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Wouldn’t It Be Cool: How to Effortlessly Manifest & Attract What You Want

July 27, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Six days a week, I set my alarm for the crack of dawn and attend a 7:00am meditation meeting. I’ve never been an early bird and yet this particular discipline that I have been developing and strengthening for the last six months or so has been nothing short of life-changing. Beginning my day grounded in silence, in union with other like-minded individuals, coming together to connect and improve our conscious contact with the God of our understanding sets the tone for the kind of day I want to have.

Every day when I come home from this gathering, I sit in my car and just observe the goings on in my yard. There is a chipmunk who sits on the wall in the exact same spot every morning, as if that is his little sacred space and the way he starts his day! Sometimes there are bunnies in the yard and always a variety of birds pecking away at the newly seeded grass my husband just planted!

The other day I pulled into my driveway and thought to myself Wouldn’t it be cool to see a mother deer with her baby deer. It was just a random thought, realizing that I hadn’t seen any deer in the yard yet this year. Last year I saw 5 or 6 of them quite frequently. I thought nothing more about it and just went on about my day.

At 2:30pm, I was on the phone with a coaching client. She was describing in detail her frustration about something that had not yet manifested in her life and I was doing my best to teach her about vibration and how the Universe answers us according to our dominant thoughts and vibrational offerings. In other words, if you’re focused on the fact that your desire has not shown up yet - that is what your thoughts create - more of the same results and you will continue to attract that same effect so long as you continue to focus on the lack of whatever it is that you’ve been wanting.

All of a sudden, I glanced out the window and there in my yard was a mother deer and her baby. I gasped and nearly fell off my chair and my poor client wasn’t sure what the heck was happening to me! I grabbed my camera and tried to capture this amazing moment, but only managed to snap a picture of the mother deer’s ass as she scampered off into the woods! Alas, I googled this shot and cannot take the credit for this (but swear it looked exactly the way I saw them in my yard!!)

God’s divine timing was absolute perfection. I could not have come up with a better example to explain the power of our thoughts had I searched every self-help book and googled every website for how this stuff works!

This is how it works!

Thoughts become things!! Like cell phone waves that magically and wirelessly transmit text messages to your phone - your thoughts create vibrations that get transmitted out into the Universe and that which is likened unto itself is drawn. However, our thoughts are filtered through our habits, beliefs and judgments about those thoughts. So even if you’re thinking about a particular goal and oftentimes to the point of obsessing over that wish, dream or desire, you are probably vibrating more towards the lack of it than you are the having of it.

The Universe is perfect and will deliver unto you exactly what you’re asking for - wanted or not! The reason that I am finally understanding this myself is because the more I quiet my mind with this daily practice of meditation, the more I align my thoughts with the energy of love, peace and the power of God, the more I effortlessly attract more of the same back to me! And that’s how it works - every single time - without exception.

The reason those deer showed up in my yard was because my thoughts and vibration held no ulterior motive or judgment about what it would mean to have a deer with her baby show up in my yard. I just thought it would be cool to see that and VOILA!! the Universe responded.

There is no level of complexity or difficulty for God or the Universe to deliver unto you whatever it is you desire - it is your belief or judgment about the difficulty or your worthiness about receiving it is what blocks the manifestation.

Lots of people struggle with the notion of doing God’s will and think that means that they will have to abandon their goals and dreams to live a life of indentured servitude. I have come to believe and intuitively know and trust that God’s will for me is pure joy. When I hold onto the belief that when I publish the book, make a million dollars, lose the weight… (fill in the blank with your own blah, blah, blah), then I’ll be happy - I am actually sending out a vibration of forever striving - and that is exactly what will keep showing up in my life. When I let go of how I think that joy is supposed to come to me and allow myself to be fully present in the moment - I am always surprised and joyful in how simple it is to co-create a life I love.

Take Action Challenge:

The next time you have a desire, try detaching from the outcome, stop obsessing about how you’re gonna get it and just focus on the joy it will bring you to have it. Try saying “Wouldn’t it be cool to…” and just get in the feel good feelings of how much fun it will be to see that in your life. That is the energy of everyday miracles and that is exactly how you effortlessly manifest the life of your dreams!

Posted in Law of Attraction | Personal Power | Spirituality | Trust |
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Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty - The Importance of a Daily Meditation Practice

July 24, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Years ago, I read a business book on networking by Harvey Mackay entitled “Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty.” It was about making contacts and relationships before you need them so that when you’re actually in the process of building a business, creating a new product, launching a global cause-related initiative, you have the support and resources already in place.

Recently, I experienced an entirely different understanding of “digging my well before I’m thirsty” as it relates to prayer and meditation and it came to me in the least likely place of being encased in the tunnel of an MRI machine.

I’d been having chronic pain and limited mobility in my shoulder. Although not debilitating, it was prohibiting me from fully participating and enjoying simple things like downward facing dog pose in yoga. Part of me wanted to just “suck it up” and push through it, but the responsible part of me wanted to make sure I hadn’t torn a tendon or ligament and damage it further by continuing to ignore it, so I went for the MRI.

I’ve never been claustrophobic, so I wasn’t overly concerned with being in the tunnel, but I was not prepared for the loud and strange noises once they shoved me inside that tube!! Thankfully, I have a daily meditation practice and immediately and intuitively knew how to use the sounds to take me deeper within and find that quiet and sacred place where nothing disturbs my serenity. It was over before I knew it and came out of there feeling like I just took a nap or had a massage!

So why was my MRI experience so vastly different from others who have been known to flip out inside that tunnel? Everyone has different reactions to the stressors in our lives. Stress is our bodies’ reaction to any external stimulation or change - and God knows, there is certainly more than enough external stimuli in our world to react to.

The Cost of Stress

It is our reaction to that stimuli that puts us into overwhelm, that keeps us stuck in the past with regret or jettisons us into the future with worry. Stress increases fight or flight reactions in our body that leads to ulcers, high blood pressure, skin and autoimmune disorders. Left unattended, it not only causes us physical damage, it affects our capacity to be in relationships, thrive in our careers and find deep contentment in life.

A Different Approach: Silencing the Itty Bitty Shitty Committee!

Just the term “stress management” infers that it is possible to manage and manipulate the external environment to help us feel less stress - which is not only an illusion but is totally “bass ackwards!” If you really want to manage stress, you need to go to the source - to the very cause of every effect you see - to your own thought system.

However, trying to think your way out of stress is like the proverbial blind leading the blind - you cannot heal your own mind with the same sick mind! So the best approach is to learn how to quiet your mind altogether and allow some space between you and your thoughts. We must learn how separate who we are from our thoughts and stop identifying ourselves by our thoughts.

Referred to by some as “the monkey mind” or by others as the hamster on the wheel that never stops spinning, or what I like to call the “itty bitty shitty committee,” we need to first become aware that it is there, and practice simply observing it and then detaching from those incessant mental gymnastics that exhaust us and keep us stuck in the loop of chronic stress and anxiety.

Mindfulness and Meditation - The Keys to Inner Peace

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a world renowned author, lecturer and founder of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, teaches mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness. He describes meditation as if you are weaving a parachute. On day one you may have only woven a few strands together. But over time, it is the cumulative effect of consistent practice that eventually creates this parachute that will carry you safely through the challenges of life when you figuratively get kicked out of the plane and are free falling.

We all know what stress is, yet mindfulness is our innate capacity to be with whatever is happening in this moment. Mindfulness teaches us how to stay with our experience rather than run from it or suppress it. We learn by remaining present with our breath how to live life in the now and tap into the wisdom and natural healing capacity of our bodies.

Below is a guided meditation that I created to get you started in learning how to be in the miraculous power of the present. Do yourself a favor and start now! Don’t wait until life kicks you out of the plane to realize that you haven’t taken the time to weave your own parachute!! Dig your well BEFORE you’re thirsty and start TODAY!

Posted in Life Skills | Spirituality | Stress Management | Video |
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What If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?

July 11, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Imagine if you knew in advance that you’d already won and that nothing you could do - or not do would change that. Imagine how different your approach to life would be. Your attitude and perspective would be so dramatically shifted from the way it is right now. You’d play more and worry less. You’d see challenges as opportunities to be creative. You would no longer be driven by the self-centered fear of not being good enough because you’d already know that you are enough.

Well, guess what? You’ve already won! You already are enough! For you were created in the image and likeness of God. Within you lies the changeless and eternal truth that you are one with your Creator. Our only purpose here is to awaken to the truth of that and let go of the illusion that we are anything less than the love and light of God. Our job is to allow God to fully manifest all that He is through us. We are already all that, we simply need to remember that and stop resisting and clinging to who we think we are.

Everything is Possible

Years ago I heard Benjamin Zander, Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, Teacher at the New England Conservatory of Music and author of “The Art of Possibility” speak at a Toastmasters Convention. He shared a revolutionary approach to teaching music in that at the beginning of each semester, he gave all of his students an A and then had them imagine what they could do with music knowing they had already succeeded in the class.

When he first proposed this far-out concept, many of his foreign students just could not accept that they didn’t have to work hard to earn the A. Eventually, he got them all to see how the struggling to achieve actually blocked the flow of creativity and prohibited them from fully expressing and creating music from their divine source of power within. The results were astounding and since that time, his concept and miraculous approach to creating music became the book “The Art of Possibility” and has catapulted Zander onto the stage as an in-demand presenter at conferences all over the world.

I’m Not Lost… I’m Exploring

Jana Stanfield is a gifted singer, songwriter and inspirational speaker who travels the world giving her Keynote Concerts. I first met Jana over 15 years ago at my very first National Speakers Association Conference. We met in passing on the trade show floor and she handed me a bumper sticker that said “I’m not lost… I’m exploring” and it totally changed my perspective from that moment on. I realized that I was on a spiritual journey and that I wasn’t lost, that it was OK not to know and that it was safe to trust that I was being guided to my truth.

Now imagine how different your life would be if you knew that you weren’t lost and that you were being guided every step of the way. Try that on for size and see if you can feel your body letting go of some fear and struggle. You’ve already won. You’ve already got the A. So what would you explore today, knowing that you can’t get it wrong?

One of my all-time favorite Jana Stanfield songs is “If I Were Brave.” Recently Jana put out a request on FaceBook to submit pictures of a time when we were being really brave. I submitted a picture of me swinging through the air with the (not so) greatest of ease on the flying trapeze and Jana selected it to be in her music video!!

Here are some of the lyrics of the song. Take some time today and answer some of the questions she poses;

“If I Were Brave” - Jana Stanfield

What would I do, if I knew that I could not fail? 
If I believed, would the wind always fill up my sail? 
How far would I go? What could I achieve, 
trusting the hero in me?

If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge,
 where fools and dreamers dare to tread. 
I’d never lose faith, even when losing my way.
 What step would I take today, if I were brave?

What would I do today, if I were brave? 
What would I do today, if I were brave?

What if we’re all meant to do what we secretly dream? 
What would you ask, if you knew you could have anything?
 Like the mighty oak sleeps, in the heart of a seed, 
are there miracles in you and me?

If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge, 
where fools and dreamers dare to tread.
 I’d never lose faith, even when losing my way. 
What step would I take today, if I were brave?

What would I do today, if I were brave?
 What would I do today, if I were brave?

If I refuse to listen to the voice of fear, 
would the voice of courage whisper in my ear?

If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge, 
where fools and dreamers dare to tread. 
I’d never lose faith, even when losing my way. 
What step would I take today, if I were brave?

What would I do today, if I were brave? 
What would I do today, if I were brave?

And now… Here is her music video starring me!! (watch the whole thing and be totally inspired… but just make sure you watch me at 3:54!)

You’ve already won & you cannot fail! Go for it!!

Scared or Sacred?

April 20, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

While in the early stages of creating my mother/daughter workshop, I was brainstorming titles and came up with Mothers and Daughters: Building the Sacred Connection. I realized that even though I sort of knew what the word “sacred” meant, I wanted to be sure that this was the right word to describe the essence of this workshop - so I looked it up.

sacred |ˈsākrid|
adjective
connected with God

To me, God is love. And that was exactly the energy that I wanted the mothers and daughters to feel and connect with.

Then it dawned on me - just how similar the words “sacred” and “scared” are. All you have to do is switch two letters and get a completely different meaning. So then I looked up the word “scared.”

scared |ske(ə)rd|
adjective
fearful; frightened

I felt like there was something really significant about this, but I needed more clarity. I stopped what I was doing and went into meditation to connect with the Source of all love and wisdom. All of a sudden it hit me and I grabbed my journal and this is what came through me;

a c - always connected

c a - completely alone

Just like those little grammar rules we learned in school, ” i before e - except after c “, I felt like I’d been given a completely new and simple rule to live by. Keep the “a” before the “c” and you will always be connected to the source of all love and power. Put the “c” before the “a” and you will believe that you are completely alone and have to do it all by yourself. Is it any wonder why we’re so afraid and filled with anxiety?

The good news is that we’ve all been blessed with the power of choice. In every moment we get to choose sacred or scared? The bad news is that many of us have been so conditioned to believe that we’re all alone and we have to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. More good news… we are never alone and we are one with that Source of love. He never left us, but we must choose in every moment whether we’re going to resist or accept the truth. We are always connected - which makes every one of us sacred!

I’m Having So Much Fun - A Lesson in FREEDOM

January 2, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Yesterday I went for a New Year’s Day walk through my local park. The sun was shining and the temp was a balmy 50 something degrees which was such a gift for January in New England!

As I walked, I prayed for freedom from my own self-limiting thoughts. I prayed for my complete awakening to the truth of who I am - the beloved child of God; holy, whole and at one with God and everyone.

On my way out of the park, I ran into my next door neighbors who stood at the base of a snowy hill watching their two grown daughters and their six precious granddaughters sledding and snow tubing down the slope.

As I stood there watching, I became filled with an experience of pure bliss and in that holy moment I knew this was His answer to my prayer. I was totally at one with the joy and love of that beautiful family.

It was such a simple lesson in the power of intention and deciding what I want to experience. I chose the peace and love of God and that is what I saw before me.

As I turned to leave the park, one of the little girls stood at the top of the hill and shouted at the top of her lungs, “I’M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!” I cracked up laughing at the sheer genius of that statement and once again I knew that I just got another answer to that prayer for freedom and in that moment I WAS FREE!

Try staying in worry, fear, anger and depression while proclaiming “I’M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!” You can’t. Go ahead, try it! What have you got to lose?

Teachers come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes in our search for Obi Wan Kanobie-esque gurus, we can miss the little souls on a mission for our healing and salvation.

This year, I resolve to proclaim daily I’M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Buh-Bye to What No Longer Serves Me

December 31, 2010 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

December 31st is just another day. It happens to fall on a Friday this year. Yet it seems as if the whole world is busy prepping for the BIG NIGHT as resolutions are made and check lists of things to fix about ourselves grow longer. We resolve to be better, happier, thinner, richer, more successful as we strive to become who we think we’re supposed to be.

This year I resolve to simply love and accept myself - just the way I am. I also made a list of things that just no longer serve me and was now ready and willing to let go. Surprisingly, that list grew to almost 40 items that I was just so totally done with.

December 21st was the perfect moment to have a sacred cleansing and releasing ceremony. It was as if the cosmos had aligned just for me to carry my petition to heaven; the Winter Solstice, a full moon and a lunar eclipse all converged to carry my message to God.

My husband built a bonfire in our outdoor fire pit and I burned my list and offered up a prayer that was lifted up in the ashes and smoke to be transformed.

Since that moment, I have felt lighter and more at peace within myself. I have shared this with my coaching clients and all of them wanted a copy of my list to jumpstart their own.

Most resolutions fail because they are based upon the illusion of lack. When I lose ten pounds, when I quit smoking, when I get the raise/promotion/guy/publishing contract. You are already whole and worthy - there is no thing that can add or detract from that. But you will never, ever know the peace and love of God with the thought system that is based upon lack or desire - thinking and believing that you need to get something in order to be valued and valuable. You already are all of that and more.

There is a Zen proverb that says “Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day.” The only knowledge that I am intentionally seeking is to know the truth of who I am and from that, to fully know the peace and love of God.

Here are a few things that I’m letting go;

comparing myself to others
unworthiness
listening to the voice of ego
putting too much emphasis or care about what others think of me
blame, guilt and shame
judgment
scarcity
limitations
worry
jealousy and envy
not accepting myself - just the way I am

It’s so simple - but simple doesn’t mean easy. It takes effort and great willingness to constantly be watching our thoughts and choose again. The good news is that we are not alone and there is always help available when we ask for guidance for the next right thought, step or action.

The greatest gift you can give to the world is not you being 10 pounds thinner, but rather you deciding to seek only the truth about who you are, stepping into your authentic power and shining your light.

Happy New Year… and a Happy New YOU! Now THAT is something to celebrate!!

Posted in Coaching | Personal Power | Self-Confidence | Spirituality |
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Weighing In on HUGE

August 16, 2010 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Have you seen ABC Family’s latest summer blockbuster, HUGE? It’s the story of a group of teens at a weight loss camp, otherwise known as fat camp. When I first heard about it, I was intrigued, skeptical and disgusted all at the same time. Another show focusing on what is wrong with teens today and yet another blatant example of the media exploiting social issues to their advantage. Due to a regular Monday night commitment, I haven’t been home to watch it, but as I said, I was intrigued, so I had been taping it. Last week I sat down to a HUGE marathon and have to say, not only was I pleasantly surprised, I actually loved it.

HUGE is well written and the characters are engaging, interesting and so lovable - even though none of them would ever claim that to be true. There are so many layers to the premise of this show. Yes, it’s about body image and all that goes with that, but it is about so much more; relationships, mother/daughter dynamics, friendships, fitting in, brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, addictions and 12 step recovery, surrender, spirituality, self-esteem, confidence, families, resentments, forgiveness, prayer, religion, affirmations, gratitude, divine guidance, sports, teamwork, leadership, trust and learning to speak the truth.

The ramifications of such a powerful show are, dare I say, HUGE! I can’t say that I’ve laughed out loud, but I have cried and have identified with so many of the raw emotions that these characters are dealing with. The main character, Will is played by Nikki Blonsky and she is so full of anger, resentment and resistance to change. She is afraid that if she gives in, she will be succumbing to society’s expectations of who she should be. She is caught between the message of self-acceptance and trying to swallow the implications of what that means in an environment that is forcing you to shrink to an acceptable size.

Jess Weiner, Global Ambassador for the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and teen girl advocate has been blogging about HUGE before it even aired and has created a weekly Conversation Guide for each episode. As a Hollywood insider and a voice for change, Jess has interviewed the creators and all the cast members. The writers, Savanah Dooley and Winnie Holzman along with Nikki Blonsky all said that they hope this series becomes more than a show about body image and that people will really resonate with the characters. I’d say that their focused intention has made manifest and together they have created a powerful vehicle for compassion and change. Just like The Cosby Show initially began as a show about a black family, or Will and Grace started out as a show about being gay, both of them became so much more and gave us the opportunity to see past the initial label. HUGE has the potential to be way more than just a show about overweight kids.

As a teen girl advocate myself, self-esteem and empowerment has been the theme of my work for the last fifteen years as well as the focus of my own healing journey for my entire life. I’m not working to fix anyone, but rather to help young women look within for their power, voice and truth. At first glance, HUGE may appear to be just another show about fixing what’s wrong with teens today, but after watching my HUGE marathon I am excited and filled with so much hope. Finally something good on TV that just might actually make a difference.

Definitely check out HUGE on Monday nights on ABC Family and also check out all the other cool interviews on Jess’s blog. The latest is with Ari Stidham, the guy who plays Ian. His advice to any girl that has an issue with her body? “Confidence. Love yourself because you’re a human being. Don’t love yourself because you look a certain way. Love yourself because you were put on this Earth for a reason. And um, that’s attractive.” OMG Ari, I couldn’t have said it better if I tried!!!

Girls and Guidance

February 8, 2010 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

A week doesn’t go by without receiving an email (or several) from girls desperately looking for guidance. The details of their stories may differ, but the essence of each request is exactly the same: “Please help!” Help me figure out if I should tell this guy how I feel… Help me learn how to be more confident around other people… Help me figure out what my next step should be… Help me get along better with my mom.

There was a time when I would personally answer each request and offer suggestions about how they might move through their challenge. This could easily have turned into a full time job if I let it, so I decided to reach more girls who might be going through the very same challenges by posting my responses on my blog or by creating videos on YouTube. Not only would I be helping more girls, but I was also setting gentle boundaries for myself so that I didn’t feel so obligated to personally respond to every single cry for help.

As much as I love hearing from these girls, what I love even more is to empower and teach them how to turn inward and trust their own inner guidance for their next right step or direction so they won’t have to keep looking outside of themselves for their answers. It reminds me of the Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Call it intuition, divine guidance, an inner voice or simply a quiet knowing, each of us has the ability to access a source of wisdom that will lead us to the next right step. Learning how to access it and then trust it is something that requires both practice and patience.

Here are some steps you can take to begin to make that connection and tap into your own inner guidance.

Develop a daily practice of sitting still and quieting your mind.

Carve out five to ten minutes each day to just be. Make this time sacred by lighting a candle, listening to soft music and focusing on your breathing. You may not notice any immediate answers or see any dramatic changes at first. After you’ve been practicing and developing this habit for awhile, it will begin to have a cumulative effect and you will start to notice a clarity of mind and your answers will come to you as a hunch or in a flash of inspiration. An additional step to making this practice stick is to actually have an uncluttered sacred space to practice your daily ritual.

Get in the habit of writing in a diary or journal either every morning or evening.

In Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way,” she recommends writing morning pages to get the creative juices flowing. She asks you to commit to writing 3 pages each day. In the beginning you may just be writing things like “how the heck am I going to fill up three whole pages?”, but eventually the words will begin to flow. Once you get the hang of it, you can write out a question and then like magic, guidance will spill out onto the page.

Ask for divine guidance.

Develop a relationship with your own concept of a higher power and then have a conversation and ask for help. Many christians live their lives and receive their next right step by asking WWJD? or What Would Jesus Do? If you were brought up in a different faith you can simply ask the question, “What would love do?” To me that means the very same thing because I believe that God is love and when you align your actions with love, then you can never go wrong and your answer will come from the ultimate authority and source of all truth.

Here are a few important reminders as well as the benefits to receiving guidance:

Don’t try to solve big problems all at once.

All you need to do is look for the next right step and then take action on that guidance. It’s like driving in the dark with only your headlights to light your way. You can’t see the final destination, and yet you get there by seeing only the next 200 feet in front of you.

Pay attention to the signals your body is sending you.

We each have our own built-in GPS system that lets us know when we’re off course. If something doesn’t feel right to you, then it probably isn’t the right choice for you.

You have to stay alert when you’re seeking guidance.

It will show up in all sorts of ways and you could miss it if you’re not noticing the signs along the way. One of the benefits of practicing the suggestions mentioned above is that you develop what is known as mindfulness as you become fully engaged and take an active role in the creation of a fabulous life instead of letting life happen to you.

Adolescence is about learning to take responsibility (response ability). In other words, developing the ability to respond to whatever happens and to deal with it by making your own decisions. Probably the biggest payoff to developing your own internal guidance system is that along the way, you start to strengthen your own inner trust muscles and the result is self-confidence. An added bonus to that is when you start to trust yourself then others begin to trust you too. How cool would it be if instead of complaining that your parents don’t trust you to make good decisions, you could effortlessly gain their trust by practicing these few simple steps.

Remember, there’s nothing wrong with asking for advice. But never take that advice without first running it through your own internal guidance system to make sure it’s the next right step for you.

There are lots of free downloads available on my site to help you connect to your own guidance, as well as some cd’s and mp3’s you can purchase that will also help you learn how to harness the power of your mind to create a life you love!

NOTE: In my next blog post, I’ll be delving deeper into the topic of divine guidance and angelic assistance. One girl recently asked me how she could connect to her “angles and sprite guides.” Spelling, structure and grammar aside, I was thrilled that she wanted to learn more about her “angels and spirit guides” in an effort to connect to her own inner wisdom and truth.

Remembering 9-11: Let the Healing Begin

September 11, 2009 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Much like, “where were you when JFK was shot?”, most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001.

I remember getting a call from my sister. She was crying hysterically and said “Turn on the TV, we are under attack!” We sat together on the phone watching in shock and saw in real time the second plane fly into the second tower.

I felt like the plane flew directly into me. I sat there shell shocked and then remembered that it was the first day of work for my new assistant. When she arrived I told her that I doubted we’d get any work done at all. So together we sat down and prayed.

In a flash of divine inspiration I got an idea to offer a workshop to help others deal with the ramifications and post-terror emotions of this terrible tragedy. My assistant and I went to work immediately to make it happen and we began developing a workshop called “Let the Healing Begin.”

The workshop was born as a result of feeling totally helpless and then turning to prayer to ask how I could serve. I just knew I had to do something and felt compelled to step up and help others through their grief. Rescue workers flocked to ground zero and gave so much of themselves to help those immediately involved, but I knew that the ripple effect of this tragedy reached right into my own backyard and community. People needed a place to go to talk about and validate their own sense of loss and pain.

However the seminar’s ultimate goal was to help people to shift their focus from fear to love, to learn the importance of resiliency and to look for the good in the situation such as increased patriotism, unity and compassionate humanity.

I wrote this poem and made up bookmarks to hand out at the event. The sentiment is equally meaningful and necessary today as it was eight years ago.

Let the Healing Begin

by, Kathleen Hassan

All we have is this moment
and all we have is each other.

If we don’t get it now,
then we’ll never understand;
we are all God’s children –
sister and brother.

When knocked to our knees,
we must stay there and pray.

Our faith, hope and love
will show others the way.

Be gentle with yourself and
nurture peace in your soul.

Give your troubles to God
and let Him take control.

Let the healing begin
and let it begin with you.

We’re not alone on this path –
together we’ll see it through.

Keep shining your light
for all the world to see.

Dare to be brilliant and
you light the way for me.

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Oscar Buzz: Forget Best Dressed… How About Best Message

March 23, 2009 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

A.R. Rahman

Last night I was in awe watching the Academy Awards. Not because of the designer gowns, the red carpet parade of who’s who celebs, but because of the powerful and gentle message delivered by A.R. Rahman in his acceptance speech for winning his second Oscar of the night.

Rahman received Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song – both for the song “Jai Ho” from the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.” The composer was soft-spoken and unassuming and spoke from his heart. He ended the acceptance speech by saying something in his native language and I had to google it this morning to find out that he said “God is great” in Tamil, something he says after winning every award.

“All my life I had a choice between hate and love. I chose love and I am here”, were his concluding words.

Each one of us has the opportunity to choose love over hate in every moment of every day. Any time you feel resistance in your body; when you react to any situation with fear, anger, resentment or jealousy, when you catch yourself joining in on gossip about somone who is not there to defend herself, when you judge yourself or others harshly or when you withhold forgiveness from yourself or others and cling to the past – these are all perfect opportunities to practice choosing love.

My friend, Karen Paolino just wrote a book called “What Would Love Do?” and it is a great question to ask yourself when life provides you with yet another opportunity disguised as a challenge or problem.

When you choose love – everybody wins and this is the only choice we can make that can ever heal the world. We may never get to see how our everyday choices affect others. We may never find ourselves on a stage receiving an academy award for our choices, but how glorious it was to see it happen to someone else and have him give all the glory to God.

Love or Hate? How will you choose today?

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