Found this list in my journal from my Birthday this year! Thought they were worth sharing! Enjoy!
Accept what is with gratitude and faith
Embrace Life
Find and do what you love
Trust more Deeply
Resist self criticism and self judgement
Think less, Be More
Learn to let go ON COMMAND
Practice discernment in speech and thought
Become the master of your mind and emotions
Don't re-act: Sit, reflect, breathe and respond with discernment and grace
Live in the present: Let go of the past: It lives ONLY as long as you feed it
Liberate your mind by letting go of stories and perceptions
Trust in the flow to bring what needs to be
Don't interfere with what is: Allow truth to reveal itself: IT ALWAYS DOES
Forgive yourself as you forgive others
Accept that somethings can never be understood: especially other people's actions
Find your SELF & Never let her go again!
Never let anyone else confuse you on your own values and needs
Never compromise your values
Remember you deserve integrity and honesty
Choose carefully, consciously and with great discernment who and what you take into your body, life and community
Awaken to the joys of your wild side: drum, dance, sing, be in nature, play pointlessly
Live courageously: take more chancs: jump into the unknown with passion and zest for the mystery it holds
Live fearlessly as if today is the last day of your life!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Reflection on a Year of Change
For some reason, February is always my real new year. It's always the time when things start to really feel fresh and alive again within me. January is more of a stewing time, ideas and intuitions are churning but usually January is a time of such maintenance level work that the newness doesn't really get birthed until February. I am finding myself again in Costa Rica this year reflecting now on what has proven to be one of the most challenging years of my adult life.
It was February when I made the choice to exit my relationship of 7.5 years, and now, a year later, I am finally feeling inspiration return, and in new ways that I am happy to allow space for and cultivate. It has been a year of deep introspection and a lot of turmoil and chaos. Some of the most intense pain I've ever experienced inwardly has softened me, not hardened me, and for that I am so grateful. I feel like I can speak and be in a place of wisdom and truth when I share with others what heartbreak and mental turmoil are like because I really allowed myself to sit in and with it all. I accepted it all and bore witness to the reality of what was, and it wasn't so easy!
Now, a year later, I feel more ready to move forward resting in the knowingness that I did not run away or hide from any of it. I moved with authenticity and respected my heart even when I knew doing so would open me to being hurt more. I learned the power of vulnerability and the grace that comes from grief and loss. I challenged myself to keep opening my heart and showing up in the truth of what I felt, not to run away, not to shut down, not to cut and sever, but to integrate the experiences of grief, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, deception, disappointment and all the myriads of emotions that came with it all from insecurity to depression. Now, I am at peace with it all, with what and who hurt me, and with myself for giving myself permission to be real with myself every step of the way, even when it wasn't pretty or "cool." I won't say I'm proud of every moment of it, but it is clear now that I learned from it all and that the lessons I learned are invaluable ones we all must learn if we are to grow up and mature into our higher, wiser selves. It couldn't have been any other way for me to really get what I needed to get!
Last year, thru recurrent dreams I was having of wild cats and domesticated wild cats while I was in Costa Rica, I birthed a vision of working with women to help other women reclaim their own power and primal essence. The dreams were so powerfully clear that my soul was calling for a break from domesticity, and a way back to the true untamable free essence that is my nature. In one dream, I birthed a litter of cats that were sort of alien felines, and went to pick one up and it clawed at me and attacked me. I had to kill it, then run and lock the door to escape the others as they all turned wild on me, the one who had birthed them. In another dream, the land I was working on allowed poachers to come and kill a big beautiful tiger for money to survive, a representation of selling my soul and passion for "security and money." In another a panther was on a leash like a dog, beaten and subdued, looking pathetically dis-empowered. It was dream after dream like this, screaming at me to look deeply at what I was trading for the illusion of security and comfort. I knew my life had to change and it was these dreams more than anything that pushed me towards change.
Out of this, awareness came to me that I had much work to do to reconnect myself to myself and to the Wild Feminine Essence that the Feline energy was so clearly representing for me in the dreamtime. Being who I am, I love to share the journey and learn with and from others, and so the vision that began to germinate was to bring forth opportunities for other women to take the journey with me and see what we find and how we can support and nurture each other thru this experience. Being in nature was (is) so powerful for me every day to reflect and watch and listen to what the ultimate "wild woman," Mother Nature, had to share with me. Reconnecting deeply to nature, her cycles and vibrations was one of the most healing elements of my journey, and remains so.
That desire, to share and support other women on their journey back to self, brought me into journaling my process in a blog (that I have yet to release), as I know that someday, some woman may read my story and find solace and support in their challenges. If my journey home can help one other being to find themselves home within, I have done a great service and can leave the planet knowing I made some kind of difference.
As I sit here now, with the waves crashing on the shore down below me, and the cicadas chirping it up, I am reflecting on all the pieces that have fallen into place perfectly to bring me here now to this place of feeling re-inspired and reconnected in a new way to my purpose and passions. It was just a few days ago that I completed, with two other awesome facilitators (Sofiah Thom and Una Paradox), and 10 participants, a 5 day long retreat entitled, "Awaken the Wild Woman Within." The retreat was wildly successful overall and in it's afterbliss, I am having some much needed down time to reflect on my year and my own passage back to self.
Truly it has been an epic year and when I look at the goodness of what all the pain has brought forth in maturity, wisdom and depth, it's hard to be anything but grateful for the journey.
My life is moving forward, and the love of my life is becoming once again my self. Tonite I sit here with a glass of wine celebrating the arrival of this moment, to be able to feel strong, OK, safe, powerfully vulnerable, competent and capable of overcoming my own demons and fears.
I am in love with life, totally in bliss in this beautiful place overlooking the ocean and nestled into the jungle and my heart is bursting with the desire to share and serve in any ways I can!
Blessed nite! A celebration of the spirit!
It was February when I made the choice to exit my relationship of 7.5 years, and now, a year later, I am finally feeling inspiration return, and in new ways that I am happy to allow space for and cultivate. It has been a year of deep introspection and a lot of turmoil and chaos. Some of the most intense pain I've ever experienced inwardly has softened me, not hardened me, and for that I am so grateful. I feel like I can speak and be in a place of wisdom and truth when I share with others what heartbreak and mental turmoil are like because I really allowed myself to sit in and with it all. I accepted it all and bore witness to the reality of what was, and it wasn't so easy!
Now, a year later, I feel more ready to move forward resting in the knowingness that I did not run away or hide from any of it. I moved with authenticity and respected my heart even when I knew doing so would open me to being hurt more. I learned the power of vulnerability and the grace that comes from grief and loss. I challenged myself to keep opening my heart and showing up in the truth of what I felt, not to run away, not to shut down, not to cut and sever, but to integrate the experiences of grief, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, deception, disappointment and all the myriads of emotions that came with it all from insecurity to depression. Now, I am at peace with it all, with what and who hurt me, and with myself for giving myself permission to be real with myself every step of the way, even when it wasn't pretty or "cool." I won't say I'm proud of every moment of it, but it is clear now that I learned from it all and that the lessons I learned are invaluable ones we all must learn if we are to grow up and mature into our higher, wiser selves. It couldn't have been any other way for me to really get what I needed to get!
Last year, thru recurrent dreams I was having of wild cats and domesticated wild cats while I was in Costa Rica, I birthed a vision of working with women to help other women reclaim their own power and primal essence. The dreams were so powerfully clear that my soul was calling for a break from domesticity, and a way back to the true untamable free essence that is my nature. In one dream, I birthed a litter of cats that were sort of alien felines, and went to pick one up and it clawed at me and attacked me. I had to kill it, then run and lock the door to escape the others as they all turned wild on me, the one who had birthed them. In another dream, the land I was working on allowed poachers to come and kill a big beautiful tiger for money to survive, a representation of selling my soul and passion for "security and money." In another a panther was on a leash like a dog, beaten and subdued, looking pathetically dis-empowered. It was dream after dream like this, screaming at me to look deeply at what I was trading for the illusion of security and comfort. I knew my life had to change and it was these dreams more than anything that pushed me towards change.
Out of this, awareness came to me that I had much work to do to reconnect myself to myself and to the Wild Feminine Essence that the Feline energy was so clearly representing for me in the dreamtime. Being who I am, I love to share the journey and learn with and from others, and so the vision that began to germinate was to bring forth opportunities for other women to take the journey with me and see what we find and how we can support and nurture each other thru this experience. Being in nature was (is) so powerful for me every day to reflect and watch and listen to what the ultimate "wild woman," Mother Nature, had to share with me. Reconnecting deeply to nature, her cycles and vibrations was one of the most healing elements of my journey, and remains so.
That desire, to share and support other women on their journey back to self, brought me into journaling my process in a blog (that I have yet to release), as I know that someday, some woman may read my story and find solace and support in their challenges. If my journey home can help one other being to find themselves home within, I have done a great service and can leave the planet knowing I made some kind of difference.
As I sit here now, with the waves crashing on the shore down below me, and the cicadas chirping it up, I am reflecting on all the pieces that have fallen into place perfectly to bring me here now to this place of feeling re-inspired and reconnected in a new way to my purpose and passions. It was just a few days ago that I completed, with two other awesome facilitators (Sofiah Thom and Una Paradox), and 10 participants, a 5 day long retreat entitled, "Awaken the Wild Woman Within." The retreat was wildly successful overall and in it's afterbliss, I am having some much needed down time to reflect on my year and my own passage back to self.
Truly it has been an epic year and when I look at the goodness of what all the pain has brought forth in maturity, wisdom and depth, it's hard to be anything but grateful for the journey.
My life is moving forward, and the love of my life is becoming once again my self. Tonite I sit here with a glass of wine celebrating the arrival of this moment, to be able to feel strong, OK, safe, powerfully vulnerable, competent and capable of overcoming my own demons and fears.
I am in love with life, totally in bliss in this beautiful place overlooking the ocean and nestled into the jungle and my heart is bursting with the desire to share and serve in any ways I can!
Blessed nite! A celebration of the spirit!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Creating a Practice You'll Love
Please bookmark the new Blog site for more specific Recreational Music Making Sharings!
I just finished a week long retreat working with 12 other women in Costa Rica in which every day we danced, played music, practiced Hatha Yoga and shared our stories. One of the workshops I offered was called "Creating a Practice you'll Love." This is such a vital piece for an individual to continue growing and evoloving in whatever their art form is, and for the retreat we did, it felt to me so integral as a way to support the women in taking the practices we shared home and keeping momentum in their daily lives.
Practice is how we become. It can have many forms, and my definition of it is really more about connecting with source and self and allowing some time for that connection to deepen and mature over time. It is valuable and so vital to maintaining our passion and purpose in our lives.
Creating a practice you love requires a few simple external pieces:
Internally, creating a practice you love requires a little bit more! If you already have a strong practice, ask yourself how much joy you are really getting out of it. I don't mean just satisfaction that you did your practice, I mean joy and inspiration! Do you leave your practice feeling excited and hungry for the next one? Are you practicing your passion or what you think you should be practicing?
If you fiind yourself stuck or stagnating in your practice, try these tips:
I just finished a week long retreat working with 12 other women in Costa Rica in which every day we danced, played music, practiced Hatha Yoga and shared our stories. One of the workshops I offered was called "Creating a Practice you'll Love." This is such a vital piece for an individual to continue growing and evoloving in whatever their art form is, and for the retreat we did, it felt to me so integral as a way to support the women in taking the practices we shared home and keeping momentum in their daily lives.
Practice is how we become. It can have many forms, and my definition of it is really more about connecting with source and self and allowing some time for that connection to deepen and mature over time. It is valuable and so vital to maintaining our passion and purpose in our lives.
Creating a practice you love requires a few simple external pieces:
- Creating a space for your practice: free of distractions, kids, pets, phones, and computers. A place where you can really be alone and undisturbed.
- Carving out the time for your practice: For some of us that's 15-30 minutes, if you have the time, I recommend an hour even if part of that time is just settling in, having a larger chunk of time allows for a deeper practice, but start with what you can commit to realistically.
- A practice Journal to write and reflect on your practice and how it has affected you or what your frustrations were getting there and how you overcame them, but a special journal that is just around your practice.
- Giving yourself Permission and requesting that from others in your life who may need to understand your need for not being bothered or disturbed in that time, perhaps your spouse or child.
- Sacred Environment: Choosing music or silence, incense, candles, etc that help to facilitate the energetic space you are wanting to drop into
Internally, creating a practice you love requires a little bit more! If you already have a strong practice, ask yourself how much joy you are really getting out of it. I don't mean just satisfaction that you did your practice, I mean joy and inspiration! Do you leave your practice feeling excited and hungry for the next one? Are you practicing your passion or what you think you should be practicing?
If you fiind yourself stuck or stagnating in your practice, try these tips:
- Try a new space, perhaps go into nature and allow it to inspire you for a few days a week or more, or rearrange your practice space, pick a different room, etc. Buy a plant or change the decor a bit to bring life into the space.
- Switch it Up: Try something different, if you love to play drums but you haven't danced in a while, use your body to connect to the rhythm and see how that changes your relationship to your instrument. Try doing what's not as comfortable and familiar in your practice, step out of your box and make yourself grow, even it it feels akward, do it for that very reason!
- Expand and challenge yourself: Go take a class or a workshop or find a way to be in community with others who share your passion and to learn something new to bring into your practice that is challenging and makes you feel fresh and WOWed.
- Practice with others: Have a gathering and bring others together to practice, even if there are different forms going on, say you are a dancer, bring some other dancers and a few drummers together and practice together, others often inspire new ways within us
- Pray when you practice: use it as a way to move energy and manifest your heart's desires
Lastly, it's OK to take a break sometimes for a short period of time to allow for newness to come thru. Sometimes space is the only way to get to that next place. Becoming rigid or attached to our practice being a certain way is not a healthy way to allow for creativity to flow organically, and is often what gets us stuck so explore allowing your practice to be just being, and listen to what may be waiting to speak thru the space of letting go!
Enjoy!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day: Practice Self Love
Arriving back in Costa Rica just two nights ago, I am already shifted into remembrance of how necessary and nurturing it is to have true quality time alone with nature and stillness. I am quickly remembering the value of deeply listening to the voice of the inner self by allowing and enjoying time away from the "world" and all of it's demands and expectations.
This Valentine's Day I am rising back into love with myself and I invite you to join me on the return to the deep heart space of self care and self reflection and appreciation. We spend so much of our lives caring for and catering to other people's needs, demands and requirements, especially for those of us who are women. We have a strong tendency to be sure others are cared for first and foremost and often leave our selves at the end of the line. By the time we get the time and space to consider our own needs, we are so exhausted by taking care of the others in our lives that we can't even remember what it was we actually needed! Give yourself to yourself this year and romance your self FIRST! A candle lite bath, a massage, a special treat, maybe even a quiet nite alone with a fire is in order rather than seeking outwarad or looking to someone else to romance you, find that divine romance within and cultivate that depth of love for yourself that you so often offer to others!
I am preparing to start the Awaken the Wild Woman Within Retreat here in Costa Rica with a group of 10 women who are heeding the call to reconnect deeply to their own passion, power, purpose and to listen to the strong clear voice that lives within us all that is our most authentic self. I know that this coming week with these women will bring much forth for all of us, presentors and participants alike. Our own heart connection with ourselves and the divine are the most valuable and long lasting romances we can have, and calling forth the passion and pleasure within ourselves does nothing but make us more attractive, sexy and pleasing to others to enjoy basking in our radiance!
Happy Valentine's Day and I pray it is your own treat to yourself to romance your own authentic love for YOUR SELF!
This Valentine's Day I am rising back into love with myself and I invite you to join me on the return to the deep heart space of self care and self reflection and appreciation. We spend so much of our lives caring for and catering to other people's needs, demands and requirements, especially for those of us who are women. We have a strong tendency to be sure others are cared for first and foremost and often leave our selves at the end of the line. By the time we get the time and space to consider our own needs, we are so exhausted by taking care of the others in our lives that we can't even remember what it was we actually needed! Give yourself to yourself this year and romance your self FIRST! A candle lite bath, a massage, a special treat, maybe even a quiet nite alone with a fire is in order rather than seeking outwarad or looking to someone else to romance you, find that divine romance within and cultivate that depth of love for yourself that you so often offer to others!
I am preparing to start the Awaken the Wild Woman Within Retreat here in Costa Rica with a group of 10 women who are heeding the call to reconnect deeply to their own passion, power, purpose and to listen to the strong clear voice that lives within us all that is our most authentic self. I know that this coming week with these women will bring much forth for all of us, presentors and participants alike. Our own heart connection with ourselves and the divine are the most valuable and long lasting romances we can have, and calling forth the passion and pleasure within ourselves does nothing but make us more attractive, sexy and pleasing to others to enjoy basking in our radiance!
Happy Valentine's Day and I pray it is your own treat to yourself to romance your own authentic love for YOUR SELF!
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