Here in the southwest it is a time to get outside and enjoy the incredible warmth and vibration of blooming trees and twiterpated animals! Spring is here!  As part of my journey to stay spiritually “grounded” and my journey to “ keep a 3 year old and 1 ½ year old engaged and safe” we decided to dig a mudpit! J 

Okay, I must admit, at first I was at a loss…I had a picture in my head of those big pools of mud you see on TV for crazy obstacle course game shows or big lush pits of nurturing mud for those desiring a nourishing bath in the “black gold.” I looked at my backyard and felt overwhelmed.  Have you ever felt this way?  Like, “why couldn’t I  just wiggle my nose or pull on my ear and have a big ol’ pool of mud appear?” Maybe I watched too much Bewitched as a child?! J 

My point is…okay…well…I ADMIT IT…I just didn’t want to do the work!!!

I struggled with this for about a week (until the pressure of two highly energized little girls finally broke me down) and I realized…I just have to start with putting the shovel in the ground…

so I did.

Next, dig in!  So I did.  Dig a little deeper!  So I did.

Until I realized, I could start by digging a small mudpit and then see how that worked out.  So I did…1.5 ft in diameter and it was brilliant.  The girls loved it!

The next day, I dug a little more…made it a little bit bigger and a little bit deeper.  Then I watched…waited…even more fun! Sweet!  It’s like the energy of that first dig just propelled me forward!

My point  - are you having a hard time getting started on something? Anything?  Maybe it’s something you HAVE to do.  Or maybe something you’ve been putting off for a while, a long while!  Maybe it’s something you just KNOW your heart is calling you to do but you’re scared because you’ve never done it before (this is my first mudpit ;) ) or people will think you’re crazy (again, the mudpit example J).

Try not to get overwhelmed…keep the vision of the “big picture” in your mind and then simply put the shovel in the ground.  If that feels good, dig in!  The rest will practically dig itself!

I wrote this 7.5 years ago in my journal as a response to a conversation I must have shared with my then friend and my now partner and father of my children!  If you’re feeling like your underwater, suffocating or overwhelmed…I hope you find a little relief in this. 

9/12/03

“I understand your dream now.  Either I had a dream like it, which is what I think happened, or I was all of a sudden able to completely empathize with you.  Your underwater dream…

I remember being underwater, holding my breath, worried my breath wasn’t deep enough to sustain me and then all of a sudden – I realize! – I can breathe through my nose!  It’s like something I should have known all along but for some reason I couldn’t remember [or forgot] and now it just seems so simple!

Maybe we [are] going through times of significant realizations in our lives or something.  It was funny because I was just driving and - BAM - my body remembered the feeling of that dream!

Of course we can breathe underwater!”

Can you? 

Go ahead.

Remember.

Try it. :)

I get so frustrated when things don’t go MY way!  There, I said it!  I’m not a natural planner or a very structured person by nature, but when I DO take the time to plan or structure something you better BELIEVE I will have it go my way, or else…unless of course it doesn’t. :)




Have any of you ever had these thoughts?  It happened to me twice today…where I planned things in detail and life just kind of laughed at me. I’ll tell you about the first! I hope this story helps you find a little more magic on your own journey.




I planned on my partner getting home at a 10 am this morning.  I texted at 9:10 am to make sure he’s on his way (it’s an hour bike ride from where he is). He calls and says it’s going to be another hour and then he’ll ride home!  This news obviously puts my carefully planned morning off by at least another hour! Frustrated…I fume…thinking thoughts of blame and judgment…all very productive things to be doing with my time, I know! :)  My very efficient, effective and detailed plan of action for the day, ruined!  Or was it?


I proceeded to take a breath, calm myself down and focus on what was in front of me…the children, the dishes that need to get done, the grocery list that needs to be made, the never ending piles of laundry that need to be folded and I realized this morning was MEANT to go this way. 


How did I know this?


I know my morning was supposed to unfold like it did because…well…it did.  To me, this is a comforting thought and you can use it in almost any situation!  Now this is not to say that my partner and I can’t discuss and agree on better ways to communicate, but in that moment, I could either keeping fuming about my plans being ruined and my perception of his lack of consideration, OR I could go with it!  So I went with it…and you know what?  My day only got better and I was even able to see how being put off that hour ended up creating more space and opportunity later in my day…almost as if by magic! It amazing what happens when we learn to get present in our lives!


We are always working with something...a picture...a story greater than our own.  When we take the lead and what we plan is right on, it feels amazing!  But when it’s not, and the Universe gives you an opportunity to embrace the present moment…take it…you never know where the it will lead you!

Having been raised a Roman Catholic, this week marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent.  If you celebrate Lent you may be giving up something (like chocolate or coffee) for 40 days and 40 nights and abstaining from meat on Fridays.  Some of us even attend a service, get ashes swept across our foreheads (a sign that we will return to dust) and listen to readings about how we should foresake all things religious?  Huh? lol 

As a child, Lent always kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  It’s like the season went against the very truth of who I was!  As children we are naturally drawn to celebrate...everything!  I don't know a child that comes to sacrifice very naturally. Lent is a time for repentance...for sacrificing to God and many people interpret this as sacrificing worldly pleasures...as if worldly pleasures were bad! And all this at a time when the flowers are beginning to bloom, the birds are singing and the energy of the Universe is "twiterpated!" It's like the world is just beckoning you to indulge!

So whether or not you’re frying fish up on Fridays or not, I wanted to leave with just a few things to ponder…

1)    Yes, we are dust... AND stardust !  You are the Dark but you are also the Light!  And that’s okay…it’s perfect!

2)    What if…just what if nothing you could do in this life time would EVER offend, hurt or shame the Ulmighty God of All…or this All Loving Universe!  Just what if? 

3)    If you integrated these two thoughts, how would that change your life?  How would you FEEL?  How would you interpret the things that “happen” to you or others?  Would it change the way you live your life?


I for one will be enjoying the pleasures of this amazing realm we call Earth.  After all, we have chosen to be an intimate and integral part of it…I hear my fair trade, sustainably harvested organic dark chocolate calling now! :)


Ashes to ashes…stardust to stardust…smile to your heart that carries both!

 I think we underestimate what it means to have peace in our lives!  We are so used to living in the fast pace our everyday existence that when we may have a moment to cultivate a little peace, it quickly gets pushed to the back burner along with our slowly deteriorating health and sanity! 

One of the words that come up when I ask people how they felt after our session is peace!  They experienced a deep sense of peace within themselves.  So I wanted to give you three practical things you can do, starting today, to allow more peace into your life!  I think you will be amazed at how cultivating a little more peace in your life can reap even bigger benefits for your overall health and happiness. 

1)    Be Present!  Many spiritual traditions call it mindfulness.  All this means is to BE PRESENT with what ever is in front of you.   If you are making coffee…BE with your coffee making.  If you are folding laundry, BE with your laundry!  If you working on a project, BE with your project!  We’ve developed a sense of “I’m going to miss out” thinking in our society because everything moves so quickly…I mean you can blink and the next version of iPhone has already discounted on Amazon!  But because we fail to slow down and actually give our full attention in the moment to our children, our cup of tea, our dinner, our work…we lose out on the potential and magic of the PRESENT.  And believe me, when you are able to make your days into a series of “present moments” you will not only begin to experience the limitless potential and magic of existence but a peace that surpasses all understanding! Mmmmmm……

2)    Breathe!   Simple, yes!  So simple that it could be dismissed…but I think by now many of you have already heard the science behind the health benefits of conscious breathing or meditation.  But are you aware that breathing can also facilitate more peace in your life as well?  Try this: when you are feeling anxiety, stress or tension (or hell, go crazy and use this prior to feeling any physical or metal stressors in your body) J Put your hand over your heart, take a deep belly breath (yes puff out that tummy on the inhale) and hold it for 3 seconds.  Then exhale with your hand still over your heart…becoming aware of your breath leaving your body.  Do it again bringing even more awareness to your breath.  Breathe in peace….breathe out and smile!  You did it!  Now do it over and over.  Get it? Got it?  Enjoy it.

3)    Go inside!  You know those times when you are on overload but you may not be aware of it?  It looks something like this…you know you have a ton to do, things need to be getting done but you keep bouncing back and forth between your email and facebook account, thinking of what you need to get done, then, oh the laundry, you get up to do the laundry, then, crap, I need to call this person, wait, did I get a gift for…., online again, “tweet”, shit, I need to pick up the kids!  Or maybe you just “space out” at work and fall into habits of procrastination with anything that is a willing participant! J  Okay, maybe it’s not that bad but you get the point.  We all have time when we feel flustered, discombobulated, restless and just drained!  Common practice is to busy yourself so you FEEL like you’re getting something done…so you are being a good little productive busy bee, but in reality our body is telling us to GO INSIDE!  Not in the house, but inside yourself.  So stop.  Sit…bring your awareness back into your body (literally gather the pieces of yourself you’ve left strewn throughout your day back into your body using your imagination).  Sit down. Close your eyes.  Peace out…and peace in!