Feeling overwhelmed?  Stressed?  Listen to these easy tips and get back to balance today!  

Meditation is more than just a way to feel better in the moment. It is a transformational pathway to your best self. Transformation is not a passive activity. Even a caterpillar may appear on the outside to be resting in its cocoon, but, in fact, there are many changes beneath the surface to become a beautiful butterfly.

Look at your life, really look – where is there lack? Is there no love or joy? Are there aches and pains, maybe even money problems? Has your life become full of “not enough.” Guess what? It didn’t happen overnight. There were many choices and decisions that have lead you to this place. A large measure of what has lead you to a “less-than” life is your belief system formed through the conditioning of your childhood, social status and economic level. This belief system most likely is sabotaging your life right now.

For example, if you were like me and raised in an alcoholic, violent home, you may have issues with safety – not feeling safe, not trusting. These unconscious messages of, “you are not safe. Nobody is trustworthy,” cycles over and over in your mind and in your heart sabotaging you choices and decisions.

Instead of discovering the abundant life that surrounds you right now, you draw into your life people and experiences that validate the belief of, “I am not safe.” This belief may well have been true when you were a child, but now you are an adult. This thought pattern no longer serves you, but traps you in an unhappy, frustrated experience.

How to make a change? Try adding daily guided meditation – a path to release self-defeating patterns and thoughts and begin to integrate a new, abundant belief system into your life. Why daily? It takes time. It took you years to lock these unconscious negative thought patterns into place. So, it would stand to reason, that it would take some time to establish new ways of thinking and being.

Once you’ve established a new, healthy belief system, daily meditation continues to support and connect you to your best self each day. Meditation grounds you to the present moment and provides you the space to focus on manifesting your most abundant life today. Doors open and opportunities appear.

I did not want to like this movie.  Not a big fan of Hillary Swank (began on 90210 years ago as annoying girl…) and a movie about losing your husband?  Not particularly happy-feel-good, but I was wrong. 

 There are just as many laughs as tears and frankly, Gerard Butler using his Irish accent – oh my…I am a complete sucker for a brogue.  The entire cast is good – particularly Harry Connick, Jr.  The friendships are real with their fluid teasing - facing the realities of life with humor and stumbling grace.   The girls’ trip to Ireland is bittersweet and gorgeous. 

 However, it is still a “crier” movie.  Truly it is in essence an Irish wake – tears, drinking, songs, storytelling, and oh so much laughter…Feels like home to me.  Enjoy! 

Let it Snow, Snowflakes falling one by one, Tucking me into my safety, Closed off, insulated from the messy business of life. 

Let it snow, Quiet builds, silently expanding with each drifting flake…Only to be disturbed by me, And my whirling thoughts crowding in with there noisy demands…

 I cry out, “Peace - be my lover, Come to this silent space and dwell with me. I long to be with you…”

 In the distance, I hear the twinkling reply, “Do you?”

The root word of inspiration is ‘inspire’ meaning - in sprit.  I like to think of it as being in the flow – listening to that little voice - sometimes easier said then done.  So how to transform inspired thoughts into deeds?   Discover 5 tips to take your inspiration into action.  Don’t let your dreams fade because you didn’t take the small steps necessary to transform dreams into reality… 

No matter your political party affiliation, the historical significance of this moment can not and should not be denied.  We have not had a collective experience of this magnitude since 9/11 and blessedly, instead of a disaster drawing us closer to one another, it is the transformational realization of the ‘dream deferred’ that binds us together tomorrow.

 I did not vote for Barack Obama because he was black, I voted for the best candidate.  In 2004 I watched his speech at the Democratic convention and for the first time I was swept away by a political candidate, “I want to vote for this man – whatever the job.”  Why?  Because he spoke of inclusion and the things we hold in common – not what tears us apart.  He spoke of being “my brother’s keeper” and most of all he inspired.

 It would be naïve to ignore the gravity of this moment in history - the wars, the environment, world economy, etc…and I believe it will take more then just one man to shift things in a new direction, but that is where inspiration blooms.  Inspiring others to step into possibilities and look at things in a new way.  This man with his biracial parents, raised by a single mother and grandparents, poor, the last among us in some ways…Tomorrow, he shall be first. 

 Through his chosen words, his easy manner, his confidence, and his willingness to end his thoughts with, “…but maybe, there is a better way,” - this man has his ego in check.  (Actually I think his beautiful, strong wife and the realities of children with their unnervingly spot-on reviews keep him humble…)  From this detached place, he is able to listen and inspire…I encourage you to get the popcorn, the remote and sink into your own front seat to history tomorrow – and be inspired…

Recently a friend told me about a sermon she had just heard regarding the power of thoughts…

 Her priest spoke about the power of your thoughts and manifesting…He knew this married couple – every night the wife would belief she heard someone downstairs and force her husband downstairs to “check it out.”  No one was there, yet the husband dutifully checked each night.  This continued for thirty years.

 One night she was “sure” she heard something and this night when her husband checked - he met the barrel of a gun.  There was someone there trying to rob them.  The robber took the couple’s money, jewels and just as he was heading out the door, the husband said, “Hey, just a second, you’ve got to meet my wife, she’s been expecting you for thirty years…”

 …That which you focus your attention on expands…For better or worse.

During each of my pregnancies, I gained between 60-70 pounds.  For the first time in my life - twice, I was huge – I had kankles…not good a look on anyone, even while carrying a new life…Then I breast-fed, which in my opinion, is no weight loss support.  Since I was small before kids, I was shocked to be 35 pounds heavier after each birth, but I thought – easy, I’ll diet…Then I discovered - dieting sucks. 

 After my first child, I basically beat and starved the weight off, but that was no help the second time around.  I could not lose that extra 35 pounds no matter the diet or exercise regime – it just clung to me yet I knew there had to be something more going on.  My health was fine, but I was pissed.  I was mad at my husband for some valid and not valid reasons, I was mad at my body – why won’t these extra pounds go away??  I was irritable and I felt like a horrible mother snapping at little things.  I knew I needed help.

 A mentor of mine suggested we discover if there wasn’t something sub-consciously sabotaging my weight-loss through an technique she called, “going into the boardroom.”  Basically she guided me through a relaxing meditation ultimately leading me to a “boardroom.”

 Within the boardroom sat all the sides/voices of me about my weight…together we opened the door and listened to each of the different voices present.  Honestly, I was stunned by the sub-conscious thoughts present…Some were mad at my husband; some didn’t think mothers should be thin and attractive; some didn’t like being in charge of all these little people; some missed playing and having fun; some were worried I wasn’t doing a good enough job…Patiently, we listened to each of these voices and gently, but firmly took charge of the room.

 It was a transformational moment because not only did I discover the unconscious drivers of my weight, but I was able to “soothe” and “take-care” of those voices without judgment.  Amazingly, the weight melted away over the next few months, but I discovered I needed to see myself differently too.

 I wasn’t twenty-something any longer - without responsibilities and kids.  With the passage of time and two births, my body would never be the same – how could it?  Metabolic rates change, hormones shift, muscles age and gravity is a cruel mistress…But with age and time, comes familiarity, comfort, and understanding of self.

 My weight fluctuates each month a solid 5 pounds depending on where I am in my cycle.  My metabolic rate has slowed down and to be the weight I like, I need to exercise 4 or 5 days a week.  I can eat what I like as long as I watch my portion size and I usually don’t eat after 8 pm…  

 But most of all, I had to stop chasing thin.  When I stopped - took care of myself by examining the underlining issues driving my weight and dealing with them, well then…thin found me again. 

 * Through the “boardroom” technique I was able to unlock the blocks to my own weight issues and in turn, further help my clients.  As years ago, I added this technique to my private practice with amazing results for clients in regards to not only blocks with weight, but also with family, deserving, not enough, wealth, prosperity…The possibilities for transformation are endless.

Discover how to make this year – YOUR year. The year of transforming your life to be more abundant, more peaceful…Create a life of financial and spiritual balance that empowers you to expand your horizons and build lasting wealth.  Today is a new day…

1.         Go for a walk – alone, and without the iPod.  Let yourself sink into the environment with each step.  Breathe in deeply.

 2.         Listen more, talk less.  Let others finish their thoughts and their sentences.  Begin to focus on the words people are using when they speak to you – do you notice any patterns?  Same words?

 3.         Divination tools.  Pick out some cards, runes, numerology…whatever, just open yourself to more.  Create the space for intuition and guidance to bloom.  Have fun. 

4.         Art.  Create something – draw, knit, paint, woodwork, write…When you create from nothing, you step into the flow, time stops and the outside world falls away…in this space rejuvenation and healing is found.

 5.         Quiet time.  Spend a few minutes each day in complete silence – watch the birds out the window, look at the flowers on the table, absorb yourself in completely in this moment through your breath and an appreciation of beauty - how ever it may appear to you.  This settles the mind and creates balance from deep within.

 6.         Join a community…maybe a church, meditation group, social circle, book group…Something to engage others in a new way.  You will be surprised by the new, healthier people you will attract into your life as you step towards your own fullness, but you have to be willing to open the door for these new relationship to unfold…

 7.         Be kind to yourself.  Today be more patient with yourself.  Be understanding with your missteps as you strive to live a more authentic life…You are closer then you know.

 8.         Finally, as you slip into bed tonight, be grateful.  Be grateful for the bed you sleep in, the food you ate today, the abundance that is sometimes a struggle to notice - even though it is there all the time…Be grateful.