunk. She was low in the top ten when she got kicked off “Idol,” disappeared and came back to win an Oscar and have a hit CD. Your detractors can and will be wrong. I’m sure Daughtry isn’t still upset that he didn’t win Idol or even come in as the runner up.

Make sure to appreciate the Ellen in your life.

There will always be someone who desperately wants you to win and sees the positive in you. He or she will make you laugh and smile like Ellen does on “Idol.” Cherish this person and let their compliments sink in.

Realize that we all make bad song choices.

Big Mike, I feel your pain on Beatles week. But realize that we all make a bad decision or two in life. You might even do it in front of a lot of people like those Idol contestants. But the key is you put yourself out there and someone will “get” your tune.

Finally, just like on Idol, polish yourself, grow and evolve as you go on.

Think about the Idol contestants on week one vs. the finale of the show. Of course, they’ve had major makeovers from top industry pros. They’ve been polished up and the gold has been tumbled until it shines. Most of the ladies begin as regular people and look like beautiful stars when it’s over. You can work on your own hair, face and clothing in the same manner. Realize it’s not an overnight fix. Heck, it takes those idols all season to really look fabulous.

Oh, one more. Everyone is a winner.

Yes, if you put yourself out there, stay true to who you are and focus on doing your best then how can you not become a winner?

Right, dogg?

Hollywood Makeup Artist, Writer, and Style Consultant, Tamara Gold publishes publishes the "Red Lipstick Report" e-zine. Beauty & Style. News & Reviews for Real Women. Information, Inspiration, How-To Videos and Spotlight Interviews with Industry Experts keep you feeling and looking your best...in all areas of your life and your business.  If you want to create your own authentic personal style in your life, creative endeavor or business, you can sign up for a FREE subscription to The Red Lipstick Report at www.TamaraGold.com.

Interpreting a dream of betrayal... self-betrayal

Woke up from a terrifying dream with a message this morning.  Here's how I decoded it. 

In it, I had some random house guests I hadn't seen in a long time, but when we all woke up the next morning in the dream, my body had rotted out in several places, really gruesome.  (I will spare you the details, bleah.)

Panicked, I went from person to person begging for help but they went about their lives as if they couldn't even see me.  One person was organizing a fun backpacking trip, everyone was excited.  I was panicked and nobody noticed I needed help.

Then it was time to wake up.  Shudder. 

I love interpreting dreams, seeing what our wise deep self has to say about what's going on in waking time.  I've been interpreting dreams for clients for over a decade, and there is ALWAYS something fascinating to learn from them.  All the issues we have been hiding from ourselves come bubbling up in our dreams, where we can work them out and see more clearly what our problems really are. 

In this dream, all the guests in my house had at one time in my life betrayed me, some repeatedly.  Betrayal is a fascinating topic, one which I unfortunately know a lot about personally. It's been a personal growth theme most of my life (getting much better now, thank you).  By working with it, I've discovered that experiencing betrayal in the world, from friends, relatives, or coworkers, reflects some way that you are not being true to yourself.  When you figure out exactly what you're doing and become your staunchest ally, betrayal in the "real world" magically fades.  I see this over and over as I help clients identify their self-betrayal issues and resolve them, too.  (I love my work!)

So all my guests had betrayed me, and then so did my body!  They didn't provide help, support, or health.  They just ignored me.  What does it mean?

Notice the betrayers were in a position of honor: guests.  This told me not to look down upon them, but to look more closely at what they offered through their actions.  They showed total purposeful ignorance, happily planning for a fun adventure while avoiding even acknowledging something very serious: a rotting body.  So I should ask myself this:  How am I completely ignoring something wrong with my body while I am busily and happily planning for the future?

OK, I get it.  As a healer for over 12 years, I've cleaned a lot of garbage out of my diet, but I have always had a sweet tooth.  I still fall back on it when I'm stressed.  It's been hard to break, even with increasingly noticeable consequences in my body when I give in.  Last week I hit a big stressor and guess what, craved sugar big time.  (Parents, please don't comfort or reward your children with sweets!)  I'll admit, I caved... quite a lot yesterday in fact. 

I'd already gotten the sense recently that it's time to stop this habit, and had set some new limits.  My whole personal growth path has upshifted this year, and now sweets have to go, 100%, no exceptions any more.  Now I have vividly seen they have the power to rot my body from the inside out.  (This is true: I lost a tooth once that had cavities on the inside, not the outside.)  I know I need to do some metabolic healing work to get my blood sugar to more appropriate levels.  A month or so ago I ramped up my meditation schedule and my exercise program again (from random to an increasingly better schedule).  Now sweets have to go.  It's time to put my foot down for myself and for all those I help, including my family. 

And I have this wonderful gift to help me: the genuine terror I felt in the dream when I experienced what would have made horror movie special-effects artists proud.  This feeling is terror I really do feel, but haven't been in touch with because I've been, well, blithely ignoring it, like all my guests did.  This dream connected me to my true feelings about sugar and my inner knowing of what it can do to my body.  It became a healing tool to help me stop betraying my feelings and inner knowing. 

I am so grateful for the dream, so grateful that I learned this way instead the harder, real way first.  What have you been dreaming about lately?  What insights can you gain into your life by looking at what your dreams represent?

What is wellness, really?

Sticking out of the Target ad today in the Sunday paper was an insert titled, "Wellness for Less"

The first thing on the list?  OTC drugs.  Then air filters, jello, cookies, sugary yogurt and fish oil capsules.

Yes, on page 3 there were bicycles, weights, and walking sticks.  But what is the common meaning of "wellness"?  What does "health" mean to you?

Is it wellness to require chemicals (drugs, coffee, OJ, candy, sugary yogurt, herbs, vitamins) to feel better each day?

I can see both the "yes" argument (you are taking care of your current condition so you can be as active as possible) and the "no" argument (you are not digging down to heal the real cause of the imbalances that require these things).

One thing I've learned from 12 years as a practitioner and investigator of nonmedical healing methods is that the body always tends towards health.  So does the mind.  It is only when we attach to things -- ideas, foods, situations, emotions, people, coping mechanisms -- that the natural state of health fails.

Yet when we hang on to something, it's for the best reason:  because we believe it will help us or save us from something worse.  We mean well, but attachment causes all our troubles.  Every one.

Life is a spiritual journey.  Step #5 in the spiritual journey according to the Global Institute for Awakening is "Move Beyond Doubt".  Through education and trying things out in life, we each must discover that letting go is safer than hanging on to blockages.  We must learn to trust the natural cycles of life that pull us out of darkness back into light again like spring follows winter.  We must deeply know that when one door closes another has opened and we just have to find it.  And we must trust ourselves: our hearts, our feelings, our intuitions and gut instincts, and follow them.  We must practice these things daily.

True wellness requires regularly letting go of attachment and building faith in yourself and the workings of the Universe.  Regularly healing the past, overcoming fears, finding your value and place in the world, connecting with yourself and others. 

True wellness keeps you open to find the shortest road to recovery, the higher ground, and the easier way.  The more inner wellness you develop, the faster and easier you recover, find the easy way, rise to the occasion, and excel in life.  Your life will not be perfect, pain will still happen, but you will flip out of it faster and faster, more and more easily.

Here's to your wellness!  How can you do something to support your wellness right now?

P.S.  Yes, before you complain, I do recommend you take your medication according to your medical healer, and THEN work on healing the issue requiring it.

You are the one butterfly

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ You are the one butterfly who can change the world. Are you flapping your wings today?

 

Chaos theory tells us that the smallest effort on your part can snowball and change the world.  What small action can you take today to live a better life?  How can you connect with someone to improve their life?

 

P.S. When the butterfly is resting, you can only see the camoflauge side of the wings, and it blends into its background. It has to FLY for everyone to see the unique colorful side!  :)

 

Wall St. Journal writer tries acupuncture: video

Check out this nice WSJ video about a reporter having acupuncture sessions for neck & shoulder pain and sleeping/digestive trouble.  It's a nice overview and example of an acupuncture session.  (Woo, LI4s and LI11s!)

http://online.wsj.com/video/testing-acupuncture/C66816BC-2110-402B-B254-61668040B9D0.html

Must admit I'm disappointed in the journalism... all she could say after a few sessions was that she's feeling "better"?  Either share your results so we can compare details to what the acupuncturist said, or send a reporter who's not so shy about her physical issues.  Ah, well, good try.

How to know you've found your life's purpose

"What's my purpose?" is a frequent question I hear.  Based on my experiences in many years of coaching and also reading life purpose in people's hands, I can tell you this about finding your "thing" to do in the world: when you find your life's purpose or mission, EVERYTHING about you and your past experiences will contribute to your doing it.

Things you've hated about your life or your body will help you.  Experiences you wish you'd never had will enhance your wisdom and ability to help others.  Things you thought were mistakes will become the source for powerful solutions.  Books you've read, hobbies, jobs, trivial past events, or odd facts will be helpful.  Ev-er-y-thing will count.

It makes sense that answering your highest calling activates more and more and more of your core being.  So the closer you are getting, the more your full range of abilities and preferences comes into play.  What part of yourself is missing from your daily activities?

Example: I started college as a mathematics major because I loved science but realized math was the ultimate language of the Universe.  Though I changed my major, Math has been key to the development of my spiritual outlook.  Today, as a spiritual mentor, I simplify the nature of the Universe into principles and formulas that you can use to create an ideal life. 

Example: I have always loved reading mysteries.  Today I act as a spiritual detective, helping clients understand why things are happening to them and how to change them most easily.  I find clues intuitively as well as by observing patterns in their bodies, language, habits, situations, behaviors, and more. 

Those are just two fun random examples from my life, how about you? Think specifically of things you love doing that may be obscure, or you may have judged in the past as not allowable.  Then give yourself permission to be yourself.  You'll love the results.

Most of all, when you are in your purpose, you are in your greatest joy.  Do you leap out of bed in the morning because you can't wait to get going?  Do you look forward to figuring out the next new thing for you?  That's what living full in your life's purpose is like. 

To get there, take an honest look at yourself and your life, what makes your heart sing, what turns pain into healing, and what combination of activities expresses every fragment of your being. 

"Know Yourself" has been the first directive on the spiritual journey for thousands of years.  (In a week or so, I'll be revealing how you can learn the other 6 steps to accelerating your spiritual journey towards fulfillment and meaning.  Stay tuned!)

Bottom line:  If it helps others and leaves the planet a better place while expressing your full being and bringing you unimagined joy, that is your life's purpose.

P.S. Let me know if you want some help getting there.  :)

'Cause everything is never as it seems...

Happy Friday! This sweet song has been stuck in my head all week...  I especially love the last line:

"It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, 
because my dreams are bursting at the seams..." 

(The video has some great toys that date from my childhood, too, heh.)

What's cool:  This musician kept at his music-making art in his parents' basement in a small Minnesota town, expressing his heart until... he had this huge hit.  He inspires me to keep producing my art (writing), knowing that my intention to help the world will eventually allow it to happen.  How can you keep at your creative outlet even though you're not in demand... yet? 

This weekend, may you get 1000 hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs as they try to teach you how to dance!

How to overcome your deepest fears as a healer

Last week during a healing session with a client who is a healer, these two phobias came up, can you relate?

1. Fear that nothing will come through me in a session.
2. Fear that healing won't happen for the client, that nothing I do will help.

These fears are totally natural and many healers start practicing with them... or refuse to practice because of them.  Happily, we eliminated the client's fear reaction so these shifted from paralyzing fears for her to mere thoughts.

But what about you?  Fears like this constrict our ability to faciliate healing, making themselves come true.  These fears tighten us up, block off the flow of information, cut off the energy it flows on.  The more intuitive and less procedural your healing technique or process, the more this might affect you.

How can you let these thoughts and worries go?  Here are three ways: 

1. One is by doing healing.  Through the feedback process of observing your clients, you come to see that you really can't stop exactly what the client needs from happening.  So if you don't have any or many clients this week, practice on your plants, your pets, the world.  Offer a practice sessions to a friend or relative (NOT one you have a secret desire to fix or change, however).

2. The second way is to learn spiritual principles or truths like "You really can't stop exactly what the client needs from happening".  When you first learn something like this, it's an idea.  As you experience it, it becomes wisdom.  Eventually you can know it's true.  Find a good mentor, listen to tapes about these principles, and test them out until you master them.  This blog is a great source for spiritual principles related to healing.

3. The third way is to connect more often and more clearly with your inner knowing or intuition.  When you doubt, you can tap into this part of you that always knows.  The more you connect with your inner wisdom, the less you doubt in all areas of your life, and the less fear and worry you endure.  Take a class about intuition and/or meditate regularly.

In April, I'll be unveiling an exciting new source of practical spiritual principles!  An organization designed to help you walk your spiritual path more easily and learn and apply these principles in your modern life.  Stay tuned!

Exceptional dreams bubbling up?

Have you ever felt something bubbling up inside you -- an invention, a book, a business idea, or art -- but you couldn't quite put words or form on it?  If you stayed with it, it started to clarify itself, maybe through a “coincidence” or surprise opportunity.  Or you tried something and it was wrong.  Congratulations, you learned something and moved forward!

Healers often search for years to find how in the world to express the wonderfulness they can feel inside them.  Has your life been like this?

That vague in-between phase can be super-frustrating!  The solution is to do your best and keep taking action, however imperfect.  Each step you take towards the goal, even if it’s “wrong”, will bring clarity.  And it will make more space for more information to bubble up.

I’ve been pursuing one of these dreams for a decade.  Last year it went online as the Int’l Institute for Practitioners of Genuine Healing.  I was thrilled, and had the honor of teaching two programs called “Awakening Your Inner Healer.”  Everyone loved the classes and the students were exceptional! 

But still, there was more…  Something bigger in some way, something to help all seekers walk their spiritual path to true success and happiness, on their own terms.  For the last five months I’ve been working hard on it.  (Love those inspirations, but then comes the perspiration!)  Well, I just previewed the new website mockups, and I am so excited I’m just not sure my feet are touching the ground!   

We each come into this world with a powerful, precious gift.  When you use your gift, it becomes healing not only for you but for those around you.  May your gift and dreams also surface into reality this year.

Please let me know how I can help you.

Can you answer the hardest question on the planet?

My four-year-old took me out for a walk today.  She rode her scooter (no brakes--what were they thinking?!)  I kept up on foot. 

After finding my MP3 player in my jacket pocket, I popped in an earbud and pushed play blindly.  Ah, Timothy Ferriss's The 4-Hour Work Week, a book that straightens out all your bad ideas about working for work's sake and letting your job walk all over you.  I'd had it on "fast".  Matched my pace.

Nothing is not spiritual.  We all walk the same spiritual journey, though we choose different words to describe ourselves and what we find.  Whether your approach to life is random, religious or atheistic, it's the same journey, same experiences, same tasks, same discoveries. 

Chapter 15 of Ferriss's book is quite spiritual.  After he spends most of the book curing you of your job and a lot of limited, passive thinking, he is then almost obligated to help you answer to one of the hardest, scariest questions on the planet: 

"If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you DO all day?"

Think about it.  (Oh c'mon, could you really do that for more than a month without getting bored?) Where would you live and how and with whom?  What would you do to make a difference?  What's your favorite issue or personal mission?  This book is full of resources to help you really do that.

If you've made enough spiritual progress to get a sense of yourself and what you were made or meant to do, then check out this book for laughs if not for perspective.  It's a fun read.  Get a copy here through my amazon affiliate link (thank you muchly):

BOOK:  The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content (Hardcover), by Timothy Ferriss.

CD/Audio: The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated (CD Audio), by Timothy Ferriss.

And send us a postcard.

A new level of spiritual practice invites itself over

It started as a noticeable little nudge about a month ago, like I felt I needed more meditation.  How very odd.  Like I was hungry for something, really had a taste for... meditation?  Sure, sure, after I finish my 2009 bookkeeping and write my new web copy and launch my new site... I'll get to it, been meaning to be more formal about that for a while now...

Nudge again.  Realization a few days ago that when I wake up in the morning and spend a long while with my eyes closed, it is essentially a meditation already, collecting remnants of dreams and interpreting them, allowing priorities for the day to show themselves, saying the morning thank you prayers.  Hmm, it might be nice to do that sitting up, official-like.

A few days later (yesterday), a book about Buddhism is in my hands unexpectedly.  I open "randomly" to a prayer I've essentially been saying in different words for a while now.  It is my core theme this year: how can I help the most people the most, how can I make the difference?  On the spur of the moment I sit outside in the weak spring sunshine on an unusually warm Wisconsin day to read the whole book.

Gulp.  Haven't read about Buddhism in a long while.  I'm shocked to realize I'm like a Buddhist who believes in God.  Except Buddhists meditate.  Regularly.

This beautlful silly baby beginner gift book talks about meditation in just the right way, and I know.  It is time.  For me to shift my spiritual practice more formally.  To commit to a new level of communion with the world, or I won't be able to move where I can feel my life going. 

Oh, I could point to gentle signs going back about 6 months.  Then today my coach and husband both suggest the exact same kind of meditation to me, completley independently.  OK.  Got it!  Listening!!

I know it's up to me, it's a choice.  I teach this: your spiritual calling is an invitation, and you can refuse or accept at any time, without judgment.  If you put it off, it will patiently wait for you.  The hints may progressively get more noticeable -- just in case you missed the invite.  Like in the first Harry Potter movie when zillions of envelopes pour down the chimney after he doesn't respond to a few invitations.  Hard to miss.  "More noticeable" means more frequently, more unusually... or more painfully, depending on what you react to.

All I can say is I'm delighted and grateful to have gotten this message so easily, without getting sick, without getting into a state (eg., of injury) where all I could do is meditate.  And I have a cool new Buddhist prayer on my vision board as a bonus.

It's time to let my new practice bubble up from where it already exists, hidden within me.  I have a sense of what it has to be.  I'll ask and find out details.  And then I'll figure out how to incorporate it into an already seemingly full life.  The difference is that now it's not a "should".  I really WANT to.

How is your spiritual practice going?  Does it fully feed you and support not just where you are but where you are going?  If you'd like help to discover your ideal spiritual practice, I can read you and tap your higher wisdom for an answer (to anything in life or biz, it's fun and fascinating).  Or you can sit in stillness and let it bubble up from that place where your Full Potential already is.  All that you need is already within you: you just have to find it.

I love you.  Go heal.

What do you want? What do you really, truly want?

Name two things you think you want.  One is... ______.  Another is... ______.  Good.

Did you know that the biggest hurdle to succeeding is actually knowing what you really want?  It is.

The trouble is, there are two kinds of "wants".  Most of the stuff we think we want are not truly objects of desire.  They are short-term stop-gap solutions to our problems.  Aiming for wants like this reminds me of pets who chase the bright spot of a flashlight or mirror across the floor and up the walls.  It's bright and shiny, but it's not really something they can catch.  Nonetheless, they will chase until they are wiped out or injured.  Is that the quality of results you seek?  

A quick example: if you struggle to pay your bills, you may decide you want more money.  Your logical mind said money is a solution to your shrinking bank accounts.  But money may not even be your main issue.  You may be poor because you can't see or receive your inner genuine value.  Or you may not be acting in full integrity.  Or you may be sabotaging yourself due to an unhealed pattern from childhood.

What do you really seek?  Wholeness.  Knowing who you are and what to do about it.  Connection to your true self and to your source of Inspiration -- and all the wonderful things that flow from that.  Taking what brings you joy out into the world and exchanging it with others for more joy. 

You seek your true self.  You seek to Awaken.

Stay tuned here for a powerful solution to attaining your true desires...  In the meantime, sit with what you thought you wanted and ask what is underneath it?  How is your desire simply a solution you could think of to a problem?  What can you find out about your core longings, without thinking of the problems you want to fix?   

I love you.  Go heal.

Joke: This guy goes to a healer...

So this guy goes to a healer for help.  Right away, the healer notices he has a banana sticking out of one ear. 

A carrot is poking out of the other ear.

Green beans, wheatgrass and celery protrude from his nose. 

The healer puts her clipboard down.  "I think I know what your main problem is," the healer says.

"Really? That was fast!" the man says.

"Yes, well, it looks like you haven't been eating properly."

Use this joke as a lighthearted reminder to take a look at your own diet.  Choose to change just ONE thing today.  Either eliminate something you know is not good for you, or add something that is.  You can change your life and body ONE step at a time! 

The world needs you.  Thanks for nuturing yourself.

Inspirational Quote: Donna Karan

My mission in life is to access God’s gift of creativity to inspire, to touch people's minds, bodies and spirits with love and compassion — to make a difference in this world.

— Donna Karan, Fashion Designer

 

Have you written out your life's mission statement?  Every person on the planet (including you) has a mission (which is ultimately healing) and a healing message.  Notice that Donna Karan's is not to make lots of money or live in a big house or make cool clothes for celebrities.  Those are only some of the things that happen as she implements her life's mission.  Your mission is bigger than what you do and even bigger than the results you get.  It's that thing you're meant to do, what makes your heart sing.

How can you take a few minutes today to start writing and honing your mission in life?  If you're stuck, start with hers: it's beautifully specific and general.  Edit it to fit your life.  Also jot down how you dream of fulfilling your mission.  Your "how" will evolve through your life, but your mission will stay fairly steady.  (Of course you will get increasing clarity on it.)  We'd love to hear your mission in the comments! 

Inspirational Quote: Emily Dickinson

"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain:
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."

--Emily Dickinson, American Poet (1830-1886)

I've loved this poem since I discovered and collected it into a notebook in high school.  I know many of my healer/creative/intuitive clients would agree with its sentiment!

From Wikipedia about Emily Dickinson: "Virtually unknown in her lifetime, Dickinson has come to be regarded as one of the greatest American poets of the 19th century. Although she wrote (at latest count) 1789 poems, only a few of them were published, all anonymously and some perhaps without her knowledge."  Don't let a lack of recognition from others slow you down.  Stay true to what you know in your heart and get your creations out there -- the clients will come sooner or later.  Either way, you will have helped.

Inspirational Quote: Rae Atira-Soncea

"To me it's like living and breathing: when I don't make art I'm not happy.  And philosophically, I believe that the process of making is what holds the earth together, whether it's making love or making bread or making babies or making art.  It's part of the process that maintains the world.  We should never discourage anyone from making or creating or engaging the body-mind in that dance or that flower arrangement because it does two things.  It makes the person sane, and it keeps the world going."

-- Rae Atira-Soncea, artist, died 1 March 2009 

Visit her memorial blog and see her art at  http://hedgecroft.net/blogs

Hey Russia, it's not about the medal count!

CNN reports Russian government officials and its citizens are rawther unhappy with their unexpected 11th-place Olympic finish by medal count.   Worse, it sounds like they are being unrawther unpleasant to anyone who didn't medal, or didn't contribute to medaling.   
(http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/03/01/russia.olympics.president/index.html)

Wow, Russia.  Have you missed the point?  You didn't lose face.  It's not about whose medal count is biggest.  (And those of you in the U.S. who are snickering right now because we had the most can pay attention, too.)  The Olympics are a celebration.  They are an elegant celebration of sportsmanship that crosses country, religious, cultural, color, and other borders.  The Olympics is about what we all have in common, not about who comes out on top each time.

C'mon Russia, you are a rich, rich source of cultural and creative arts.  You are impressive wellspring of alternative/energy healing methods and sensible research about them.  You are the gracious hosts for the Olympics in 4 years and we look forward to learning more about you. 

But please get with the celebration.

Life, and sports, is a journey, not an end product.  Results are great, but it's really about how you got there.  If I only cared about who won, I could just check the scores when the Olympics was over.  Instead, I watched as much competition as I could. For the most part, it was a beautiful display of sportsmanship, cameraderie, teamwork, and the results of self-discipline, self-care, self-faith, and stretching beyond your comfort zone to give it your all.  That inspires me.

Yes, it's a lot of fun to win.  We take turns winning.  But there's a lot more to a winning attitude and a winning culture than counting who has the most marbles at the end of the day. 

Here's the thing:  Why not honor all your athletes?  They hauled their butts across several time zones and gave it their all.  Why not give them ALL a financial bonus, not just the ones whi medaled?  Why not celebrate the fact that you love them so much because they're Russian and you know they're wonderful even if the judges didn't think so this time around.  Give them all a special government medal because they went, they tried, and they had a tough time yet you know and honor their true potential. 

Here's to you Russia, to your highest Potential.  And here's to all of ours, too, because we are walking this journey together.  We can lift each other up, or we can drag each other down. 

I like the "up" option.  See you in Sochi.