Category Archives: personal growth

Grateful for that One Special Someone

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It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to write a post about gratitude! 

Feel free to click here (or below) to learn more about our Gratitude Project. 
Okay – now for today’s post:
 
 We have all had days that we wish we didn’t have to go through. We have all had experiences that we wish we could fast forward and not have to feel the sadness or pain or anger or any other strong emotion that came along with it. We have all had hard times in our lives where we just weren’t sure how we were going to make it through.

And just when we were at the brink of complete despair, that special someone stepped up and offered support and love and encouragement and understanding. That’s when we knew that we would be okay. We knew that we could lean just a little bit on this person – we could let them take some of the weight for just a little while.

Each of us has this special someone in our lives. It could be a spouse, family member, or best friend. Someone that we know we can go to when life gets overwhelming and too much to take on alone.

And what’s great about these relationships is that they are always reciprocated. Today maybe you are the one who needs to lean, and tomorrow they will be able to lean on you. That’s how these beautiful relationships work, and for that I am grateful.


Thank you to Dan for being that special someone for me. 

Take a moment today and think about your special someone. Let them know how grateful you are for their love and support. Let them know how much you value and appreciate their presence in your life. 

And then lean into them. 
It’s okay. 
They won’t let you fall.


The Magic in Staying Present

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I’m part of a writing program that is helping me stay focused and create a structure in which to write my book. We had a conference today where we could ask questions. It was really clear to me that everyone was so excited about the program, but they were also possibly even more excited about the end result: finishing their book and having it published.
This is completely understandable. There are times when I also wish I could fast forward to several months from now when my book is completed, published, and available to buy and be read. I could save myself the possible pain of having to look within and the struggle of actually writing the book.

But if I fast forwarded to where my book is complete, and everything is all tied up in a neat bow, I would also miss all of the good stuff that is bound to happen in my life between now and then – both internally and also externally.

I would miss learning how to write a book. All of these great lessons and assignments that are part of this process.

I would miss the process of writing – the discipline of sitting at my computer every day and holding myself accountable to write for at least one hour.

I would miss the part where I get to excavate my inner wisdom. I get to dig deep within and see what’s there. I get to uncover all of the layers of gunk that are covering up my soul, and I get to let my higher self lead the way.

I would miss being able to pat myself on the back after I had a breakthrough.

If I skipped ahead, I would miss all that is happening right now. 

I would miss the journey.
And isn’t that what it’s all about – growing and learning on this journey?

So let’s stay right here. Even if it seems hard or even if the future seems brighter and more fun. Let’s go through the steps to get to the future. They are laid out one in front of the other for us. Let’s start walking (or even running) toward our future. But let’s make sure to step on each stone on our way there and enjoy the journey.

P.S. – If you live in southern Oregon, please come to Dan’s workshop tomorrow at the Holistic Faire in Grants Pass! It’s called: 3 Steps to Manifesting Happiness. It’s at 1pm, and it’s completely free! We’ll also be there with our Soulful Journals. Hope to see you there!

Saturday Selection – Louise Hay’s Health and Wellbeing

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I believe that our thoughts create our reality.

This means that our thoughts have the power to create all of the wonderful things that happen to us each day. When we are happy and filled with abundance, we can pat ourselves on the back for creating that and attracting that into our life.

And when we are not so happy and sad or maybe even sick, we can recognize that we also created this and figure out how to shift our emotion and energy into a more positive place.

When I started feeling sick last week, I began to think about what might be off balance in my life, what patterns I could look at that may have caused this, and what I could do to shift into a more positive way of living and feel better.
I started listening to a recording of someone who truly inspires me – someone I knew would be able to offer some guidance into what was really going on inside of me: Louise Hay.

If you aren’t familiar with her work, please read my previous post about her here.

I found a 4-part recording on You Tube of Louise helping us through illness and get to a place of health and well being.

If you ever aren’t feeling well – emotionally or physically – I really recommend that you listen to this. She says that you really don’t even need to pay attention when it’s on – your subconscious is getting exactly what it needs to hear regardless.

I have listened to it over and over and will continue to do so.
Our mind is so powerful, and learning to channel it toward positive thoughts is crucial to well being. Learning to let go of outdated beliefs and patterns that we created years ago is crucial. And learning to love ourselves and know that we are worthy of perfect health is absolutely essential.

The recordings are below. I hope you enjoy them!

I also recommend Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life.
In it, she says that “if we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.”
She also says that limiting beliefs and ideas are often the cause of illness, and how you can change your thinking…and improve the quality of your life!

Let Your Voice Be Heard

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How often have you compared yourself to someone that you admired and thought that you would never be able to accomplish what they have?
How often have you stopped taking action before you even started because you convinced yourself that you couldn’t possibly get your message out as effectively as they have?
How often have you shied away from sharing your message because you assumed that they have already said pretty much what you were planning on saying anyway – so what was the point?

You are you.
There is only one you.
And your voice needs to be heard.
It deserves to be heard.

Your style of getting your message out there is unique to only you. Your approach is yours and yours alone. Your heart only belongs to you, and therefore, you are the only one who can voice what is in it. You are the only one who can express your inner wisdom.

And your message is so important.

It’s worth pressing through your perceived limitations to step into the spotlight.
It’s worth pushing aside your own insecurities about not being sure if you are good enough to have a voice.
It’s worth rising above the barriers that you have put in place in order to protect yourself.
It’s worth all of this because what you have to say matters.

So the next time you start comparing yourself to someone else – the next time you start to feel inferior or intimidated by all that they have accomplished – the next time you decide to pause and not take action because you aren’t sure if what you have to say truly matters… STOP.

You are the only one who can shout your message from the mountains. 

You are the only one who can inspire others with the message inside your heart.
And your voice is important and absolutely necessary in our world.
Let us all hear it!
P.S. – Thank you to everyone who has been praying for New Mexico. The fires are absolutely devastating there, and the one near my mom’s house is now over 100,000 acres and only 4% contained. Please continue to send your love their way…

Letting Go of the Dream

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Sometimes we want something so badly, and we work so hard to get it. We struggle and sweat and pour our entire beings into it until it happens, it’s reality, and it’s part of our world.
And sometimes it’s completely worth it, and it’s exactly what we hoped it would be. 
If it’s a job we fought hard to get – we saw ourselves in this position, and now that we are here we see that it’s even better than we hoped it would be.
If it’s a relationship that we yearned for – we met that special someone and are living in happily ever after every day.
If it’s a pair of shoes that we saw in the store window that we just knew would be perfect for that new outfit we just bought – and sure enough, we tried them on and they fit better than we even imagined they would.
And it’s wonderful when life works out like this. It’s amazing when everything fits together in a perfect package with the most beautiful bow on top. We deserve this life – we are worth having everything fall into place where it can flow easily. 
And we are also worth recognizing if and when things stop flowing and start bringing us down. It’s okay to let go of a dream, relationship, job, or anything else if it no longer fits us.
Not everything is going to feel exactly like we hoped it would when it was just a dream. But if you don’t go for your dream, you will never know.
And sometimes it will feel exactly right at first – or even for awhile. And then one day you wake up and realize that you have grown out of it. It’s no longer your dream.
When this happens (if it happens), take a deep breath and begin to let this dream go. 
Begin the process of moving on. Take the experiences with you – take the lessons with you – and move forward to your next dream knowing how truly grateful you were to have gone for it and lived with it and be on the other side of it now.
If your dream no longer feels like your dream, know that it’s more than okay to let it go. 
There are plenty more out there, and I know that you’ll find another one that fits you and feels just right for where you are right now in this moment.

A Change of Scene

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Sometimes we get stuck in a rut – the routine seems extra monotonous and the known seems stale somehow. We feel restless and know that we want to change, but we just aren’t sure how to go about it. We aren’t sure what steps to take to move toward our ideal life – the one filled with joy and exciting energy.
When this happens, a great way to get unstuck is to mix things up – get out of the house, walk around the block, go for a drive. Change your outward experience and stimuli so that you can create new experiences within. 
I needed this more than ever yesterday. There are so many ideas floating around in my head that it was feeling overwhelming. I felt like the more I tried to figure everything out, the deeper into confusion I went. 
So Dan and I got in the car and went to a movie. And it was the perfect movie to escape to: Midnight in Paris. It’s about longing for the past – another era – anywhere but your present life. And by going back to these times, the character realizes that the present truly is where the joy is and where life is. 
It was great to escape for awhile, and now I’m in a much better place today to be better able to make some sense out of all of my thoughts that are swirling around. 
If you are ever feeling this way, I would definitely recommend a change of scene. It truly does switch things up and helps in huge ways.

The Buffet of Life

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We are each given so many options every single day in our lives. 
And we have the opportunity to travel along the same path or mix things up a bit and go down a different route.
While these choices are wonderful, we may sometimes feel overwhelmed by them. 
We may start to feel scattered and find ourselves retreating into the known instead of embracing the new. 
This is where I am today. 
I have so many wonderful new options in my buffet of life.
And I really want to step out of my comfort zone and try some new options.
But to do this and enjoy them, I feel that I first need to get grounded and get focused.

And I would suggest that if you are ever feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the choices you get to make – to take a deep breath, take some time to go within, and just sit with it all. 

Which choices feel right for you and where you are right now in your life?
Which choices are a bit of a push, but still feel like something you would like to try?
How would your life be different if you sampled more choices and pushed yourself?
What’s the worst that could happen if you went for it and dared to do something different? 

Make sure to keep coming back to yourself and listening to your inner voice. 
And also make sure to breathe and center yourself before making any decisions. 

Focus and grounding do wonders for feeling scattered and overwhelmed.
Today I invite us all to take the time to center ourselves, so we can fully be present and appreciate all of the amazing choices that we get to make.

Spring Clean Your Beliefs

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Can you think of a belief that you have that really is outdated or no longer serves you or maybe never really was your belief in the first place?
 Let’s say when you were very young you were afraid to jump off of the high dive at the swimming pool. And from that moment on, you were known as the scaredy cat by your friends and family. Before that, you didn’t feel particularly afraid in other areas of your life, but every time you heard this label, it reinforced this notion that you were afraid of life and timid and weak somehow. And this became part of your identity.
Now imagine that you are an adult who is still carrying around this label and belief that wasn’t accurate in the first place. Years have gone by, and because of this belief that you are afraid of everything, you have shied away from opportunities all because of fear. 
But it’s truly not too late to change this belief. You get to decide each moment of each day how you will react to certain situations, and how you view yourself. So even if this label has become part of your identity, it’s not too late to remove it and replace it with something else – something that feels more like you. 
Try on a bunch of beliefs and labels and see which fits the best. Remember that only you get to decide. You can get input from your friends and family (although I would encourage – at least in the beginning – doing this exercise on your own), but ultimately you are the one who has the final say. 
Have fun going through your beliefs and seeing if any of them are outdated or inaccurate for who you have become. Like we clean out our closets each spring and get rid of clothes that we no longer wear or that no longer feel like who were are, we can also do the same thing with our beliefs. 
Make sure you are only wearing the beliefs that feel the most like you.

Your soul will thank you for it!

P.S. – One of the biggest giveaways that we’ve ever been a part of has started! It’s sponsored by Healthy Wealthy And Wise, and over 700 self-help goodies are available! Just sign up for free, and you’ll have access to everything – including our Manifestation Ebook Set, which includes our Gratitude Book, As If Book, and Commitment Book (on page 21)! All for free! I just love giveaways! 🙂

Celebrating Our Differences

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I absolutely love Haagen-Dazs Mango Sorbet. Seriously – I am in love with it. 
 They were on sale the last time we went to the grocery store, so we bought two. 
Dan and I thought it would be fun to each have our own and see who finished first. 
And in doing so, we learned something about each other – even after almost 10 years of being together: 
we eat our ice cream completely differently!

My container had one hole in it that went deep down. I stuck with what worked and didn’t venture off of that course. 
His container was evenly smoothed over – so he when he got to the bottom, it would be completely finished – nothing left behind.
And this really didn’t surprise either of us at all – both ways seemed to fit with each personality.
While we each wanted the same result (to finish the ice cream), we went about it in completely different ways.
And one way wasn’t better than the other – they were just different.
I think this is a really great metaphor for life – we are all living our lives and striving to do our best. We are all learning to love ourselves, our friends, and our family. We are each following our dreams and living our ideal lives.
And we each get to that place in a different way, which is the magical part – the beautiful part.
I love this – we can each learn so much from each other because we are each so different yet also so much the same.
See, I told you it was good sorbet! 😉

Pushing Through the Obstacles

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Sometimes we are on a roll in our lives where everything feels like it’s going really well and flowing effortlessly. 
And then we add something new – something that is out of the norm from our every day life. We stretch a little bit out of our comfort zone and expect things to continue flowing. 
And sometimes they do. 
 But sometimes we come across obstacles where we didn’t expect them to be. 
Sometimes we even come across road blocks that seem to be right in the way of reaching our dreams.
When this happens, take a look at these obstacles and notice where they are coming from and what messages they are conveying.
Are they coming from fear – is our ego stepping in and warning us that it might be scary to try new things?

Are they coming from outdated beliefs that we have about achieving success and finding true happiness?

Or maybe we haven’t stretched our adventure muscles in awhile and just need more practice. 
Over the past week, I have been writing my book, and I have stumbled upon many obstacles – some that I had a feeling would show up and others that I’ve been surprised by.
And while I recognize them for what they are (old fears and distractions coming up to keep me comfortable), I still have to work through them and move them aside. This dream is too big to allow anything to stand in my way.
I was listening to a powerful telesummit yesterday with Jack Canfield where he was talking about how we can live our ideal life – even with the obstacles. 
He brought up the great point that we are always going to have obstacles – but our response to these obstacles is entirely our choice. 
We get to choose our thoughts, which means we also get to choose our outcome.
So the next time we are reaching for our dream and we come across an obstacle – take some time to go within and try to get to the bottom of the message it brings up. And then thank it for showing up and teaching you more about yourself, and either push through it or go around it. Keep moving forward.
We are all learning lessons every day. And with each lesson, we are all getting closer and closer to our truest self – our divine soul.
And every obstacle and road block is helping us do just that. They are also great tools to show us just how passionate we are about achieving our dreams and living our ideal life. 
Every obstacle we push through and every barrier we eliminate 
leads us closer to our dreams.