My Creative Side.....

Somedays I feel like I could burst with creativity!

And somedays I do!

I love the feel of my chalk pastels on my fingertips as I blend color and bring magic to a plain white piece of paper.

I love transforming my artwork into things that can be useful, as well as beautiful.  I've wanted to put my art on clothing, except I'm not quite sure how to do that or if I'm ready.

For now though, I share my framed artwork and make my own note cards.

My newest love in the creative department...  Squishing acrylic paints to create one of a kind miniature works of art.  Then, I transform these miniatures into note cards that can be used to cheer up a friend, or remind a loved one of how much you love them.

Chalk Pastel Print note cards

Acrylic note cards

The cards are all frameable, which gives them the added bonus of not only being the card for on top of the gift, but being the gift itself!

Spending time in my art studio (aka the laundry room!) makes me feel so relaxed.  I feel like the moment I decide to sit down and indulge in some play time I sink into a peaceful meditative state.

Every once in a while you'll find my youngest son sitting at my desk creating some magic of his own.  These usually end up on the refrigerator or he will hide his masterpieces so he can use them as gifts when birthdays and special occasions roll around.

And sometimes I get out the acrylics and we sit on the deck and create for hours at a time!

It's fun to play and be creative.  I love that my family gets to experience this in our house. 

There is total freedom for them to be who they are.

I love that!

Love that Inner Beauty

"Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical."
 ~  Sophia Loren

This quote couldn't have shown up at a better time for me.

I spent some time last weekend with my good friend Lee-Ann from Ginger Snaps! working on some new head shots.

I have never been a lover of being in front of the camera.  In fact, most of the pictures in my children's photo albums are of them with their dad, or with friends, very rarely is there a picture of me.

To say I hate getting my picture taken would be an understatement.

Lee-Ann always has her work cut out for her when she works with me because I tense up, there is not a natural flow to my movement or my facial expressions.  She says 'just be you' and I try very hard to do that, and I still end up holding a pose until I hear the snap of the camera.

It's just uncomfortable.

So when Lee-Ann posted some pics on facebook to advertise what she has done and show me how great the shots turned out, I had to face my fear, literally head on! 

I had to stare into the eyes of the woman who does not fully appreciate her unique beauty. 

And it all became clear.  Well, clear in the way that it's something I've always known, just never allowed myself to believe.

That your outer beauty is really a reflection of what is in your heart.  Like the quote says your inner beauty is reflected in your eyes.

My husband tells me all of the time that he wishes I could see myself the way he sees me.  And I have to say that somedays I wish I could too.

I wish I could look at pictures of myself without cringing.

And thanks to Lee-Ann, I am getting the opportunity to do just that :)

Honouring my Voice

I hope I didn't throw you off with that last post about 'recipe for change'.

It's getting some mixed reviews.  It's not what people expect from me when I write.

Though my journey lately has been really uncomfortable, confusing and frustrating.  I've been focused on my exterior instead of my interior.  Something I clearly have had to do since that's what I've been doing. You can't change what is.

I realize there are better more harmonious and love filled recipes for change (and I do believe I have shared enough harmonious and love filled options in the past), but sometimes we're not ready for those types of recipes, sometimes we need something a little more spunky to get the job done.  The recipe I wrote  yesterday was the one I was feeling in that moment and usually I would keep those kinds of raw words to myself.  I would sit with them inside of me, let them make me feel crappy and I would write something pretty and frilly once that moment passed by and I was in a different space.

But this isn't true authenticity.  By doing that I'm not allowing you to see a side of me that is very real.  And as embarrasing as it can be sometimes....  It is what it is....

We all have those peaceful, loving, balanced sides to ourselves and we also have darker, raw, punchy sides as well.  And I am no different.

And as much as my raw side tends to only pop up once in a while, it still does. 

As a healer and "spiritual" woman I hadn't given myself permission in the past to write EXACTLY what I felt in these moments because I thought it would send the 'wrong' message, it would look 'wrong' to the world.

But this blog is not only for you alone, this blog is for me.  It's not a place to impress others with fancy words.  (Although it thrills me to get comments and have people read what I've written)  It is for me to record my journey and to work through EVERY moment that comes my way in the way that feels appropriate in the moment.

I wrote the recipe for change the way I did because it felt good just to say it!  It felt good just to let out those thoughts and feelings without judging it.  And if I want to be a role model for other women, then it's important for me to show you how 'real' I am.  And how just by saying what you want to say can free you from the prison you've been living in.

This is a lesson in speaking my truth in the moment that I am in.  Some of those moments will look a little rough around the edges, but they are real.

And at the end of the day, real is what it's all about....

Like Martha Stewart....with a twist....

Is it just me or is everyone ready for a change?

Not just a little change.  A big, stinking, your whole world will never look the same again, change!

My hyper-sensitive change radar has been on overdrive the last month and I just can't shake the need to reinvent myself. 

Completely reinvent myself.

Maybe it's my intuition telling me there is something grander coming my way (I do recognize this feeling from other times I've had to totally step up to the plate and take action). 

Maybe it's time to clear the slate and start fresh....

Whatever it is, I feel like I could move to a desert island and never look back.

But that would be running away from the issue and eventually some native tribe would take me in and I'd get tired of them too, then I'd be looking for another deserted island (because clearly the first one wasn't deserted enough for my liking).

If I were to create a recipe for change it might look like this:

2 cups of 'say what you feel, not what you think others want to hear'
1/2 cup of 'give yourself a break already'
1 cup of 'kick those dead weight, negative, time draining people to the curb'
a pinch of 'breathe and relax'
2 TBSP of 'love yourself more than you love others'
1/2 tsp of 'mind your own business'
1/2 cup of shredded 'who gives a fuck what other people think of you'
1 cherry (because every recipe needs a cherry on top)

** I sometimes add a little 'embrace who you are completely' to sweeten it and make it a bit more fluffy, but this is optional until you get the hang of making the basic recipe **

Blend together gently, ease into a greased baking pan and pop that sucker in the oven. 

Serves 1

Is nicely complimented by a huge bowl of double chocolate fudge ice cream.

Calories:  0
Energy:  High and Limitless
Fat:  0 grams

And I thought I couldn't bake like Martha Stewart......  ;)

Nobody else but you....

I found this quote in my email inbox this morning.

"The idea that men are created free and equal is both true and misleading: men are created different; they lose their social freedom and their individual autonomy in seeking to become like each other."

-- David Riesman

I am really enjoying this quote today.  It's a great reminder for me to continue to pursue my journey to become ME and not someone else.

We can get totally wrapped up in what other people are doing and wishing we could be the same way.  And in doing so we lose sight of who we are, what our unique abilities and gifts to this world are and what makes us happy.

I can't ever remember a time where I was happy if I was engaged in "I have to be just like her" mode.  Whether it was in business, body image, character, parenting styles, etc.  The thought of having to be like someone other than myself was stressful. 

In order to have happiness and flow in life you have to fully embrace who YOU are. 

I think it's great to look at someone or something and gather inspiration from it; but to take steps to make it who you are without taking in if it makes you feel good is dangerous to your mental and emotional well-being.

If you spend all of your time being someone you are not, striving to be your neighbour, colleague or friend, you are denying the world the gift of YOU.

That gift that just keeps on giving in the way that only you can give it.

I see this happen all the time amongst women.  Are we so unhappy with ourselves that we wish we could switch places with someone else?  How sad is this?

Your happiness is not going to come from wearing a suit if you're a jogging pants kinda girl.  And your happiness is not going to come from being the kind of mom that makes all of her own organic baby food if you are happiest having all kinds of free time to play and snuggle with your kids.  Your happiness is not going to come in the form of working towards success in a business that doesn't suit your interests just because someone else seems to be successful in it.

Let's face it....  You are YOU and nobody else....

Isn't that fabulous?!

I think it is, because what it means is that you can drop the act.  I envision it like that perfume commercial that Charlize Theron is in where she whips off her jewellery and unzips her fancy dress as she's walking towards the camera.  'J'Adore I think is the name of the perfume.

I love this visual because that is what we all need to be doing with those invisible expectations and ideals that we've placed on ourselves so we can become a carbon copy of someone else.

Here's something for you to consider the next time you find yourself trapped in self doubt about who you are and who you want to be.  While you are going all googoo over someone else's life, that someone else may be going all googoo over yours! 

Tricky stuff this self doubt business......

Saying goodbye to a limiting belief

"And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department."  ~Andrew Carnegie

This quote definitely challenges my belief that life is not (and 'should' not be) a competition. 

I'm definitely in the mood to have that belief challenged today.

This belief gets in the way of my happiness. 

I am not a competitive person by nature.  In the past I have found myself caught in a competition type issue  without even realizing that I had stepped myself into it.  It was totally by accident, and at the same time the person on the other end of that competition has felt threatened.  They've felt the same way that I feel when I've had competition thrown in my face.

I hear myself saying to people all of the time, how much I despise the competitive nature of life and business.  You know the 'step on anyone that gets in your way, to make a sale' type of stuff.

I would prefer for humanity to have a 'stand together as one power' than a 'divide and conquer' kind of attitude towards life.

Yet over the last few weeks I have been hearing more and more people express their competitive nature towards me, I have seen their competitiveness popping up.  There is definitely a reason why this is being brought to my attention.

I have resisted competition my whole life.  It's been just recently that I'm beginning to understand why and how it is that I need to change that resistance, if for not other reason than to release the stress of that resistance. 

When I resist the idea of competition I begin to feel more and more uncomfortable, more anxious and more withdrawn.

It really hit home when I heard myself verbalize this belief last night.  I finally heard what I was saying about competition and I could feel he effects it was having on me.  I immediately knew I had to change it, if I was ever going to move forward, if I was ever going to stand in my power and be successful.

Then this quote popped up in my inbox this morning.  How appropriate the Universe's timing.

It's time to release this limiting belief about competition.  It's not going to go away just because the 'goody two shoes' voice in my head wishes it would.

With that being said, I'm not sure I'll become competitive over night, I'm not sure I'll become competitive all.  However I know that by allowing myself to release the belief that competition is somehow bad or counterproductive will definitely open up some doors of opportunity for me.

And I welcome that with open arms!

ch ch ch ch changes.........

I took a nap late this afternoon and when I woke up I felt completely off balance.

WTF?

I had a fabulous day preparing 4 beautiful women in their Reiki journey and thought I'd reward myself (and indulge in my slight fatigue) by taking a short nap.

That short nap turned into 2 hours.

And when I got up, my whole body felt like it didn't belong.  I felt shaky and almost panicked.

My day (in fact my entire week) did not indicate anything to be anxious about, quite the opposite.  And yet here I was feeling panic and anxiety after a nap?!?!?!

It's moments like these when I know with the depths of my soul that we as a species are experiencing mind blowing changes.

For the last couple of weeks I've been surfing the net for information on 'ascension symptoms'.  Looking for any proof that I am in fact 'normal'and that I am not losing my mind.

I have linked to some of those sites for your interest.

You want this - a great site that tells it like it is, differentiates between 'awakening' and 'ascension'
Good ole facebook - this is a great facebook connection that can help you tap into what's going on symptom wise
Beacons of  Light - I subscribe to updates from this site and have also enrolled in one of their classes.  A great and informative site for everything you need to know about what is happening with planetary shifts and why they are happening
Karen Bishop - this girl got me through some really tough times.  She doesn't do alot of regular updates, but this site will send you to some of her most recent :)

It's important to become connected to others who understand or at least can sympathize with what you are going through.  Some of us are feeling these symptoms and changes more intensely than others, and still more have no idea what they are feeling, they just know that it is strange and unusual!

I find tapping into my intuition to be the most effective way to combat my symptoms.  I love to journal how each of my days has gone, what were my feelings and experiences, and how does it support and prove to me that I am changing and growing as a spiritual being.

I also find that getting out my art supplies helps me to channel the energy a little more productively (at least I can sell the artwork, I can't sell anything if I sit on my butt all day feeling like a lump of mashed potatoes :)

So I hope that the above links help you out and get you feeling more 'human' again : )  It's nice to know that we are not alone.

And you are definitely not alone!

A life of purpose

There are so many people searching for who they are.  Searching for more purpose.

It's the age old quest for the purpose of life.  How many people though do you think actually find that purpose?

My quest brought me to Rosemary Heenan and her hand analysis services.  My frustration was overwhelming and the more overwhelmed I became the more clouded my goals.

It turns out, that I was in fact living my purpose.

That whole time I was frustrated, I was already living my purpose.

So what was the problem?

The problem was I didn't believe in myself, I didn't believe that what I was doing was important enough to be a life purpose or that it would in any way impact the world in the way that I wanted it to.

I've had the pleasure of mentoring a few clients who are struggling with their life purpose and each time the only thing standing in the way of finding that purpose was to make the decision to accept that they are living it now!

Our beliefs tell us that in order to make a difference (be on television or radio, make tons of money, give tons of money to charities, etc) we have to do something extra extra special.  And when we do that extra special thing we will feel purposeful and on purpose.

Let me ask you this "who decided what you are doing today isn't extra extra special?"

We've become ignorant to the truth of our purpose because we have been desensitized to appreciating the small things that we give to the world every day.

I'll leave you with this question for today "who would you become, if you knew that by being exactly who you are today you were already living your purpose?"

Jenn's got her "warning" sign on!

Lately I feel like I've been handed many opportunities to empower myself (do you see a theme here?)

Except sometimes I feel so disempowered. 

You see, I prefer to enjoy life from a sunshiney disposition, always smiling and friendly to everyone.

I am well versed at overlooking the bullshit bologne.  Because to be honest, bullshit bologne is none of my business....

Then I get handed a challenge that makes me feel like ripping the faces off people.  Maybe because the bullshit bologne has piled too high and is spilling over, I don't know....

Maybe because I am a good person and I don't deserve to be talked about in the way that some people prefer to talk about me....  Does anybody ever deserve that?

Maybe because I can see the same behaviour in myself and it is ugly and I don't like it and the Universe really would like me to change it.

Maybe....

My apologies if I am being offensive, there just is no other way to put it...  And well, I'm just in the mood to not give a darn tootin' about being offensive right now... 

Honestly, I think it's time I get off my sunshine rainbow, put my warrior princess armour on and go ape nuts....

Here's the deal.... 

If you have spent no more than 2 hours with me in the entire time since you've first heard my name and of those 2 hours you were partly intoxicated, you have no grounds to speak of me....at all!

If you have nothing better to do with your time than question the integrity of others and not the integrity of yourself, you have no grounds to speak of me...

If you have not discussed the issues you question with regards to the way I teach or conduct my business with me directly, you have no grounds to speak of me to others....

And lastly, if you cannot open your mouth and speak words of love and respect about everyone you come in contact with.....you have no grounds to speak of me.....


PS - Just so we are clear, I needed to hear this message tonight as well and will be taking my own advice (as always) in order to make ME a better person to all I come into contact with.

Sincerely,

Jenn  xo

Are you empowered?

The other day a search into some old emails for information I needed brought me to an article that was written about empowerment and what it means to be truly empowered.

Here's the part that really caught my attention:

"Your usual tendency is to try and help another person. If a person comes to you with a problem or a situation where they just need a little push, absolutely you are right there to help them to go in the direction that will be the highest for them.  What about true empowerment? What if you empowered that person so they could leave you? What if you empowered that person so they could go against the work that you were doing? How much do you trust humanity? How much do you trust your spirit?"
exerpt from Beacon's Lightworker newsletter

Wow!

I think this message is worth giving some thought to.

Most of us believe empowerment comes from keeping things to yourself.  That we will get further ahead if we keep what we know to ourselves.

Further along the article reads:

"If you trust the process, you will begin empowering everyone every chance you get because even if they leave you, even if they are not in your field, even if there is no connection whatsoever, that has changed your energy more than it has changed theirs. This is the key that most of you will find will bring you to that part you brought from Home, that piece of the puzzle that all of you have been looking for that you call your passion, your purpose, your intent and your path."
exerpt from Beacon's Lightworker newsletter


This is a great message!

I have always loved empowering others to do what I do and I couldn't always figure out why. 


There is an amazing feeling of joy that grows inside of me when I teach someone Reiki or how to trust their intuition or how to create art from the heart.  It makes me smile and do a happy dance when a student of mine has found their 'mojo' after spending an afternoon with me, empowering others is the ultimate high!
 
Go ahead, empower everyone around you!  Heck, teach them how to do just what you are doing in your business.  Give away all your trade secrets (they aren't yours anyway).  Give away your ideas (again, not yours).  Give away your art and teaching techniques.  Give it all away, feel the freedom and pleasure in doing so and bask in the empowerment that comes to you through this act of giving from the heart and soul.
 
You won't regret it....  I promise you that!

***sigh****

I fear I have reached the point in my life where all my pants/shorts must be made of that fabulous stretchy material that makes it so you can gain weight and retain water without having to buy a whole new wardrobe...

What's it called.....

Wait...let me check the tag in my pants....

Oh yes....  Spandex!

I only need 1% of the stuff in my pants....  It doesn't seem like much....  But OH the freedom when you add it into the mix!

Right about now I would give my first born for the chance to meet the genius that discovered it!

Today, we had a preview of how warm our summer is going to be and I broke down and got out my pile of shorts from last year.

In the past I have managed to lose enough weight to wear the shorts from the year before.

Not this year.  I tried on every single pair and not one would allow me to button them up!

Sometime over the winter my ass backside decided to relocate a little lower and my hips have decided they are all too comfortable with the extra few pounds of meat I packed on.

Apparently, year 39 is the year you put away those cute girly girl shorts and opt for something a little more....well....appropriate for your age.

Gone are the tighter t-shirts and shorter shorts. 

Oh, who am I kidding, it happened last year but I wiggled (and jiggled) my way into those shorts and t-shirts despite the muffin top screaming at me to 'please for the love of God, wear something that fits!  You're embarassing us all!"

I was kind of hoping (most likely like every other woman on the planet reaching 40) that the Universe had forgotten I was getting up there in age.  I was kind of hoping it would give me another couple of years grace before things started to go downhill...

Since I love to look upon the positive in every situation.  I will end this blog post with this thought...

SHOPPING TRIP!!!!!!     woot woot!

Note to Self....

This was my morning conversation with my 'self'.

Self:  Did it ever occur to you that you are not really on a spiritual journey, that it is in fact a human journey?

Me:  No.....what?

Self:  The idea of being on a journey at all, suggests that you are moving towards something that you are not.  When in fact you are already a spiritual being, you just don't fully understand your spiritual capacity and the wisdom that you embody.

Me:  So, I've been calling it the wrong thing?  Okay, whatever...  What should I call it then?

Self:  Why does it need a name?

Me:  It doesn't NEED a name, I just like it to have an identity.

Self:  And by giving it an identity, you will attach to it and then you will obsess about it and then there is 'comparing' and 'competition' between spiritual beings and that's not really the purpose behind  all of this anyway.

Me:  Ooooh, good one! 

Self:  The thing is, that this 'journey' is happening whether you are aware or not, and it is happening whether you are willing or not and it is happening whether you want it to or not.  As spiritual beings you cannot stand still, you are constantly in motion when it comes to your awareness, sometimes this awareness is profound and creates extreme change and sometimes it's subtle and it takes months or years for you to notice that you have a greater understanding about your life.

Me:  That makes total sense to me.  I can look way back and see where there was constant movement but I wasn't always paying attention, but now I can see how much had actually been absorbed and changed, even if it looked like 10 steps backwards.

Self:  Yup!  So to say that you are on a spiritual journey is a misconception.  You are here to have a human journey, to experience human things.  This will look like a variety of things to a variety of people.

How you are living is right for you, it is the human experience that you need to have.  And that could change in the blink of an eye so that you can experience something else and learn from that experience.

Me:  So the message of "you grow and learn more from your low moments than you do in your high and peaceful moments" is accurate?

Self:  If you characterize your low moments as 'human' moments, then yes.  It is when you are embracing your human side that you will learn the most about yourself.  You've experienced this when you have embraced what you consider a 'flaw' in your character, suddenly doors open up and you are in a state of complete bliss.

Your spiritual self already knows everything it needs to know about you and the world in it's entirety.  There is nothing to learn when if comes to your spirit self.  The moments when you feel connected to spirit are the moments when you have opened your eyes wide enough to see the truth and embrace it.  You didn't 'learn' something new spiritually, you recognized that it was there all along. 

Your 'human journey' IS your 'spiritual journey', they are one in the same, they are your journey to within.

Me:  I'm gonna blog about this conversation.

Self:  Yup!

'Ruler of the Household'

We all know one of the most important duties of Ruler of the Household Stay at Home Mother is the stocking of the castle cupboards and refrigerator....

This morning even I cringed at the lack of food available for my children's lunches....  Which doesn't happen often let me tell you....  With only one lonely apple left in the fridge it made it difficult even for me to go on my daily morning "there are plenty of healthy foods in the fridge" speech.

So, off I went to the magical supermarket, where, by the way there is absolutely no bliss to be found (and I thought the bingo halls were bad).  I don't know about you but I pick the oddest times of the day to do my grocery shopping in the hopes that I will be the only shopper there, but alas, it was not to be today....

Today was one of those 'handle with care' shopping days, you know the ones where your shopping cart is so full that things just start to fall off randomly...  As hard as I tried to strategically place items so that they wouldn't fall, they still did!

I felt triumphant as I rounded my last corner, eggs balancing precariously on top of the bread, when I realized I had missed pancake mix and black olives....

Shit  Shoot.....

The only two items my children ACTUALLY asked for....

By this point my cart is too heavy to push, so I park it in an out of the way spot and run to get the things I had forgotten.

All set.

Time to find the appropriate cash out line.  The shortest one, but not the one with the cashier I had last time attending it.  THAT was a treat.

I think it's me....  All cashiers hate me...  They see me coming with my $400 cart of groceries and they desperately wish it was their break time....  They do their best to avoid eye contact, but it's no use, I am like a heat seeking missile, I want the hell out of there and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

By the time they are done scanning all of my items they have sweat running down their faces and the look of exhaustion they give me as they hand me my 5 foot long receipt almost makes me feel sorry for them....

Almost...

Because their not the suckers that have to put this stuff away when they get home!

And you know what the darling little Merritt Princes will say to their Ruler Mother???

Go on....take a guess.....

"There's nothing to eat in this house!"

This is the moment that if I were living in the wild as a lion or other ferocious animal, I would eat them.....

Be the change....

Mahatma Ghandi's message 'be the change you wish to see in the world' is probably my most favourite message of all time.

Years ago, I really didn't know how I (little old me) could possibly be the change I wanted to see in the world.  I remember feeling so deeply that I wanted to make a difference, leave a legacy of love in this world and at the same time I had no idea how I could do that.

How could a mom from a very small town in SouthWestern Ontario make any difference at all in this world.  The world seemed so big, with it's problems even bigger.

As time went on however, and my resolve to 'be the change' grew along with my 'job' as mother, I realized that the most powerful 'change maker' in the world is actually a mother.

Whether you had the most loving mother as a role model or the most abusive, critical or absent mother. 
She was a huge catalyst for change in this world.

Mothers push us to become our best.

To the ears of young children searching for appreciation; criticism from the woman who birthed us (or adopted us) can be sharp and painful.  As we grow into adults though, we can see how our mother's behaviour has molded us and we use what we learned from her to grow more strong and confident in ourselves.  We then become the mother we wished we had.

Without the model of the most loving, compassionate and nurturing mother we might not know the secret ingredients to cooking the best meal, or making the most out of an evening of entertaining friends or how to give the best hugs and kisses at bedtime.

Regardless of our upbringing, it is without a doubt, our mothers who are and who have been the catalyst of change in our lives and in the world.

It is mother's who raise their children to respect themselves and others, who stand on the sidelines and cheer their children onto success, who lay beside a sick child rubbing their hair hoping it will help them feel better.  Mother's will give up their souls for their children without asking twice.  And it is a mother who will worry and wonder until the day she dies whether or not she did the absolute best she could do.

So, whether you're a stay at home mom (who is over worked and under appreciated), or a working mom (who is over worked and under appreciated); understand that you are being the change that you wish to see in this world by raising strong, confident, loving, trustworthy, responsible children.

You have the power to change this world into heaven on earth through your care and love for your children.

So if all this time you thought you were 'just a mom'.  Think again!

You are a strong and powerful catalyst of change. 

Never underestimate the strength of a mother.

Happy Mother's Day!

Do as I say, not as I do

Remember when your parents would say to you "do as I say, not as I do"?  Usually this piece of advice would pop up when your parents knew damn well they were doing something that went against everything they were trying to teach you, and they felt it necessary to cover their butts about it.

As children we knew this advice made no sense.

It was clear to us that actions spoke louder than their words because the moment we were out of our parents view we would pretend to smoke a cigarette made from a rolled up piece of paper, or we'd pretend to drink beer and get drunk (and later on maybe you stopped pretending and took on these habits for real?)

Lately, I've been noticing there seems to be an epidemic of "do as I say, not as I do".

I see too many people walking around with their "holier than thou" robes on, preaching to all who come into contact with them about how they 'should' live their lives, love one another, be kind, be compassionate, blah blah blah and then turn around and behave in a way that totally annihilates their message.

They may be fooling some people, but for those of us who have our eyes open, it's a disgusting display of hypocrasy.

I remember a few years ago, approaching a woman who was setting up a display at an event.  She was advertising her psychic skills.  I was interested in her services and what she was offering for the day and began to ask her if I could sign my name somewhere to receive a reading.  She turned to me with a scowl on her face and said "your not supposed to get a reading today, I already have all of my readings written out for the people who will be attending today".

I remember thinking "okay then" and walking back to the spot where my display was set up.  I watched this woman all day long and not one person showed up at her booth to receive her services (the ones she had already apparently written up for her potential clients).  I watched this healer/psychic sit all day long eating chocolate bars and drinking Diet Pepsi.  I watched this healer/psychic speak poorly about people who were coming and going, picking apart their choice of dress, etc.

The more I watched her, the more I couldn't for the life of me figure out how she could possibly have such amazing psychic skills when she did nothing that indicated that she loved herself enough to nurture her unique gifts. 

This encounter was at a time in my life when I was just beginning my Reiki practice, I was not confident in my intuitive abilities and had always admired people who were and who could help others through  challenges using their divine gifts.

If you are someone who wants to affect change in this world through the services that you offer, whether you are a lawyer, doctor, priest, civil servant, etc. you need to know that this 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude creates mistrust in the process and that does everything BUT attract people to your services.

I'm not saying you have to work towards sainthood for goodness sakes.  If you just asked yourself "am I the person I want to be in this world, am I the change I want to see?" every once in a while?  How could that change your life?

FYI:  I slip up ALL the time!  Just ask my hubby!  Like when I am driving my son around and I am fiddling with the radio and drinking a coffee, not paying attention to my driving....  This is one of those times where I catch myself being a poor role model and pulling the 'do as I say not as I do' stuff with him because he is learning how to drive and he is going to use the visual I am giving him as a guideline if I don't get my shit together.

Being authentic is a tough process.  You must work through your fears and blockages and beliefs about who you are in the world, tear them down and trust that your natural self is THE only way to be.

Of course we are all where we need to be right now.  We are all on our own perfect path.

I'm just wondering if maybe we can do a little bit better...


 

Attitude is everything!

I don't care what anyone says.  Attitude is EVERYTHING!

It's your attitude about everything that makes your life exactly what it is right now!

This is true for money, relationships, weight, addictions, career, parenting, etc. etc. etc.

If you have a piss poor attitude, your life is going to be piss poor....  Plain and simple!

This concept hit me big time today as I sat in my financial advisor's office for the (dreaded) annual review of our financial standings.

I used to dread these meetings and avoided them at all costs.  I absolutely love my financial advisor, I just HATED facing our financial situation!

For years hubby and I have struggled financially to make ends meet, let alone be able to squeeze enough money out of our budget for education and retirement funds.  And every meeting we had about our finances just made me feel like we were never going to get anywhere, we were never going to have anything.

We used to fight over money ALL the time!  There was never enough of it for what we wanted and  hubby could never understand why after working so hard all week he couldn't afford simple luxuries (new tools) to help him feel like working hard was worth it.

Today, my experience was totally different.

I'll tell you why.

For the past year I have developed a more positive relationship with my money.

We live on a strict 'cash only' budget and stick to it like glue!

We no longer fight about money.

Instead of looking at our half spent budget money and wishing we had more, we are excited by all the money that is still left over each week!  How can that be, after living for years without a penny to our name?

Let me clarify that our total income has not changed in the past year.

Also, our expenses increased somewhat because we moved into a bigger house with slightly more expensive utility costs.

Technically, we 'should' still be living paycheque to paycheque, fighting over money and feeling like we have nothing and can do nothing.

After revisiting our budget and documenting our cash flow using our current 'cash only' system, we found that we have a whopping $300/month to invest...  To say that I found myself close to tears with joy, is an understatement.  I don't think I've ever hugged my financial advisor so hard!

I found myself so full of gratitude (which feels so much better than a stomach full of rocks!) for what I have, for what we have accomplished financially with the SAME amount of money we've always had.

Let me tell you...  The ONLY thing that has changed about my financial situation is my ATTITUDE!

My attitude change about my finances has completely changed my life.  It has definitely changed my future and the future of my children!

My point is, is you can sit on your couch whining and complaining about what you don't have, or you can get up and be grateful for what you got! 

Doing this can mean the difference between extreme wealth or certain bankruptcy.

It's your choice!