Living for Today

Lately, my family and I have been spending fun time together catching up on movies before they go out of the theaters. In the past I would often ask friends that have seen a movie of interest what happened at the end. Many were reluctant to spoil the ending by telling me, but I always managed to get them to disclose the big "ta-da". In my mind I needed to know what to expect so I would be emotionally prepared. I was never one for surprises (I didn’t want to be faced with sad ending, which almost always led to a runny nose and puffy eyes).

Once a dear friend poked fun at me gently when I grilled her for the latest storyline and pointed out that I always seemed to be very concerned with what was going to happen next. She was very correct in her observation. When I would read suspense or mystery novels half way through I would jump to the final pages just to see how things turned out. I would always chock it up to wanting to be “prepared.”

In time, I realized that I did this not only with movies and books but also in other aspects of my life. I spent a lot of time wondering about what the future held, not realizing that what I did in the present directly affects the future. The introduction to Jon Kabat-Zinn's book Wherever You Go There You Are (Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life) speaks about the importance of living in the now. He states "If what happens now does influence what happens next, then doesn't it make sense to look around a bit from time to time so that you are more in touch with what is happening now, so that you can take your inner and outer bearings and perceive with clarity the path that you are actually on and the direction in which you are going? If you do so, maybe you will be in a better position to chart a course for yourself that is truer to your inner being--a soul path, a path with heart, your path with a capital P. If not, the sheer momentum of your unconsciousness in this moment just colors the next moment. The days, months and years quickly go by unnoticed, unused and unappreciated."

A wise soul once said "the past is history, the future is a mystery and today is a gift. That is why we call it the present." Do you have big dreams and/or plans for the future? Are you anxious to see what tomorrow holds? We all have the power and pleasure of scripting our lives.

As sure as there has to be a beginning and an end there needs to be a middle, a right now. Enjoy your "right now" knowing that it will make for one heck of a future.

May your "right now" be filled with love, happiness and endless possibilities.

Conscious Creating

I pray that this very moment finds you with a wide smile on your face and a light heart. So, I’m half way through my Life Coach training course and can I say that I am NOT used to doing homework! My daughter and I spend hours a week together trying to figure it out :-)

Reading and self-exploration is a huge part of my training and I've experienced brief moments of anxiety due to discovering personal roadblocks that I didn’t know I had and delving deeper into the ones that I’ve been diligently working on for some time now. Luckily I've been able to stay on track by surrounding myself with positive affirmations and by changing my environment (a brisk walk outside does wonders for the soul!). As a part of the training there are a few books on the required reading list. All of the books share a common theme - the power of the subconscious mind. Our conscious mind is considered our rational or logical mind. It plants the seeds of intention within our subconscious mind, which in turn manifests our thoughts into our reality. Our subconscious mind controls our emotions, houses our belief systems and memories. In order for us to overcome negative patterns in our lives and to consciously create a glorious life beyond our wildest dreams we have to be aware of the role and power of our subconscious mind.

From the readings I realized that my past issues were definitely linked to my subconscious mind. In the the past I believed that I would always struggle in some way financially. My parents were comfortable but there was always something that kept them in a state of "just getting by." If I did manage to get ahead financially something would always come up and I would be back to square one. From unexpected bills to forgotten debts I always found myself operating in the red. Years agao I was introduced to the Law of Attraction and at the time I thought it was the answer to my prayers.

I went to work on shifting my paradigm and seeing myself as living financially free. In the beginning things were wonderful and I was growing financially by leaps and bounds. But in time I found that things went back to the way they were, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and vice versa. Confused and a little disillusioned, I spoke with a mentor about what was happening. She advised that I had never truly addressed my belief system when it came to money. Despite my affirmations and new attitude the more I focused on manifesting money the more I became crippled with old fears of not having enough.

Have you ever accomplished something in your life that you thought impossible or too challenging? And then shortly after crossing a major hurdle or achieving success things started to regress? Or have you started seeing the success from your efforts and something came along to pause or completely stop your progress? Memories and beliefs stored in our subconscious mind has the ability to delay or even undo wonderful things that we are manifesting.

So do we spend a lifetime dismantling all of the negative belief systems that we have built up? The answer is no! My mentor taught me that instead of focusing on dis-creating old belief systems we can all consciously create new belief systems that will negate the old ones. So instead of focusing on manifesting just financial wealth (in my case I focused on specific dollar amounts) we can instead set the intention to live life happy and carefree, which encompasses everything from financial freedom to perfect health.

Are you consciously creating the life you desire? If not, take a few moments and write down the life that you want to create as if you are living it right now. Be very broad and open, as this will allow room for things you never imagined. If it’s a relationship that you desire be thankful for all the love in your life. Are you in need of a career overhaul? Be thankful for your success and watch as opportunities for success arrive.

Be sure to have FUN as you create the life you've always imagined! And may your days be filled with love, light and miracles.

Create a Life You Love

A good friend asked me to join her book club and, being an avid reader, I eagerly accepted. We each got a turn picking a book to read and when it was my turn I choose Dr. Wayne Dyer's The Power of Intentions: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way. I read it more than once and each time I get something new from it. A few days before our meeting my friend advised me that she and the other members were having problems with the concepts in the book and she was afraid that we would not be able to have a full discussion about it. The idea of setting intentions was a new concept and a little daunting.

I remembered I had to read and re-read the first few chapters of the book in order to understand what intentions really are. Eventually, setting intentions had become such a routine and valuable part of my life that I couldn't see others not doing or understanding it. I explained to my friend that setting an intention is simply speaking what you desire as if there is no question whether it will happen. Setting intentions is much more than just setting goals. It gives us a level of control over our lives and lays out the groundwork for our day, week, month or longer. Through setting our intentions we can create a life that we love.

Has there ever been a time when your day started late, and you didn't take a moment to pray, meditate or just be thankful for a new day? Did that sense of urgency and things not working out carry throughout the rest of your day? I'm sure this has happened once or twice (or maybe more) to a lot of us. By simply taking a moment and setting an intention you can shift your energy and change the course of your day. Normally I set my intentions before I start my day, but they can be set at any time.

In his book Dr. Dyer outlines four easy steps to set intentions:

Step 1: Discipline. In this step, Dr. Dyer explains that we must retrain our bodies to perform as our thoughts desire. This will most likely take a little time to get used to as it entails us quieting our ego mind and making a daily commitment. Most of us already have busy schedules and the thought of adding anything else may be a little daunting but in the end it is well worth the effort.

Step 2: Wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom will help keep us on track. We can stay motivated and inspired by reading, praying, meditating or anything else that keeps us emotionally and spiritually fed. It will give us patience as we connect with our mind/body/spirit.

Step 3: Love. Love for ourselves and what we do is very important. This process of reconnection with self is dependent on love. Everything in our lives should come from love and be done with love. It will make us feel good and keep us motivated.

Step 4: Surrender. Dr. Dyer describes this stage as "the place of intention...where your body and mind aren't running the show." For most of us, surrendering is a very difficult thing to do as it takes a lot of trust and belief in the unseen.


Today, take a moment to reflect on how your day is going so far and how you are feeling right now. If it isn't going the way you would like, set (or reaffirm) your intention for today, and wait for the shift to happen! May your day be filled with joy, happiness and everything your heart desires.

The art of mindfulness

Don't your just LOVE the snow?! I was beginning to wonder if we were going to get hit with some serious, stay at home (and not just for a dusting) weather. This last storm, along with a bug that has made its way around my household, allowed me a little more down time. Since my physical yoga practice was on hold I decided to do "mental yoga" by browsing through B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga, a comprehensive manual on the philosophy and practice of yoga.

There were a few yoga asanas (postures) that I wanted to explore on a deeper level once I got better. This day I decided to actually read the forward and introduction. I've had the book for years and, as with most of my books, was too excited about the book to read the introduction. I came across a Sanskrit saying - mana eva manushyanam karanam bhandha mokshayaho (yes, definitely a tounge twister!). The saying translates "as the mind, so the man; bondage or liberation are in your mind. If you feel bound, you are bound. If you feel liberated, you are liberated."

For several moments I sat in silence trying to figure out what that meant to me. Sitting on my bed surrounded by tissues I realized that my current state of health began in my mind. My daughter, who normally cartwheels after every two steps, was totally zapped and didn't want to do anything but sleep and drink water. I looked at how she was affected and in the back of my mind knew that if she was down for the count I'd better get ready to follow suit. Have you ever been around someone who was sick and immediately thought "oh no, now I am going to get sick"? You sit back and wait for it to come. And then lo and behold you wind up getting sick!

This can be true to many other situations that we first play out in our mind. When we think of the worse case scenario we are putting ourselves through mental anguish so that we'll be prepared for whatever happens.

If that is the case (and it truly is) then why not think of the best case scenario and whatever happens, happens? We have the power to create our own realities and it begins in our mind. If you want happiness, joy, love or freedom create it first with your thoughts.

Today, I decided....

For the past several days I've been waking up at exactly 4:15 am. After the 3rd day of waking up at the exact same time I finally "got it." There was something that I was supposed to do or realize. God was giving me the subtle hint and luckily it didn’t take me very long to catch on!

On that 3rd day I made my way (sleepy eyes and bumping into things) to my sacred meditation room. I sat in silence and listened for my message. After a few still moments I realized that I am doing something so huge that I let the excitement almost pass me by. Now don’t get me wrong, when I finally closed on my new studio space I had several sporadic yelling and jumping fits, but I didn’t truly let myself rejoice.

The journey was an emotionally draining one, but with faith and God’s will I am here. My work and persistence wasn’t the most draining thing, it was also due in part to the worrying and judgments of others. I had reached out with an SOS requesting help to fund this dream. I got a LOT of support from my loved ones. But in addition to the support I got a lot of negativity and doubt thrown my way.

One gentleman accused me of doing something illegal by asking for donations! Well of course that’s silly and untrue but his comment did hit me for a moment. Was I getting in over my head? Should I have waited? I now have 2 mortgages to worry about, a slightly less stellar credit rating due to countless inquiries and renovation money that I am manifesting (with glee) so that I can officially open up shop.

I got up once again this morning, this time I made my way to my meditation room with a light heart and determination. In my journal I wrote “I refuse to succumb to the drama around me… to others saying they know what’s best for me… to words of doubt about my dreams… to negative things said about me that have more to do with the speaker… today, I claim my blessings as I am LOVED, I am WHOLE, I am ABUNDANT and I am RECEIVING all the gifts that the Universe bestows upon me.”

Today, what have YOU decided?

Ask, believe and receive

This morning I woke up a little before 5 am. My eyes just popped open and I began to smile. For four months I have been working on buying a new location for my yoga and wellness studio. The process started in April when I saw a quaint house right around the corner from where I lived with a for sale sign in the yard. It was definitely a fixer-upper but I saw the potential. While driving by with a friend she commented that I better buy that house to use as a studio.

I was amazed because I had looked longingly at the house several times in passing and thought the same thing but never told anyone. My friend voiced what I was feeling and I took this as validation. On a beautiful April afternoon my friend and I (who happens to share my first and maiden name and lives on the SAME street!) went by to see the owner. I fell in love with the land and the potential to do great things with the property. I told him that I was very interested and I would be back.... and I did come back with intention in hand. I wrote on a small piece of paper that the property is sold to me and I also wrote the amount I wanted to pay for it.

Time passed, the market changed and my first loan fell through. As I hurried to secure financing I refused to give up hope. I was turned down by 7 banks that could not see my vision. Determined to make my dream a reality I took a picture of the house and put it in my journal. Each day I would look at the picture and thought about all the wonderful things I was going to do with the property. Then as the Universe would have it I found someone who was willing to work with me - but I had to come up with 20% down! Not having the funds at the time to put down I went to work on manifesting the money and thought about my new space. The first closing date passed and a second was secured with a promise to put more down on good faith for the owner's assurance. Donations and support started pouring in from friends, family, clients and their associates. In the nick of time I had all that I needed!

Through asking, believing and receiving my blessing I have manifested the largest thing (so far) in my life. Anyone can do this! Just know and believe you are worthy and open yourself to love and abundance. It is important to stay in a state of excitement for whatever you want to manifest and don't let doubt creep in. You can manifest as quickly as you like, you just have to have blind faith - BELIEVE!