I slept with an alligator last night, my six year old son.  I was kicked in the ribs, elbows to the head, covers – gone.  My son said to me in the morning, with a big grin mind you, and mouth gaping, “Did I take over the bed?”

 “Yes, in fact, you did,” I reply with a begrudging smile.  For the past couple weeks every other night, one the kids will wander in saying he/she has had bad dreams.  I’m not surprised because I know what’s really going on – stress. 

 One of the best indicators of what is going on with you, is to examine what is going on with yours kids or your partner.  If they are acting out of the ordinary, guess what?  I’m betting you are too! 

 Lots of things are shifting in our home right now – new doors opening and a move is on the horizon.  As exciting as that is, it’s stressful too.  That’s how the unknown tends to be.  Yet somehow, slipping into bed with Mom and Dad seems to make it a little bit better…And surprisingly, it is.

 Are the loved ones in your home acting out of the ordinary?  What are they be reflecting back to you????

I love Spring and it also makes me a little nuts.  I like to remind myself and all my client of the many faces of Spring right about now…Yes, Spring tends to be a time of new beginnings and opportunities, but also there is the tilling of the earth…or more personally, chaos in your life.

 Think of a seed bursting open in springtime and driving it’s seedling to the sunlight above – it takes a lot of energy, a violent force of nature really.  In Eastern medicine – the season of Spring is connected to your liver and anger.  So what this suggests is people struggle with liver, urinary and issues around anger more during this time of year.  Just like all the seasons, there are wonderful opportunities for growth and transformation, but Spring holds a dizzying balance of new beginnings and endings…Joy mingled with loss.

 Are you struggling with feeling of rage or anxiety this Spring?  Is there a nervous energy of possibility clinging to you?  Feeling a bit overwhelmed or out of balance?  Here are five quick things you can do today to support yourself during the Springtime…

 1.       Water.  Drink more water.  Go for walks in the rain if possible.  Intentionally bathe more or spend time in a body of water – the ocean is best, but a good salt water bath is a great alternative.   

2.       Clean out a drawer, closet, or room.  The best way to attract more into your life is to purge the things you no longer need.

3.       Eat fresh fruit.  When you eat only processed foods, you disconnect from the earth.  Maybe this is the year for that vegetable garden you have been dreaming of?  Lettuce and peas are ridiculously easy to grow…

4.       Laugh.  Nothing changes energy faster then good humor.  Call a friend or read a funny book to connect to that light place again.  Sometimes the most chaotic and stressful situations are absolutely ripe with humor if you can just get a lighter point of view…

5.       Meditate…Spend a few quiet minutes each day focusing on what you DO want your life to look like.  Just anytime you have couple extra minutes, close your eyes and see this Spring unfolding the way you desire – be it with a new job, or maybe a health transformation, or a new awakening of love, whatever, just that you are focusing your energies on what you DO want instead of negatively responding to what you don’t want. 

 Happy Spring…The blooms are coming…

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

In the night, under the tenderness of the dark, you can find me resting in the palm of God’s hand.  I found my way here years ago.  I came crawling out of my despair, longing to feel loved.  What I first thought was an empty promise, lead to my grace.

As a child I was taught there is no God, only me.  I would find my way with no shelter from the storm, just me, alone and not surprisingly, frightened out of my mind.  I became an over-stressed, anxiety prone adult completely unsatisfied from within.  However, on the outside, the persona the world saw, I was fine – I had a lot of friends, a boyfriend, a good education.  My whole life lay before me and I felt lost and alone.

One Sunday, I don’t even remember why, I found my way alone to a church.  It was a beautiful church.  Pure New England style – a tall, white steeple with a giant bell, stained glass windows and filled with warm pine pews.  The minister was new, just filling in while the regular pastor who was on sabbatical.  The new minister was a woman.

She was a petite lady with a helmet of short, gray hair and sparkling eyes behind thick, black rims.  She used to be nun years ago, but left to have a family.  Immediately I felt a kinship to this woman who took the road less traveled.  Starting down one path only to shock the world by turning around and going in the opposite direction.

I’m not sure what the service was about that Sunday, but I remember I wept throughout.  I couldn’t stop.  I just felt like somewhere inside I came home.  As the pastor spoke, she silently invited each one of us to know God not only by the words she uttered, but by her very presence.  This woman was peace – a beacon calling to a new life.

I do remember she spoke of a loving God who was with you always.  The words were a balm for my wounds and I could feel myself calm from the inside.  I breathed again.  Then we sang hymns, ones I had never heard before and suddenly I was singing the words, “Resting in the palm of God’s Hand,” and I was.

In that moment, I understood – I am never alone.  I looked at the shining faces around me and saw pure joy.  “Joy,” not pleasure derived from buying or attaining something, but joy – the glorious simmering of your soul in the fullness of life.  This was a place for me, resting in the palm of God’s hand.

Today I still use this imagery over and over whenever I feel lost, or out of balance.  Sometimes, as you grow up, you discover you have to release certain beliefs you were taught as a child.  I know this lesson of “There is no God, you have to do it all,” was taught to me with the best of intentions – survival.   However, it crippled my life and I became obsessed with control or truly, the illusion of control.

Fortunately, I changed my belief and allowed myself to feel supported by an abundant and loving God.  So now, in the dark of night, you can find me resting in the palm of God’s hand.  Maybe one day I will see you there too.