Soul: Practice good soul care. The quality of our outer life is dependent on the quality of care we give to our soul.
Ask: when we call upon the Divine for guidance and support, we will receive a response. Spiritual signposts will be put in our path to guide us to our highest good.
Patience: Trust in Divine timing. Your future holds something far greater than your past.
Inspirational Video
This video brought tears to my eyes. You never know what influence you have.
http://www.stservicemovie.com/
http://www.stservicemovie.com/
Quotes that sing to me about discovery/being thankful
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes" -Marcel Proust
Imagine a time when we meet ourselves, with elation, at the door, and invite ourselves in to become reacquainted with this “stranger who has loved you all your life.” Derek Walcott, Poet
"If you don't go within, you go without" -Neale Donald Walsh
"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman ."
Upon awakening, bless this day, for it is already full of unseen good which your blessings will call forth. For to bless is to acknowledge the unseen good that is embedded in the very texture of the universe and awaiting each and all."
You can truly reach a state in which you never have anymore stress, tension or problems for the rest of your life. You just have to realize that life is giving you a gift, and that gift is the flow of events that takes place between your birth and your death. These events are exciting, challenging and create tremendous growth. To comfortably handle this flow of life, your heart and mind must be open and expansive enough to encompass reality. The only reason they're not because you resist. Learn to stop resisting reality, and what look like stressful problems will begin to look like the stepping-stones of your spiritual journey." -Michael A. Singer
Imagine a time when we meet ourselves, with elation, at the door, and invite ourselves in to become reacquainted with this “stranger who has loved you all your life.” Derek Walcott, Poet
"If you don't go within, you go without" -Neale Donald Walsh
"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman ."
Upon awakening, bless this day, for it is already full of unseen good which your blessings will call forth. For to bless is to acknowledge the unseen good that is embedded in the very texture of the universe and awaiting each and all."
You can truly reach a state in which you never have anymore stress, tension or problems for the rest of your life. You just have to realize that life is giving you a gift, and that gift is the flow of events that takes place between your birth and your death. These events are exciting, challenging and create tremendous growth. To comfortably handle this flow of life, your heart and mind must be open and expansive enough to encompass reality. The only reason they're not because you resist. Learn to stop resisting reality, and what look like stressful problems will begin to look like the stepping-stones of your spiritual journey." -Michael A. Singer
Art
I read several articles from Creativity Portal that really spoke to me and I think I ‘m going to make a weekly routine of reading. There are several newsletters that consist of several articles and three in particular spoke out to me. I will place an excerpt of words/pargraphs that spoke to me.
The first article said: Art is a wonderful playground! Play is never a waste of time. It happens when we let ourselves go beyond the rules and expectations of everyday life. Art is a wonderful playground. If we can let go of needing to make our artwork overly important, creativity can be a simple gesture of freedom. A splash of orange here, a touch of green there. We can wear our heart on our sleeve.Creative play is one of the best ways to experiment and learn about our feelings. It involves risk and this gives us the opportunity to perfect ourselves. It is a form of thrill seeking. Within spontaneity are our hearts, our feelings and our souls. Play is never boring because it follows it’s own interests. If creative play becomes boring, we are planning and efforting too much.Play is in truth our natural state of being and we can choose to live our lives more and more from this open, effortless state of awareness. Creativity opens and conditions this wider awareness. By allowing our thoughts to flow organically and effortlessly during play, ideas arise spontaneously and we can access an intelligence and inspiration far greater that our familiar minds. Play can inform our lives in surprising ways.
I absolutely love that sentiment!
Second article:“The truth is when we let ourselves be vulnerable the inner stored pain does intensify. It peaks almost like a volcano erupting, but it is the only way to release it and get to the other side to insight and inspiration.”
Often we can fill our lives with so much busyness we lose touch with our deeper selves. When I teach expressive art I am speaking to the part of ourselves that is heroically out front in our lives, feeling overwhelmed and too busy for self-reflection and self-discovery. I know when I do too much in my outer world, my inner well starts to feel barren and empty and I can feel increasingly depressed and uncreative. Often we do not realize how bottled up we are inside. When we do not attend to our inner life we can feel overwhelmed and exhausted.What sustains me through my busy life are my expressive art and collage journals because it gives me pause to express the feelings below my everyday thinking. There is such wisdom in spontaneous art making. It reveals things that are true that we might not realize about ourselves. It is amazing what a simple doodle or a quick collage can express. Sometimes my drawings haunt me with mystery and I do not know how to read them. Sooner or later however I fully experience the feeling they convey I go back into my journal with gratitude to my unconscious mind for expressing my inner overwhelm so clearly.
Then the writer continues to talk about her drawing and her thoughts about her drawings spoke to my spirit of that’s soo me. She mentions a desire to "heighten", to continuously elevate my thoughts and actions to a spiritual peak. The figure is flying. She is not grounded in any way in everyday life. She is focused on an ideal self-created future. She is trying so hard to be superwoman!
Another aspect in her drawing she sees is that it “tells me there is much more to me than how much I can efficiently accomplish in a day”. We all have a vulnerable creative self that lives very close to our souls. Our sensitive, vulnerable parts of self are right there below the surface concerns and survival activities of life and often they will express themselves through spontaneous imagery. Our competent survival masks miss out on true connection to our souls because they are designed to protect us from our fears, insecurities and discomforting feelings but when we move through these feelings we can access profound intuition, sensitivity and creative insight into life.Allowing each dimension of ourselves full expression reveals that there is far more to us that meets the eye. We are not empty inside or uncreative at all. We have a vast inner words to discover. Expressive creativity invites us into profound self-acceptance that allows every part of ourselves a voice. When we express all of ourselves we free up inner blockages and can more easily access our natural vitality and intuition. Overwhelm ceases when feelings are expressed and released. Once we get clear inside we can get back to creating a life of meaning and unique purpose. Third article that spoke to me:Creativity offers this ability to find the “more” in you. It is a wonderful loosening of old habits and beliefs. I have discovered that I have choice. I can change my perspective. I can paint new colors into my experience. The daily practice of creativity is an invitation into something new. When I engage my creativity, new probabilities reveal themselves. I see who I am and glimpse what I could be in a visual way. It seems that as I discover and integrate more parts of myself then I can accept and embrace more parts of others. It is a vibrant feeling to include more and more into my experience of living. Connecting with myself makes my relationship with life and other people grow in depth and meaning. This fills me with fire and passion. I wonder; can I hold the whole world inside of me with love?Seeing in PicturesStart to see your whole life in pictures. This is the intuitive way. The soul sees in pictures. Imagery I am drawn to shows me something about what I am within.
BeginningsIn many ways, I have struggled to open up to my most playful and spontaneous creativity.Reclaiming Wholeness
It is part of the human journey to forget who we really are. I have yet to meet anyone who was deeply mirrored as a child for who they are in their entirety. We are all born as unique beings but as children we cut off the parts of ourselves that do not match our parents or our culture. This is because they cannot recognize or accept them in us. And so these parts go into our shadow. At some point in our adult life we need to find a form of accurate mirroring and reclaim all of ourselves to be whole.I always knew that I would reclaim my wholeness though art.
I did not feel safe to express my own uniqueness. I feared that if I did, I would not be loved in some private, primal, childhood place. But as time passed I realized that we all follow this path of early family conditioning, and at some point in our maturity we are called to differentiate. We can spend our entire lives living in the dreams our families and culture holds for us, or we can find a way to wake up to the true essence of ourselves. Life, with its inner urges and outer surprises has its way of moving us along to this end.I was eager to recreate myself completely. I was optimistic that this would happen quickly but life and creation is wisely slow. It has been a long and patient uncovering of the limiting beliefs and stubborn habits born in childhood, and in my own learned humanness, that block my intuition on this path to a radiant, truthful life. This is a journey that I share with you in the spirit of deep and abiding connection.In teaching and writing and reaching out to more and more people with this offering I realize that we are all longing to uncover the truth of our authentic selves. If we are residing in the familiar comfort of old habits and beliefs there is always a stirring of “divine dissatisfaction”. We may choose to accept it’s prodding toward uncovering what wants to be born or instead to meet it with addictions, and distractions of every kind. It is our purpose to love and see every part of ourselves. All of life wants to be accepted and included. This is our creative path and our destiny.
The first article said: Art is a wonderful playground! Play is never a waste of time. It happens when we let ourselves go beyond the rules and expectations of everyday life. Art is a wonderful playground. If we can let go of needing to make our artwork overly important, creativity can be a simple gesture of freedom. A splash of orange here, a touch of green there. We can wear our heart on our sleeve.Creative play is one of the best ways to experiment and learn about our feelings. It involves risk and this gives us the opportunity to perfect ourselves. It is a form of thrill seeking. Within spontaneity are our hearts, our feelings and our souls. Play is never boring because it follows it’s own interests. If creative play becomes boring, we are planning and efforting too much.Play is in truth our natural state of being and we can choose to live our lives more and more from this open, effortless state of awareness. Creativity opens and conditions this wider awareness. By allowing our thoughts to flow organically and effortlessly during play, ideas arise spontaneously and we can access an intelligence and inspiration far greater that our familiar minds. Play can inform our lives in surprising ways.
I absolutely love that sentiment!
Second article:“The truth is when we let ourselves be vulnerable the inner stored pain does intensify. It peaks almost like a volcano erupting, but it is the only way to release it and get to the other side to insight and inspiration.”
Often we can fill our lives with so much busyness we lose touch with our deeper selves. When I teach expressive art I am speaking to the part of ourselves that is heroically out front in our lives, feeling overwhelmed and too busy for self-reflection and self-discovery. I know when I do too much in my outer world, my inner well starts to feel barren and empty and I can feel increasingly depressed and uncreative. Often we do not realize how bottled up we are inside. When we do not attend to our inner life we can feel overwhelmed and exhausted.What sustains me through my busy life are my expressive art and collage journals because it gives me pause to express the feelings below my everyday thinking. There is such wisdom in spontaneous art making. It reveals things that are true that we might not realize about ourselves. It is amazing what a simple doodle or a quick collage can express. Sometimes my drawings haunt me with mystery and I do not know how to read them. Sooner or later however I fully experience the feeling they convey I go back into my journal with gratitude to my unconscious mind for expressing my inner overwhelm so clearly.
Then the writer continues to talk about her drawing and her thoughts about her drawings spoke to my spirit of that’s soo me. She mentions a desire to "heighten", to continuously elevate my thoughts and actions to a spiritual peak. The figure is flying. She is not grounded in any way in everyday life. She is focused on an ideal self-created future. She is trying so hard to be superwoman!
Another aspect in her drawing she sees is that it “tells me there is much more to me than how much I can efficiently accomplish in a day”. We all have a vulnerable creative self that lives very close to our souls. Our sensitive, vulnerable parts of self are right there below the surface concerns and survival activities of life and often they will express themselves through spontaneous imagery. Our competent survival masks miss out on true connection to our souls because they are designed to protect us from our fears, insecurities and discomforting feelings but when we move through these feelings we can access profound intuition, sensitivity and creative insight into life.Allowing each dimension of ourselves full expression reveals that there is far more to us that meets the eye. We are not empty inside or uncreative at all. We have a vast inner words to discover. Expressive creativity invites us into profound self-acceptance that allows every part of ourselves a voice. When we express all of ourselves we free up inner blockages and can more easily access our natural vitality and intuition. Overwhelm ceases when feelings are expressed and released. Once we get clear inside we can get back to creating a life of meaning and unique purpose. Third article that spoke to me:Creativity offers this ability to find the “more” in you. It is a wonderful loosening of old habits and beliefs. I have discovered that I have choice. I can change my perspective. I can paint new colors into my experience. The daily practice of creativity is an invitation into something new. When I engage my creativity, new probabilities reveal themselves. I see who I am and glimpse what I could be in a visual way. It seems that as I discover and integrate more parts of myself then I can accept and embrace more parts of others. It is a vibrant feeling to include more and more into my experience of living. Connecting with myself makes my relationship with life and other people grow in depth and meaning. This fills me with fire and passion. I wonder; can I hold the whole world inside of me with love?Seeing in PicturesStart to see your whole life in pictures. This is the intuitive way. The soul sees in pictures. Imagery I am drawn to shows me something about what I am within.
BeginningsIn many ways, I have struggled to open up to my most playful and spontaneous creativity.Reclaiming Wholeness
It is part of the human journey to forget who we really are. I have yet to meet anyone who was deeply mirrored as a child for who they are in their entirety. We are all born as unique beings but as children we cut off the parts of ourselves that do not match our parents or our culture. This is because they cannot recognize or accept them in us. And so these parts go into our shadow. At some point in our adult life we need to find a form of accurate mirroring and reclaim all of ourselves to be whole.I always knew that I would reclaim my wholeness though art.
I did not feel safe to express my own uniqueness. I feared that if I did, I would not be loved in some private, primal, childhood place. But as time passed I realized that we all follow this path of early family conditioning, and at some point in our maturity we are called to differentiate. We can spend our entire lives living in the dreams our families and culture holds for us, or we can find a way to wake up to the true essence of ourselves. Life, with its inner urges and outer surprises has its way of moving us along to this end.I was eager to recreate myself completely. I was optimistic that this would happen quickly but life and creation is wisely slow. It has been a long and patient uncovering of the limiting beliefs and stubborn habits born in childhood, and in my own learned humanness, that block my intuition on this path to a radiant, truthful life. This is a journey that I share with you in the spirit of deep and abiding connection.In teaching and writing and reaching out to more and more people with this offering I realize that we are all longing to uncover the truth of our authentic selves. If we are residing in the familiar comfort of old habits and beliefs there is always a stirring of “divine dissatisfaction”. We may choose to accept it’s prodding toward uncovering what wants to be born or instead to meet it with addictions, and distractions of every kind. It is our purpose to love and see every part of ourselves. All of life wants to be accepted and included. This is our creative path and our destiny.
Coach Carolyn messages that spoke to me--the week of April 18th
Create Today
Every morning you wake up, you have a beautiful blank canvas before you on which to create your day.What do you choose to paint, write, sculpt, or handcraft?You have the power to create your day, which creates your life. Your life is made up of days. So, take it one day at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by next month, or the next six months, or the next twelve months. You only have right now, this moment. How are you going to live that?So, just for today, just create today.
Choose Wisely!
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~ J. K. Rowling
Choice is one of the most powerful gifts available to us. We have the power to choose to see the good in others; to be kind, compassionate and loving and we have the power to choose to be resentful, bitter and hard to get along with. But before you can make that conscious choice, you must be mindful. As we move through our days we make many choices we may not be fully aware of. From the way we speak to loved ones, to how we behave in traffic or to a work colleague, we must consciously choose our actions and behaviors. Pay attention to the choices you make today.
So, just for today, STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:
“Am I making a wise and conscious choice right now?”
Every morning you wake up, you have a beautiful blank canvas before you on which to create your day.What do you choose to paint, write, sculpt, or handcraft?You have the power to create your day, which creates your life. Your life is made up of days. So, take it one day at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by next month, or the next six months, or the next twelve months. You only have right now, this moment. How are you going to live that?So, just for today, just create today.
Choose Wisely!
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~ J. K. Rowling
Choice is one of the most powerful gifts available to us. We have the power to choose to see the good in others; to be kind, compassionate and loving and we have the power to choose to be resentful, bitter and hard to get along with. But before you can make that conscious choice, you must be mindful. As we move through our days we make many choices we may not be fully aware of. From the way we speak to loved ones, to how we behave in traffic or to a work colleague, we must consciously choose our actions and behaviors. Pay attention to the choices you make today.
So, just for today, STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:
“Am I making a wise and conscious choice right now?”
Good week
I must say Ive had a really good week. It's nothing like time with friends and family! I forgot to mention that I had Date Night with J which was great. It's refreshing to go out on a date since its been a few months. I told him to reserve the day and i took him to this Italian wine bar in the city where we had crostinis and entrees. I found a wine that taste like the wine we had on our honeymoon (yay). Then we went for desserts at magnolia's (oh how I love their banana pudding..I usually like their cupcakes too but for some reason this time I didn't). Then we saw "Date Night" which was hilarious. Good night all around. I love spending time with hubby.
Beautiful Friday
I had yet another girl's this week. This time with Robin and her bff and it was amazing. I took off because Robin was in need of girls day and she wanted to be among trees so I gave her a list of options one of which stood out more than the rest (Fort Tyron park). It's absolutely beautiful and serene. It seemed to take forever to get there (over an hour and half) but it was beautiful. Blooming gardens, view of the bridge, water, paths. It was great. We did a potluck picnic which consisted of strawberries, grapes, crackers & cheese (that was like brie but sharper), deli meat, hummus, salsa and tortilla chips, Doritos, butter toffee cookies, and white grape peach juice and had nutritional conversation. I realized what I love most outside of being out and about doing activities is to be among nature..God's wonderful creation amazes and tickles me at the same time. The breeze made it sightly chiller than I would have wanted but it was beautiful.As the temp changes i realize the last thing I want to do is be in the house. I foresee more parks and beaches in my future this summer.
Great Find
I pass by a place where free books sit in my office and there was this book that kept calling out to me (the colors grabbed my attention) but i never took the time to see what it was. Well today I took the time and OMG how glad I am. I'm just 32 pages in but its so good and so right up my alley especially since i found out my purpose. It's called, "The Business and Practice of Coaching Finding Your Niche, Making Money, and Attracting Ideal Clients." This book is practical and honest and gets me thinking about what I want to create and understand the difference between therapy and coaching. in this expressive arts facilitator role I never really thought about coaching being apart of this until i picked up this book and read the cover and Coaching just fit! Then i read how examples of coaching is mentoring, assisting, advising, supporting and then i realized this is exactly what I want to do. I'm so happy .. it's funny that i found this book on the week that Sacred Friday word is "emergence". Ha! God and his sovereign surprises and what he leads us too. This is my first book on the road to my purpose. Next I want to explore art journals.
Grace Cards-April 19th
Honor: Care for your soul. Honor the Divinity within you by practicing extreme self care.
Shine: Step into the light. You are a gift to the world
Connect: Find your center. When we stay connected to our spiritual core, the best and the most advantageous path unfolds before us.
I believe my focus for this week is about caring for myself and ensure that I stay connected to Christ (which everything else flows from). I also think is about cultivating my inner self.
Shine: Step into the light. You are a gift to the world
Connect: Find your center. When we stay connected to our spiritual core, the best and the most advantageous path unfolds before us.
I believe my focus for this week is about caring for myself and ensure that I stay connected to Christ (which everything else flows from). I also think is about cultivating my inner self.
Girl Time
Friendship is the union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond thereof virtue
- William Penn, Fruits of Solitude
So Ive been blessed to have Girl's time 3X's this month! I realized more and more how necessary girl time is for me in my life and how i want to foster a warm environment to nurture other fellow women with.
The weekend of the 10th i spent it with Jackie at her home. I got to also spend time with my growing God daughter who I've missed and Jackie's husband. Jackie surprised me by not taking me to our usual cuisine of Indian but this wonderful place in Havre Grace by the water. The view and food was amazing. It was so good having girl time! I hadnt seen her in about 6 months. Later that night continued our girl bonding time over drinks and appetizers (delicious crab dip) followed by the movie motherhood. Good time!
The following weekend of the 17th I spent it with Carey and Manda for our seasonal girls day (yay). We started out the girls weekend doing fitness classes on Friday (zumba and bellydancing). The classes were intense but sooo fun. I felt like i danced off some things i didn't even know i was carrying ....(complete abandonment and freedom). I'm so glad Carey suggested it. We went back to Amanda's house and met her new puppy then it was time to retire to bed. Saturday I woke up in Carey's beautiful house and we talked about a myriad of things and i got to spend some time with Carey's daughter (it was nice).Later that day we traveled to Cambridge for our girl's night in the hotel where we ordered room service that consisted of crab dip, pizza, shrimp cocktail, calamari and chicken tenders. We also had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries and a small celebration of Carey's upcoming 31st bday (which i surprised her with crumbs cupcakes of chocolate variety). It was relaxing and nutritious but the time went by so quickly that I kinda wish we had more time that day because I felt the nutritious time was not as much as i planned. Carey shared with us her script and wonderful pink papaya products (That was such a wonderful time...can you get any more girlie than that). I do wish we had time to visit the spa and be in that environment but we did get to experience lovely spa products. Sacred Girl time was had and that's all that matters!
This coming week I will have Thai dinner with Kym at one of our fav places. So yay girl time! Only person I'm missing face to face time is Kia but i talk to her everyday so its almost like seeing her.
My next scheduled girl's day is in June when Carey and Manda come for Sex and the city 2 (whoo). I already planned out the weekend (I learned this time not to overplan but I have a few places picked out that we would visit). However, I just found out that Girl's day is a day instead of two so I've scaled down the few places to visit to just one. I'm still keeping the place for breakfast I planned but then I decided we would go back to my place and just chill before the movie and most likely after the movie off they will go. So it will be a fun day I'm sure!
- William Penn, Fruits of Solitude
So Ive been blessed to have Girl's time 3X's this month! I realized more and more how necessary girl time is for me in my life and how i want to foster a warm environment to nurture other fellow women with.
The weekend of the 10th i spent it with Jackie at her home. I got to also spend time with my growing God daughter who I've missed and Jackie's husband. Jackie surprised me by not taking me to our usual cuisine of Indian but this wonderful place in Havre Grace by the water. The view and food was amazing. It was so good having girl time! I hadnt seen her in about 6 months. Later that night continued our girl bonding time over drinks and appetizers (delicious crab dip) followed by the movie motherhood. Good time!
The following weekend of the 17th I spent it with Carey and Manda for our seasonal girls day (yay). We started out the girls weekend doing fitness classes on Friday (zumba and bellydancing). The classes were intense but sooo fun. I felt like i danced off some things i didn't even know i was carrying ....(complete abandonment and freedom). I'm so glad Carey suggested it. We went back to Amanda's house and met her new puppy then it was time to retire to bed. Saturday I woke up in Carey's beautiful house and we talked about a myriad of things and i got to spend some time with Carey's daughter (it was nice).Later that day we traveled to Cambridge for our girl's night in the hotel where we ordered room service that consisted of crab dip, pizza, shrimp cocktail, calamari and chicken tenders. We also had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries and a small celebration of Carey's upcoming 31st bday (which i surprised her with crumbs cupcakes of chocolate variety). It was relaxing and nutritious but the time went by so quickly that I kinda wish we had more time that day because I felt the nutritious time was not as much as i planned. Carey shared with us her script and wonderful pink papaya products (That was such a wonderful time...can you get any more girlie than that). I do wish we had time to visit the spa and be in that environment but we did get to experience lovely spa products. Sacred Girl time was had and that's all that matters!
This coming week I will have Thai dinner with Kym at one of our fav places. So yay girl time! Only person I'm missing face to face time is Kia but i talk to her everyday so its almost like seeing her.
My next scheduled girl's day is in June when Carey and Manda come for Sex and the city 2 (whoo). I already planned out the weekend (I learned this time not to overplan but I have a few places picked out that we would visit). However, I just found out that Girl's day is a day instead of two so I've scaled down the few places to visit to just one. I'm still keeping the place for breakfast I planned but then I decided we would go back to my place and just chill before the movie and most likely after the movie off they will go. So it will be a fun day I'm sure!
Lyrics -I Choose
I just had to put the lyrics up since in the last two years this song speaks to me more and more as time passes maybe because I am looking at 30:)
"I Choose"-Indie Arie
Because you never know where life is gonna take youand you can't change where you've been.But today, I have the opportunity to choose.
[Verse 1:]
Here am I now looking at 30 and I got so much to say. I gotta get this off of my chest, I gotta let it go today.I was always too concerned about what everybody would think.But I can't live for everybody, I gotta live my life for me.(Yeah)I pitched a fork in the road of my life and ain't nothing gonna happen unless I decide.
[Chorus:]
(And I choose) to be the best that I can be.(I choose) to be authentic in everything I do.My past don't dictate who I am. I choose. (Yeah)
[Verse 2:]
I done been through some painful things I thought that I would never make it through.Filled up with shame from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes.I put myself in so many chaotic circumstances, but by the grace of God I've been given so many second chances.But today I decided to let it all go. I'm dropping these bags, I'm making room for my joy.
[Chorus:]
(And I choose) to be the best that I can be.(I choose) to be authentic in everything I do.My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.[Bridge:]Because you never know where life is gonna take you and you can't change where you've been. But today, I have the opportunity to choose. (Hey ey)I used to have guilt about why things happen they way they did cuz life is gone do what it do.And everyday, I have the opportunity to choose.
[Verse 3:]
From this day forward I'm going to be exactly who I am.I don't need to change the way that I live just to get a man. (NO!)I even had a talk with my mama and I told her the day I'm grown,"from this day forward, every decision I make will be my own." And hey!
[Chorus:]
(And I choose) to be the best that I can be.(I choose) to be courageous in everything I do.My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.(And I choose) to be the best that I can be.(I choose) to be authentic in everything I do.My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.
[Bridge:]
Because you never know where life is gonna take you and you can't change where you've been. But today, I have the opportunity to choose. (Hey ey)I used to have guilt about why things happen they way they did cuz life is gone do what it do.And everyday, I have the opportunity to choose
Creative Arts Exercise
I signed up for an expressive arts coach newsletter weeks ago (http://www.theexpressiveartscoach.com/) when I was researching art therapy and came across expressive arts (still has me excited). I just got the first newsletter (well not just (I got it a week ago and I finally have time to view it) so here goes. The newsletter starts out by taking us through two exercises: 1. guided imagery and 2. making a collage from our soul (my collage is seen to the left..I tried to move it but couldn't figure out how).
According to the expressive arts coach since i decided to take the adventure of creative exercises I am:
1. creative
2. need creativity in your life
3. enjoy exercising your creative muscles
She hopes I'm honoring this part of your Self on a weekly basis! If not, things may seem a bit unbalanced for me. She said I need to consistently engage in some sort of creative endeavor.
I wouldn't say I'm unbalanced right now but I do need some creativity so this is what I needed. I ignored my creative self for a long time so its time to rekindle my relationship with the artistic self. Carey sent me this wonderful website http://www.theartistsway.com/the-basic-tools that I have to finish reading but it talked about Artist's Date and i need to start committing myself to taking myself out once a week. It is defined as a "once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly "artistic"-- think mischief more than mastery" Someone else said Artist Date consists of the following:
• A commitment of time spent on yourself once a week. • Time spent solely on you -- no companions allowed. • A date with your inner-artist, or your inner-child. Same thing I just like the bullets:) I think i can consider what I am doing now an artist's date since 1. I'm by myself and 2. I am engaging in some creativity exercises. I think this most definitely qualifies. Sure I should be sleeping but already I feel energized.
What' s funny about all this is a couple of months i was talking to J about the need to do something creative. Then i got a couple of resources from Carey and a month or two later I got into an enlightening convo with J about my purpose. Everything indeed has a season and activity under heaven.
CREATIVITY EXERCISE #1Visualization or Guided Imagery
The coach talked for about 6 minutes and told us to close our eyes and breathe and imagine a room (we should ask our self what it looked like colors and furniture) and that a guest is coming to the door who has a present (who is the guest and what did they bring us). when it was over she asked us to journal about this experience. I really have no interest in writing in my journal about this but I did find it quite relaxing.
The coach talked for about 6 minutes and told us to close our eyes and breathe and imagine a room (we should ask our self what it looked like colors and furniture) and that a guest is coming to the door who has a present (who is the guest and what did they bring us). when it was over she asked us to journal about this experience. I really have no interest in writing in my journal about this but I did find it quite relaxing.
CREATIVITY EXERCISE #2Make a Collage from Your Soul
I finished my collage with Indie Arie in the background (pic you see at the top). By the time i finished "I Choose" was playing which is very appropriate. I feel the this collage is truly a collage to my soul. It shows how i envision a world that I follow God's will and heart to the ends of the earth by empowering women. Not sure everything in the pic with my camera phone is clear but it says from top to bottom:
I finished my collage with Indie Arie in the background (pic you see at the top). By the time i finished "I Choose" was playing which is very appropriate. I feel the this collage is truly a collage to my soul. It shows how i envision a world that I follow God's will and heart to the ends of the earth by empowering women. Not sure everything in the pic with my camera phone is clear but it says from top to bottom:
Naturally Steph
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom .
Experience A Life Free With God's Word
Rediscover Life
Authentic Living
Peace
Partnership
Love Your Life
In the middle a woman is floating in air (representing true freedom)
At the bottom the words say:
To be His Hands and His Heart
One by one, these women are being transformed by God's power
Extending a Hand of Hope
Quote that spoke to me
I cant remember where today I ran across the below quote but I just came across it again through an expressive arts newsletter and it spoke to me even louder:
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
-Anais Nin
I am currently pondering that quote since i am allowing my soul to recharge.We often stay in the state of less for one reason or another (often times its safer) but then we realize that state doesn't fit who we are today..that state hurts us more than the fear to see what else is on the other side of unknown limitless possibility. We no longer want to stay that bud but we want to blossom. I'm saying we because i think that's a shared feeling among many. I believe this ties into me enlarging my vision that God has spoke to me about. I have been saved by Christ 9 years so it was my early 20's when i came to him. I continue to grow in him. One desire that has grown deeper and deeper as i age is to become the woman he created me to be. Because of this I can no longer stop at seeing things bud (realizations, breaking through barriers) but I need to blossom. A rose is magnificent is how it blooms..it blooms wide and i think that is how God wants us to be. He has equip us with so many things that start out as a seed then a bud then it blooms. This year is about enlarging my vision because being on autopilot is not doing anything for the things God put inside of me aside from letting it be dormant. I dont want to die as a bud.
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
-Anais Nin
I am currently pondering that quote since i am allowing my soul to recharge.We often stay in the state of less for one reason or another (often times its safer) but then we realize that state doesn't fit who we are today..that state hurts us more than the fear to see what else is on the other side of unknown limitless possibility. We no longer want to stay that bud but we want to blossom. I'm saying we because i think that's a shared feeling among many. I believe this ties into me enlarging my vision that God has spoke to me about. I have been saved by Christ 9 years so it was my early 20's when i came to him. I continue to grow in him. One desire that has grown deeper and deeper as i age is to become the woman he created me to be. Because of this I can no longer stop at seeing things bud (realizations, breaking through barriers) but I need to blossom. A rose is magnificent is how it blooms..it blooms wide and i think that is how God wants us to be. He has equip us with so many things that start out as a seed then a bud then it blooms. This year is about enlarging my vision because being on autopilot is not doing anything for the things God put inside of me aside from letting it be dormant. I dont want to die as a bud.
Exhausted
I have absolutely no energy for anything and my knee hurts. i don't like to complain but I want to go wahhhh! I arrived home at 615 today which I cant remember when my body has last seen my home at that time. I feel run down which i guess isn't surprising since traveling always seems to make me tired. I had a wonderful weekend visiting my parents, j's mom, and jackie but getting back into my normal routine as of Sunday where i literally dropped my bags off and went straight to church and getting back into my normal routine and not being able to sleep has me exhausted!! I skipped the gym today and decided to come home and rest. I need to listen to my body instead of going with routine. i remember feeling like this not too long ago and i was so glad i took the time to recharge.
Grace Cards Monday-April 12th
Quiet: Turn off the noise. Silence nourishes the body, mind, and spirit.
Dance: When we ask for guidance, take action, and put our faith in on an outcome we can't yet see, we've begun to dance with grace.
Valor: Be courageous. The unmistakable touch of grace will follow us wherever we go.
I don't see what the cards may be telling me just yet but it's also 3:32 a.m. and I can't sleep. I'll revisit tomorrow.
Looking at this a few days later (not much more sleep). I can see that my grace cards were telling me i needed to recharge my soul . I need to turn off noise and normal actions for a moment and be silent and light my candles and go to my serene place. I needed to remember whatever God has put in me with come to fruition. More and more grace.
Dance: When we ask for guidance, take action, and put our faith in on an outcome we can't yet see, we've begun to dance with grace.
Valor: Be courageous. The unmistakable touch of grace will follow us wherever we go.
I don't see what the cards may be telling me just yet but it's also 3:32 a.m. and I can't sleep. I'll revisit tomorrow.
Looking at this a few days later (not much more sleep). I can see that my grace cards were telling me i needed to recharge my soul . I need to turn off noise and normal actions for a moment and be silent and light my candles and go to my serene place. I needed to remember whatever God has put in me with come to fruition. More and more grace.
Coach Carolyn messages that spoke to me--the week of March 28th &April 5th
Since I've missed a couple of postings under this topic I'm going to take care of two weeks in one post. All I can say about both of these items is TRUTH! Let's begin to step out onto the things we are called to do. There are no limitations except the one we put on yourself.
Week of March 28th:
The Greatest Failure!
Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies once said, "The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it."
The Fourth Agreement: Always Do Your Best
It does not matter if you fail; there is no failure, only feedback. And the only one who can say you failed is you. But what happens if you never even try?
Just for today, take a chance and do your best.
Leading Lady or Supporting Actor?
To lead is difficult when you're a follower of fear.” ~ T.A. Sachs
One of my favorite movies is The Holiday. It has some great lines, one of which says that while you are the leading lady in your life, you behave like the best friend – another words, you are living life like you are a supporting character in your own life.If this is your story, then it is time to start writing a new script. To be a leading lady means you lead with conviction and courage, not following fear and doubt. One way to tell if you are the supporting character in your life instead of the leading lady is to look at what is showing up in your life.
Are you getting vague, murky, and unclear messages, then STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:“What message am I sending out to the universe?”
Then, notice what you are saying and reacting to. Are your words filled with power and conviction, or are they weak and filled with fear?What you give is what you get back.
Week of April 5th
Feel Pure Joy!
If your dominant intent is to feel joy while you are doing the work, your triad of intentions — freedom, growth and joy — will come quickly and easily into alignment. See your "career" as one of creating a joyful life experience. You are not a creator of things or a regurgitator of what someone else has created or a gatherer of stuff. You are a creator, and the subject of your creation is your joyful life experience. That is your mission. That is your quest. That is why you are here.” ~ Abraham
I love this! Your life purpose is an experience, not simply to toil or accumulate stuff. When you are experiencing joy and freedom and passion, your “work” falls in alignment with those feelings. Then, it does not feel like work or toil, but joy and you don’t know where the time goes.
You were created to inspire, dream, empower, love, ignite, or you fill in the blank. You are a creator and you can create anything you desire. So why don’t you?
Fear. Simple as that.
So, just for today… dream BIG! What do you truly desire? Feel what it would be like to have. Continue that feeling for a solid 17 seconds. Then another… then another… then another. You have created 68 seconds of pure high vibrational thinking! That’s HUGE! Not negative thinking, or regurgitated thinking, but pure thinking!
While you are in this high vibrational space, be grateful and smile!
Week of March 28th:
The Greatest Failure!
Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies once said, "The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it."
The Fourth Agreement: Always Do Your Best
It does not matter if you fail; there is no failure, only feedback. And the only one who can say you failed is you. But what happens if you never even try?
Just for today, take a chance and do your best.
Leading Lady or Supporting Actor?
To lead is difficult when you're a follower of fear.” ~ T.A. Sachs
One of my favorite movies is The Holiday. It has some great lines, one of which says that while you are the leading lady in your life, you behave like the best friend – another words, you are living life like you are a supporting character in your own life.If this is your story, then it is time to start writing a new script. To be a leading lady means you lead with conviction and courage, not following fear and doubt. One way to tell if you are the supporting character in your life instead of the leading lady is to look at what is showing up in your life.
Are you getting vague, murky, and unclear messages, then STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:“What message am I sending out to the universe?”
Then, notice what you are saying and reacting to. Are your words filled with power and conviction, or are they weak and filled with fear?What you give is what you get back.
Week of April 5th
Feel Pure Joy!
If your dominant intent is to feel joy while you are doing the work, your triad of intentions — freedom, growth and joy — will come quickly and easily into alignment. See your "career" as one of creating a joyful life experience. You are not a creator of things or a regurgitator of what someone else has created or a gatherer of stuff. You are a creator, and the subject of your creation is your joyful life experience. That is your mission. That is your quest. That is why you are here.” ~ Abraham
I love this! Your life purpose is an experience, not simply to toil or accumulate stuff. When you are experiencing joy and freedom and passion, your “work” falls in alignment with those feelings. Then, it does not feel like work or toil, but joy and you don’t know where the time goes.
You were created to inspire, dream, empower, love, ignite, or you fill in the blank. You are a creator and you can create anything you desire. So why don’t you?
Fear. Simple as that.
So, just for today… dream BIG! What do you truly desire? Feel what it would be like to have. Continue that feeling for a solid 17 seconds. Then another… then another… then another. You have created 68 seconds of pure high vibrational thinking! That’s HUGE! Not negative thinking, or regurgitated thinking, but pure thinking!
While you are in this high vibrational space, be grateful and smile!
Friday's Purposeful Question-April 9th
Today's post from Coach Carolyn stated:
“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
"It is only possible to live happily ever after on a daily basis." ~ Margaret Bonanno
"The pleasure which we most rarely experience gives us greatest delight." ~ Epictetus
"I wake up every morning with a great desire to live joyfully." ~ Anna Howard Shaw
“Are you living a happy life?” Why or why not?
If you are not, all you need to do is make the decision that you want to live a happy life – then go live it!
I'm living a blessed life. The reason I would say I'm not leading a happy life is leading a happy life i think it means to live an authentic life. I'm just figuring out what that means to me so until I'm living authentically on a regular basis I'm not entirely happy.
“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
"It is only possible to live happily ever after on a daily basis." ~ Margaret Bonanno
"The pleasure which we most rarely experience gives us greatest delight." ~ Epictetus
"I wake up every morning with a great desire to live joyfully." ~ Anna Howard Shaw
“Are you living a happy life?” Why or why not?
If you are not, all you need to do is make the decision that you want to live a happy life – then go live it!
I'm living a blessed life. The reason I would say I'm not leading a happy life is leading a happy life i think it means to live an authentic life. I'm just figuring out what that means to me so until I'm living authentically on a regular basis I'm not entirely happy.
Three Month Weigh-In
I stepped on the scale and have lost an additional 2 lbs which has brought my weight loss to 17 lbs (I'm glad yet sad because I'm 10 lbs shy of where I wanted to be at this point). I'm 197 instead of 187 lbs. Progress is Progress though and every step in the direction you want to go should be celebrated. So I need to re look at my program and see what changes I want to make. I know I definitely want to eat more protein. In fact eat it with every meal. Revisit my current exercise program. I'll come up with more concrete items in the next week or so.
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