Dearest all, I am off to paradise with bikinis and good books.  Chat in a week!

Recently I have been contacted by many new clients struggling with strange things going on at their homes.  It seems that between midnight and 3:30ish am something odd is afoot.  Their dogs are barking at doorways, sleeplessness, feelings of being watched, unexplained anxiety and irritability are just a few of the complaints…

 If you are experiences any difficulties such as these, here are a few things to consider…

 Spring is a time of forward energy and anger.  In Eastern medicine it is viewed to be closely aligned with anger and the liver.  The idea is the anger acts as a force to break through – for a seed or plant, this would provide the energy to break through the ground and join the sun again.  Interestingly, Eastern medicine also divides the day into two hour intervals.  The intervals identify when your body/emotions are more susceptible to certain energies.  The hours of 1 am to 3 am are associated with the liver.

 The liver is said to process anger and emotions.  The liver is also related to water – which of course, our culture has long associated with emotions.  Are you angry?  And do you drink a lot of alcohol?  This could suggest you have repressed issues with anger and unspoken emotions.  Try drinking more water to flush your system of any stuck emotions or toxins. 

Another aspect to consider is the very energy that surrounds us.  For many individuals who channel masters and the like, now is said to be a time of great shifting.  The recent earthquakes (more are predicted by this group) are intended to not only open the hearts of all people by wanting to help those who are affected, but also to change the very core of the earth – readying the planet for a total shift in consciousness.  Karen Bishop is an excellent resource of this belief.

 She believes at this moment not only in the shifting earth, but that there are many ‘visiting’ entities.  Some are good and some are bad.  You have the ability to send any of these negative beings away with just the phrase, go back to the light.

 Personally, as of late I have been missing things.  I was in a session last week with a client and my pen just disappeared.  I had just gotten up and left the room to find a pen – my client and I even joked about kids and missing pens.  I put the pen on my desk and not five minutes later it was gone.  My client was speechless as we both saw me get the pen and put in on my desk.  It lay right next to us as we were talking.  Then it was gone.  She was aghast and I was laughing – damn leprechauns.  

 I’m kind of used to these kind of games and I know the pen will show again where I least expect it.  When you are more sensitive to your world, you will discover magic is still afoot.  I like to think of it as the universe letting me know it is all around me every moment and also letting me know who is really in charge – not me!

 So, if some odd things are happening right now you have options.  You can clear yourself and your home.  (How to smudge your home or office.)  You can have a sense of humor.  You can journal to discover and release any anger or negative emotions you are holding.  Finally you can seek help if need be, it’s there, waiting for you.   Ask and you shall receive.

You know this club, the life is so-bad club.  You can recognize the members because they are always talking about how hard things are.  They never have enough time because of all the things they are doing for their kids, spouse, boss, family, friends…But they do have enough time to tell you how difficult things are, yet no solutions fall from their lips, just complaining words…

 Unfortunately each of us finds our way into this club at some time.  We don’t usually intend to be a part of this club, but somehow the dynamics of a group or a single friendship will deteriorate into this place.  What begins as voicing a concern, becomes a negative focus.  Maybe the group begins whining about work or a friend complains about a sagging relationship, but it doesn’t stop there with letting off steam, it becomes relentless.  It’s all you discuss – how bad this is…

 When you discover yourself in this group – stop.  Don’t blame anyone else, you got yourself here, now how to get out?  Expand.

 The reason you are in this negative dynamic now is because you feel power-less and you are stuck in a bad habit of thinking.  For now, try to distance yourself from this group or friendship and make some space for yourself.  What are you afraid of?  Are there solutions that you haven’t considered?  Do you need a change?

 When you discover yourself in the so-bad club, it’s time to detach.  Do you really want to complain your life away?  I think not, but this is a sign you need support to make a shift.  Maybe try reaching out to a trusted friend or even someone like me, a life coach and begin setting goals to create the life you deserve.  Happiness is no far off shore, it’s just waiting for you to step into… 

5.  Where do you like to go on vacation?  Think about it – are you a beach person?  Mountains?  Does a big city escape sound delightful?  Or are you more interested in wandering a vineyard?  What do you like to do on vacation?  Read?  Play?  Explore a new area? 

 Now here is the transformational question – can you get more vacation into your life now?  Maybe you can’t get to the beach or mountains this year, but you could go explore a town you’ve never visited before and stay within a few hours of your home.  Or this summer you could go for more picnics and walks. Maybe you can simple choose to stretch out on a huge blanket in the sun to read and doze the afternoon away… 

 The good things in life aren’t to be saved up for a week here and there on vacation.  Good things aren’t to be put off day after day until the ‘right’ moment.  Life is meant to be savored this moment.  “Suck the marrow of the day,” so to speak.  This is your life, now go have some fun!

4.  Who do you want to be?  Just you – not the ‘you’ your parents, lover or even friends want you to be, but who do you want to be?  Do you want to be generous?  Do you want to be funny?  Do you want to be happy?  Do you want to be sexy?  Do want to be successful?

 Here’s the thing, I bet you know what you don’t want, but do you know what you do want?  When you focus your attention on the don’ts, you can never get to what you do want or who you want to be.  There’s a negative mindset that attaches to the don’ts and that is all you can see in any situation – how it doesn’t work, you don’t like this or that…So today instead of focusing on what you don’t like about a person, a situation or even yourself, concentrate on what you do like…Not surprisingly you will notice when you focus on the do-likes about a person or situation, suddenly things are better.  You have more energy.  You are in a better mood and life is better… 

3.  What do you love?  Not who, but what – do you love adventure?  Challenges?  Drawing?  Hiking?  Reading?  Laughing?  Travel?  Whatever it is, do you have enough of it in your life right now?  Or do you hear excuses tripping from your lips – there isn’t enough time…Is your day so packed with your to-do’s and work that you exclude the very things in life that bring you real pleasure? 

 Sure a drink after a long day may feel relaxing, but it is not rejuvenating.  Each of us is responsible for our own happiness.  Really, it’s up to you to fill your days with good things in life as well as ‘duties.’  Certainly there are periods in each of our lives when money is tight and responsibilities run deep.  This is exactly when those good things are essential.  Unfortunately we often push these joys off to another day – when we can afford it, when there is enough time…Stop, life is right now. 

 I invite you to expand.  Begin to expand your thinking to include more.  More beauty – plant some seeds and watch the miracles unfold.  More fun – when’s the last time you played hop-scotch or a pick-up game of anything?   More time – who decided you needed a list this full anyway?  It is time to let go of a perfect ‘image’ of how life should look and begin developing a life that does work…

What mistake do you keep making?   First thing that pops in your head – what is the mistake you keep making over and over?  Money?  Love?  Balance?  Diet?…Ok, got it?

 Now the transformational question – what are you accomplishing by keeping this pattern?  Does it proof yourself to be bad or deficient in some way?  Does it keep you down?  If you take a moment and really look at your repeating pattern, you can be certain of one thing – this pattern is firmly locked to your ego.  What if instead of being right, you chose a path of peace.  What if you surrendered having it your way and focused on a peaceful solution for all?

 One of my own stumbling blocks that can sometimes drag me back into my ego is my temper.  I have one of those red-head, Irish kind of tempers that can sometimes lead to an intense vocabulary quickly.  I have learned to remain quiet when I am pissed and give myself some time.  I have learned it is more important to me to show up with people the way I choose, even if that means postponing conversations, instead of spiraling into a heated exchange for the sake of immediate resolution.  Dare I say that sometimes my bad temper has little to do with the others, as much as with myself? 

 Thus on most occasions I have learned to self-monitor my reactions to the unexpected events and people in my life the way I choose.  By creating a little space around myself with time and self-awareness, I am able to show up the way I want and make more empowered decisions from a clear mind, not impassioned emotions. 

 Now, back to you – what mistake do you keep making and today, try something new.  Try to frame your response with how can I show up the way I want.  Maybe you need time, maybe you need to let go or maybe, only you know…

1.       What is your favorite time of day?

2.       What mistake do you keep making?

3.       What do you love?

4.       Who do you want to be?

5.       Where do you like to go on vacation?

 Over the next week, I will explore each one of these questions…

  1.  What is Your Favorite time of Day?  Are you a morning person?  Night owl?  Understanding this simple rhythm about yourself allows you to make more empowered decisions.  Why?  You can choose to focus on projects and make your most important decisions during your individual ‘peak’ times of day.  You’ll discover that things just flow better during this time of day for you.  You are less apt to be impatient or careless. 

 Of Course, the flip side of this is you also have a natural low in your energy each day as well.  During this low energy period you are more prone to irritability or frustration…Now look at your life – how do you set up your day?  Are you focusing on your most important projects during your peak times?  Do you even allow yourself the flexibility to notice your different energy levels throughout the day, or do you always expect 110% from yourself every moment?  

 Understanding your own individual energy peaks and valleys helps you to take better care of yourself.  It can queue you to eat, take a ten minute rest or give you that extra energy to succeed in whatever you are doing.  You are learning to self-monitor yourself.  Without the ability to self-monitor, we become exhausted and out of balance.  However, today, you are taking one more step to the wholeness and peace you seek…

New beginning can happen any day.  It’s an internal decision to make a shift, sometimes by choice and sometimes by circumstance.  The real question is, are you ready for a new beginning?  Are you ready to stop living on a path that doesn’t work and move to a path that does?  That shift can begin today…if you choose. 

What are healthy boundaries?  Are you not supposed to feel for another’s pain?  Are you not supposed to help out?  Is offering advice bad?

 Here’s how you can quickly identify healthy boundaries – check in with your stomach and heart.  When you are tilting towards unhealthy there is an emotional pull you can actually feel from your stomach and/or heart.  It’s almost like an energy rope pulling or sucking you in a certain direction (I must save them!  I have to step in!)  There is desperate feeling in the air.

 With healthy boundaries you feel grounded, maybe your feet even feel heavy.  Your heart may still hurt for someone, but it is more like a squeeze then an uncontrollable pull. 

 It’s not usually the specific activity that identifies something as unhealthy but the emotions that are driving the support/boundary.  Sometimes people really do need extreme support offered by you, but the cost does not have to be your well-being. 

 How to do keep healthy boundaries?  By taking care of you every day.  That means checking in with yourself daily; eating and sleeping well; laughing; using humor when all else fails and when you feel that negative energetic pull, that’s your queue to consciously ground your energy down.  Down through your feet until you feel a sense of balance return.

 So, are you feeling grounded today?