5-Minute Marrow Makers

     Get the family out the door.  Get yourself out the door.  Get yourself out the door with shoes that coordinate with your outfit.  Forgot the cellphone.  Can't leave the baby in the car.  15 minutes late.  Oh-what-a-day-already-and-I-need-a-vacation....

     How about a 5-minute Marrow Maker?  How about something you can pull off right in your car, in your cube, in your office, on the go, or in line at Starbucks?  How about tips and tricks you don't have to fit into your life.. because you already do them?

• Candlelight Cleanse.  You have to shower.  You shower alone most of the time.  Turn off the lights and light a candle.  Even on the most hectic mornings, this tiny trick is like a day at the spa.
• Starbucks Sweetness: Leave your cell in the car when you go into Starbucks.  While in line, take a 3-point check: What do you smell?  Hear?  See?  Starbucks are usually designed like a senses feast, but we rarely notice it.  Your latte will be so much more delicious after having anticipated it!
• Car Kids:  What are the kids doing in the car on the way to school? Texting? Watching DVDs?  Is there a possibility this could be some quality time - a time to set intentions with them, or just to ask what they want from today?
• Car Cruise:  I love Oprah's old Spirit Channel podcasts.  If you are mindlessly choosing the 9:30 Z100 phone tap... try a spiritual podcast instead.  They're thought provoking and usually put you in the frame of mind to work mindfully.
• Twilight Tea:  Do you have that cup of coffee after work to plow through the evening? Choose a tea.  The sensual experience will be greater, bringing you closer to the present moment, and you will sleep better if you choose a delish decaf like Tazo Calm.
• Goddess Goo:  Skip the sh!tty Suave discount lotions.  Dump them all and indulge in one, gorgeously scented, skin-friendly, paraben free body lotion.  You have to moisturize - why not treat yourself like a goddess while gooping up?
• Night Nurture:  Instead of mindless flopping around Facebook (#1 culprit) the 10 minutes before sleep, set an alarm on your computer/phone/iCal to shut down the visual stimulation and open up something peaceful.  Create a stack of inspirational books, or a gratitude journal, and spend the time before bed invoking meaning into your sleep!
• Dishes Dance:  Turn on something stimulating for your ears while you wash those dishes.  Keep a little iPod speaker on the sink so it's no big deal to throw on some sweet, soothing tunes, meditations, podcasts, or soundscapes.  Wiggle your butt around!

There are so many ways to bring delight to your everyday life, tiny ways to connect to the source - call it God, consciousness, presence, Being, Goddess... tiny Marrow Makers will bring you happiness and make you smile at the folks in line with you!

A Ritual for New Beginnings

The Road More Traveled

    It's like the night before Christmas and all through the house... candles are burning, tea is brewing, and I'm preparing for a fresh start.  Tomorrow, I am giddy to announce, a new job awaits me.. just 20 minutes from my child's day care.  It would make sense to take some time and talk about my last job, but that's between me and the cleansing part of my ritual.  Suffice to say that I'm so excited to start a normal life.

     To boot, tomorrow is 1/23/2012, which begins the Year of the Dragon.  My mama gave birth to me in that year! 

     

     This is one ritual sequence I've used in the past, so I'm offering it to you in peace and with intention that if you are experiencing a new beginning, it will help you sustain the excitement of this time.

I gather the following: Salt water in a beautiful vessel, a candle and light, something green and living, some essential oil.  

1.        Cleansing - I use salt water, as I commonly have this around, sprinkling it on myself and the ritual space.

2.        Grounding - I walk the space, sensing the energy
3.        Creating a Sacred Space /Casting the Circle / Creating a   
      Vortex of Power & Protection - I usually light a candle, and I have a bowl of seashells I might use to create a circle, as they invoke the ocean, the great and constant washing away of the past.
4.        Calling on the Powers of the Elements and Directions.  I've collected:

a.       East –air.  The smoke from the candle. b.       South—fire.  The flame in the candle. c.       West—water.  The salt water in a lovely glass vase.  I will likely use the snow outside, it's fresh! d.       North—earth.  If I can use actual earth, I would.  Right now I will have to borrow some from a nearby plant. e.       Space—sprit.  I use an essential oil, today it will be lemon, to breathe in cleansing spirit.

5.        Invoking the Deity or Deities.  I close my eyes and become still, sensing the energy in my body which is my connection to all things living.
6.        Statement of purpose / clarifying the intention of the ritual.  I say aloud, "Through this ceremony, I give myself permission to walk forward completely free of the past.  I open my eyes to the possibilities that tomorrow brings.  I walk forward in peace, not bitterness".
7.         The working

a.       I will light a smaller candle for each of the blessings the new job bestows on me: Time with my family, etc.  I will pack my attaché for tomorrow with intent.

8.        Raising and Releasing the Power

a.        I will repeat my intent, until I can hold the energy no longer and it is released into the Universe.  If moved, I will use Delilah's drum softly, but drumming does not usually feel authentic to me unless in a group.

9.        Centering Communion / Meditation

a.        After the exhalation of releasing sit quietly and relax into ALL That IS b.          When one is completely calm and at peace you might softly hum OMM or Auuu—ommmmmmmmmm

10.        Ending the ritual

a.        Thanking the Deity / Deities b.        Releasing the Powers by thanking them c.        Returning the circle to the mundane world by walking in a           counter clockwise direction

Ever have those days?

Oops.

     Ever have that day when you try, you really try!?  I tried to balance quantity with quality: being inside with the family all day because of a snowstorm; writing in my Goddess Guide 2012; create fun snow day stuff for my darling girl; clean out the bedroom closet; run the laundry; organize myself to start my new job on Monday; relish a family nap; play in the snow; finish my e-course; learn to use the e-course website.

     Oops.  Looking back, I set myself up for failure there, didn't I?  I woke up full of ambition and when my husband had to spend most of the day shoveling us (and the neighbors) out... plans went to hell in a handcart and I couldn't seem to recover.  I spent the day seeking that little window of solitude and realistically, it wasn't going to happen.  I made myself suffer and started telling the old stories of blame ("If he would stop shoveling out all the neighbors, I could have a moment to write my e-course") and of my small life ("All I do is clean and take care of the baby...").  In truth, I love my husband for helping the neighbors, and I actually have a lot of time to myself usually.  "The Story" loves to find a chink in the spiritual armor, a low moment, and leap in to make sweet love to The Ego.  They attach themselves to each other like a clique of Mean Girls and eat your brains like Mean Girl Zombies!

     What's a Mama to do?  Go with the flow? Abandon daily goals when the wind is blowing the other way?  Just start drinking? Search the soul to see if any of the tiny Little Me voice has a grain of truth to it?  Bitchslap the Ego and send it packing?  

     Well, this Mama fought the flow, cursed a lot, slammed a door, and finally got over it enough to put the baby to bed in a peaceful, present, happy way.  All in all, we had some fun, made hot chocolate, played in the snow, mashed together some stickers and glue stick, built a fort, and watched Winnie the Pooh.  I'd say from her perspective, probably a successful day.  I managed a candlelight shower and a long nap with the whole family.  From Mama's perspective, I quote the ever-tenacious Scarlett O'Hara... "Tomorrow is another day".

     

Bad, Bad, Energy

Emotional Trash

   

    It's not uncommon - I'm sitting peacefully at Starbucks or somewhere between clients, daydreaming over a latte, or working on a project, and into my happy place creeps... bad energy.  Not mine.  Someone else's. I will start to hear people bitching and moaning about their jobs, or a customer complaining adamantly about something like coffee... and my own energy field shifts like WAM BOOM.  As soon as it creeps in, I can't get rid of it and I start to see it, hear it everywhere like that kid in Sixth Sense.  And sure enough, to the tune of "Bad Medicine," the next thing I know I have "Bad, bad, energy" stuck in my head and my day is completely ruined until I find an equally bad 80's tune to replace the song worm.  Also, if I hold my fingers in my hears and shout "amazing grace" at warp speed, I can usually get rid of the song worm.

    I digress.  When I visualize my peaceful energy field, it's soft.  It isn't a powerful bubble shield, like the iron wall that is a amniotic sac.  It's more like a simple soap bubble, easily popped (but so, so rainbow pretty when it's around!)  Other people's energy enters me easily, and I tend to have trouble shaking it.  I used to have a hard time managing at parties or around more than 2-3 people at one time because I couldn't sort through everyone's vibes at one time; it was like trying to attend to a conversation when 4 other secret conversations were also going on.  Mind chatter - mine? theirs?

     I have learned to manage in a crowd through presence, giving my complete all to the person I'm with at the moment seems to lift me out of the clutter.  I'm still learning how to hold space for strangers whose energy is stronger than mine.  I picture it like a big public game of pokemon.

     What's your strategy?  How does your paper beat rock?
   

Intentional Living

Intentions help us blossom to our full potential!

    A bundle of nerves had settled itself comfortably behind my sternum for weeks.  The truth had begun to arise:  I had scored my dream job... and 6 months in, I hated it.  HATED IT.  Could not even move beyond the hate to get to a place of acceptance.  I did what every 35 year old woman on the verge of a job crisis does: I called my Mommy.

     My Mommy isn't just any wisdom-from-experience Mommy, she is a certified life coach who can size up a situation in 5 seconds flat and, like a fortune teller, usually give you just the little simple thing you need.  In this case, as I had turned my car around, heading in the opposite direction of my office and headed toward a new company run by old friends, she said: "What's your intention for this meeting?"
    How simple is that? I believed I was just running up there to buy them lunch and pick their brains about how to handle the job-hating thing, that my intention was to get advice from friends in the same field.  But when the question was posed in an explicit way, I realized: My intention was to gain a job offer from them.

    That simple question and the simpler answer changed the tone of the 4 hour meeting that followed, from what could have been a bitchfest into a productive, inspiring conversation about values and company culture.  During that conversation we agreed our values were aligned in service delivery, and at the end, after delicious sushi, bonding, and brainstorming... they offered me a job.  I start on Monday.
   
     After that, I started intuitively creating a bit of space before and between.  Before clients.  Between lunch and going back to work.  Between getting out of the car at the end of the day and coming inside.  A teeny space to set an intention for the next meeting, moment, greeting.  To greet my daughter in a way that _______.  To keep the meeting focused on ________.  What a powerful practice it has become - and even more, how powerfully it seems to shift the people around me.  When my intention is strong - for example, my intention in meeting with the school director is to create a better environment for my daughter - others come around.  In the meeting with the school director, she started out defensive, her ego and identification with the school method was very, very dominant.  As I gently stuck to my intention, the conversation shifted dramatically and suddenly, almost like a bubble popping, her ego seemed to vanish and we commenced a very productive, calm, and constructive solution-focused conversation.  Intention!

     Try this: Put a little post it note on the dashboard.  Create it with intention.  Write something on it that will remind you to give yourself the gift of space and intention between events.  On the back of my visor, it says "I am becoming the person I am".  This little reminder helps me move toward that goal a little more every day.  Post your post-it message, if you're comfortable, and let us know how it changes your day-to-day harried world!

Celebrating and Releasing 2011

     On Facebook around, oh, Dec 31, I noticed a lot of good riddance to 2011.  It seemed to be, among my tribe anyway, a year that symbolized a lot of struggle, challenge, and frustration with the status quo - personally and globally.  On the other hand, it seemed to me that same frustration drove folks to find the road less traveled, to passionately forge new ground for themselves because it just wasn't working anymore.

    The categorizing of years by polarizing good and bad and meh doesn't quite jive with me.  It's convenient, and it's nice to have a date to revamp, revisit, and revise.  In fact, let's set a few, shall we?  March 24th.  Nov 5th.  Let's throw in Feb 15th too, it's really soon!  Let's use it though, because it's a common milestone and it resonates with people.

    As you may know, I happened upon this gorgeous manual for truly creating and manifesting the year of your dreams, driven by your Goddess self.  I've completely glommed onto the concept of the Goddess as the guiding light in life.  Through most of my own challenging 2011, one wild, scratching, biting, kicking, clawing, screaming, primal voice surfaced over and over, no matter how many times I tried to silence her.  I didn't see a way out of our situation anyway, so why honor the voice?  In the end, it was the voice of my inner woman, my Goddess, the force of creation, life, consciousness... the source of creation to which all those words, including God, point.  I can get on board with her.  She makes sense to me.  Which brings me to the Goddess Guide, which you can find here if you are interested in going the journey with me.

    I wanted so badly to dive into the now, the 2012 part, the leave all the rest behind, join the good riddance group.  Goddess Leonie has other plans for us, however.  She asks that we celebrate and release 2011.  How tedious.

    How liberating!  By posing some critical questions, Leonie helped me reframe the year into the gains, not the losses, and to be intentional about that which we would like to leave behind.  For me, I realized that the howling inner Goddess that landed me in the psych ward actually set all my limiting beliefs on fire, and that instead of being ashamed that I had to go there, I feel proud that I have a fierce fighting source inside of me.  I realized also that I want to leave the "story" behind... all the bitterness and blaming.  How can I bring it with me into this great future, which is unfolding this exact second?  All that seemed unfathomable is now true and glorious.  (Except maybe the school switch... we'll see how that plays out).

    The exercise of celebrating and releasing 2011 invigorated me, but I honored the heavy feeling that came over my hands at the end of the pages guiding me through that process.  I set aside the remaining 95 pages of the Goddess Guide, and will spend some time meditating and searing the lessons of 2011 onto my soul.

     Whether you join me via the guide, or via your own inner guide, share your thoughts about the gifts of the past year.

2012

Could it be that my last inspiration was in August 2011?  I don't think so... I feel inspired all year round.

Could it be more likely that my creative life takes the back burner to oh... everything else?  That I have no true intention, just a willy-nilly stolen moment kind of approach that obviously...isn't...working.

Look what I found!  I am so, so excited that someone has created this gorgeous to look at, inspiring, and powerful book (all 101 pages!) to help me set my intentions for 2012.  When I spent $9.95, I expected a little 20 page e-book - not so! This is an incredible manual and calendar for making 2012 the year your inner goddess takes over and guides your life.

  I will be committing to 15 minutes immediately after my child goes to bed to start the journey.  Will you join me?  We can share via this blog, which I had originally imagined as a place to collaborate about bringing meaning into our daily lives.

Check out this beautiful guide to a deep, intentful (is that a word?) 2012!   Goddess Guide Book