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The Wisdom of a Long Life
An elder taught me these words to live by but the irony is that the words taught me that it isn't only elders with wisdom. I Am Grateful For These Words These last two weeks have been pretty challenging. It all stemmed from receiving harsh criticism from someone I consider an elder and mentor;…
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My Prayer is Noticing and Saying Thank You
Their prayer moved with them and through them as they danced. San Felipe Feast – a prayer They danced. Moving together to the pounding of the drums. One two one two one two one two. To infinity. The drums and the bare feet of the women and the moccasined feet of the men drove…
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Today More Than Ever I Need to Be Kind to Myself
Letting Myself Off the Hook Today’s email looks a little different. Because I needed some ease and gentleness and kindness and love. Because I’m telling myself that things can be easier and I’m believing it. Because I am grateful for the relief of letting myself off the hook. I had a hard day and…
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And Then I Learned That I’ve Known Abundance All Along
In a field of tall grass I learned two incredible lessons about abundance. And then as I wrote this I realized that tomorrow I celebrate my 2000th gratitude post! As I wrote this I discovered that tomorrow will be my 2000th gratitude post. I walked into that field and all that grass had grown…
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Earthing
Bare feet on the earth. We connect with nature. We breathe slower. We are grounded. This Week Let’s All Try This Carve out some alone time in your schedule. Walk outside. Remove your shoes. Stand on the earth. Feel the temperature underfoot. Feel the texture underfoot. Take five slow deep breaths. Notice.…
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Float with the Flow
Flowers against my skin, dew transferred and absorbed, flowing with nature, united. Nature and My Nature I awoke before dawn. The magnificent colors of sunrise precede the actual emergence of the sun by quite a bit here. The sun languidly comes up when it is ready. Before the sun joined us I noticed…
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Three Slow Exhales with the Ocean
Each breath was slower than the one before until finally I sank into my true relaxed state. My jaw relaxed, my mind cleared, I felt fully immersed in the moment. What a gift. Three Long and Slow Exhales Sink deep into relaxation starting with three breaths. Exhaling long and slow is the key…
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Gratitude Sharing Amidst a Storm
We sat quietly, taking cover from the desert sun, as the meditation began a storm blew through. The Smell of Onions Unseen. A Healthy Body. The Colorful Mountains. A Safe Place. We gathered. We, who are all about gratitude, sat together. We took cover from the dry desert sun in the shade, cooled by…
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Mindful Full Moon Solstice
Mindfulness is not only a meditation technique. It is a deep noticing. It is new possibilities. It is being present. A Mindful Experience Today is a special day, both the summer solstice and a full moon on the same day. What a perfect day to talk about being present and noticing. Imagine if no one…
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Giving Yourself Permission – Try it this week!
Mind Over Thoughts A miraculous thing happened this weekend. A simple thing that really did feel like a blessing, a gift, magic. And it was all in my head. I have been more stressed than ever dealing with a terrible financial crisis, one that puts many people at risk. I have had trouble sleeping almost…
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His Words Stopped Me in My Tracks
All We Take for Granted I overslept this morning. I still have not adapted to the time change and my mornings have been challenging. I woke up at 8:30am. Jumped in the shower. Quickly threw on clothes. Got into my car and raced across town arriving with a minute to spare to my…
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A Practice to Bring You Closer Together
Is There Someone You’d Like to Connect With? You know I’m always talking about how important noticing is as a first step to being grateful. That can be true for nature, our work or home, and also for the people we care about. Is there someone you would like to have a deeper connection…
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Change Your Mind in Five – a Gratitude Meditation
Unplug. Breathe. Take a Few Minutes Just For You. This time of year can get hectic. We are pulled in many directions with work and family and friends and events. Preserving traditions and making our own traditions. Adapting to celebrating the holidays without those who have left us. Sometimes we are an after-thought. Let’s…
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She said, “The things that are happening to me are a function of my view of them.”
Freedom in Uncertainty I am preparing for the Dealing with Negativity webinar this Thursday and came across the work of Ellen Langer, Ph.D. She is a Harvard professor who has been studying mindfulness for forty years. She is quick to point out that she is not talking about mindfulness mediation and in fact instead of using…
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Remember Those Days When You Were Focused on Gratitude?
Restore That Childlike Wonder Imagine a day. A normal Monday like today. Except this day the moments are slow, filled with wonder, curiosity and enjoyment. The colors you see are vivid because they are noticed and taken in completely. The leaves on the trees are calling out to you lighting a fire in your…
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Worried? Do You Keep Replaying Things in Your Head?
I Am Freaking Out Right Now! I’m stressed. I’m worried. The clock is ticking and I am pulled in so many directions with work, family, love, music and an ever-growing list of things that absolutely need to get done. On top of that I just shared whole lot of honesty with a colleague and friend…
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Saying Goodbye to the Man Who Literally Wrote the Book on the Power of Intention
The Power of Our Thoughts Wayne Dyer was a man who wrote a book called The Power of Intention as well as many other self-help books. He lived a life aligned with his intentions and inspired many with his teachings. He taught that we can choose to connect with intention to create the lives of…
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I Keep Getting Stood Up … By the Moon
Make Room for Gratitude I started a practice of moon bathing and I committed to doing it for at least one week. (You can too! Join us in the Moonbathers group.) This started in part because I have found that some of my best memories of solitude involve sitting outside at night alone under the…
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Notice and Savor
Tell Me What You Do Every Day and I’ll Tell You Who You Are I am working on establishing a new daily habit. A learning habit. Throughout the month of June I am committed to starting my day with a few minutes of skill-building as I learn Illustrator. I have been really liking this software…
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Desperately Seeking Calm
Take Yourself on a Journey to Now On Friday I found myself racing down a deserted dirt road, a dust cloud billowing behind me, skidding on the bumps and turns as I rushed to get to our campground. The landscape was beautiful, a rare treat to see it so lush and green in the high…