Planning Ahead

We're heading toward the end of 2008 and I'm beginning to set up goals for myself for 2009. I'm feeling excited, empowered, optimistic,and enthusiastic. Business wise I look to great leaps forward in attracting interesting and lucrative speaking engagements.Personally I look forward to continued growth and discovery. Globally I plan to participate in the arenas that matter most to me. I feel energized and happy to be where I am. What is your outlook for the coming year?

Oh Happy Day

I have been celebrating our election result with sincere gratitude for the monumental point in history that I am witnessing. My neighborhood had one African American family in our suburb in the 1960's. I remember seeing the Civil Rights marches on our black and white TVand in the Life magazine on our living room coffee table. I am passionate about respect, diversity and connection. There is a soulful, deep core value for shared reality that has been answered with Barack and Michelle Obama becoming our next President and First Lady. I will host an Inauguration Day party at my home and the premise is to invite my friends for conversation and discovery. How can we proceed with this opportunity to negotiate and invent our next steps as a society? This is a wonderful time to learn more about how to listen to each other and come up with ways to help everyone get what they need.

Practicing Patience

I had a light bulb moment this weekend. A good friend told me about her experience practicing patience. I realized that she is learning how to be patient. This is a skill that was taught to me many years ago and I forget that patience is something everyone learns differently and at different times of their lives. I love being surprised by my assumptions. It keeps my humble and challenged.

So, I asked my friend what she is doing to learn patience. She is a commuter and spends many hours driving her car. In a recent traffic jam, my friend said she followed some steps from a magazine article she had read. She noticed what was going on in her body(stomach tightening, pounding head, tight throat), took deep breaths, told herself there was nothing she could do to change the situation she was in, and focused on a relaxing image of being at a campfire in the woods sharing a fun filled weekend with friends. And then her experience of being stuck in traffic became something else. She turned off the adrenaline from stress.

What is your experience with learning and using patience in your everyday life?

Change

Change is in the air in this particular election. And change is a topic we can address in our lives yet again. I really love the freedom, challenge and opportunity for creativity and learning that change brings. Maybe there is some discomfort, awkwardness, and confusion that is included in the change package, and overall I see these as small prices for the possibility of forward movement and personal growth and discovery.
Take a look at what might be a change that you can make in the short term and the long term that would stretch you. For me, in the short term, I have connected with an opportunity to get matching funds for my contributions to Kiva, which is an organization that funds small donations for entrepreneurs around the globe.(www.kiva.org). For the long term I am learning how to make Mind Movies that will propel me forward with the projects I have.(www.mindmovies.com)
I would love to hear what changes are in the air for you!

Struggle Not

I am relearning for myself that struggle is my modus operandi when I'm on automatic pilot. It has taken two years of living with chronic pain before I have decided that it is OK to check out pain management for relief. It always surprises me to come to awareness of a behavior that is unconscious, archaic and detrimental. In this case, grinning and bearing the agony. What in your life needs a wake up call so that you find peace and comfort in situations that are struggles? Do you have places to create stronger boundaries, places where you can introduce playtime to balance worktime, places to celebrate your wonderful self?

Creativity

I am in the process of creating an audio version of Wallflower Blues. It amazes me how abundant my creative juices are compared to what they were in my earlier years. I went to a mini garden show locally this past weekend and noticed a terrarium that was displayed. My heart and spirit expanded with warmth and smiles as I remembered that as a young girl, a childhood friend and I walked down to the creek and collected mosses, plants and critters to keep in a fish aquarium with a lid on it. My fond memory stems from a sense of artistic endeavor that worked! I am re-smitten with that feeling that was so precious and unique for a long while. I plan to go out soon to create a terrarium to celebrate the beginning of my awareness of an art form. Creativity is a true source of pleasure and satisfaction. It took me many years to get out of my own way so that I can now enjoy the willingness and belief that I can experiment with and produce in a creative way. I have leaped over my factual and scientific mindset into the art world. What can you do this week to explore your creative self?

Ask for What You Want

I had the great privilege to join a group of women this weekend who had gathered to enjoy each other's company, talk about life and share wisdom. I was also present to talk about Wallflower Blues. We discussed the art of asking for what you want and how it is something many of us are practicing in small steps. There was a wonderful example that presented itself when one of the women in response to my inquiry about whether anyone in the group had written a book. One woman said she was in the process of writing and was struggling with one of the editing processes. Within a space of seconds, one of the other members of the group asked if she could help because she had the skill, willingness and desire to contribute! We also discussed how important it is for all of us to be willing to receive when there is an offer of help from someone. It takes two to tango in the dance of give and take. What helps you to ask for what you want?

Privacy

I was speaking with a Wallflower devotee and she said that she had started to write in the book as I had suggested in the introduction. What she hadn't planned was that her significant other picked the book up to thumb through just to see what the book was like. She realized that she would prefer that some of what she had written may have been for her eyes only! What suggestions do you have to safeguard your privacy and at the same time enjoy the experience of 'using' the workbook by writing in it from a place of honesty and openness?

A long time ago I remember that someone suggested using a 'code' they had created.

I do believe that there is such a sense of freedom when I am not hiding anything and totally appreciate that it takes lots of courage to get there.

Welcome to the Dance Floor!

Welcome to the dance floor all you amazing women! I am feeling exhilarated, openhearted, and giddy in anticipation of community, creativity, inclusion and compassion as we all move toward fuller expressions of ourselves. Please share your experiences, observations and new beginnings as you explore the dance floor of your personal growth. We can learn from each other's stories, we can send love as we read, we can lead by example.