Stop Obsessing over To-do Lists & Start Focusing on Support Systems!

For those who are serious about creating change and building dreams in our lives this year, the month of June is important because it combines the powerful energies of both Spring and Summer which help you prepare for the fiery hustle of Summer (that will make or break your success for the year)!

🌱SPRING🌱 helps you tap into the energy of excitement and possibility so you can get inspired and determine exactly WHAT (aka. the big dreams and visions) you want to create over the year, and nudges you to start experimenting with HOW you might create it.

☀️SUMMER☀️ helps you tap into the fiery energy of focused, consistent action, and so you’re forced to decide exactly HOW you want to show up and strategically create your vision/changes this year (so you don’t burn-out or give up before creating them… which is what happens to many)!

And as June combines these Spring + Summer energies 🌱☀️, it’s time to…

✔️ REFLECT ON + INTEGRATE all of your experience and lessons from early Spring and the disruptive Eclipse season,

✔️and RECALIBRATE YOUR STRATEGIC “CONSCIOUS CREATION” PLAN to guide exactly HOW you plan to show up to consistently grow what you most want to manifest or change this year (this may have shifted from what you thought in January)!

And yet the ONE BIG MISTAKE I see so many people make that sabotages their ability to successfully create their dreams in the second half of the year is this…

👉They don’t integrate the feedback and lessons they’ve learned in the first half of the year to re-create a more strategic CONSCIOUS CREATION PLAN in June, before getting swept up in the fiery, action-oriented Summer energies.

👉And then they end up trying to non-strategically hustle their way to their goals and dreams, and burning-out way before they reach the finish line!

So what is a STRATEGIC CONSCIOUS CREATION PLAN?

First let’s talk about what a Strategic Conscious Creation plan IS NOT.

• ❌ it’s not a never-ending list of random goals, tasks, to-do’s, and ideas that just keep moving from one week to the next.

• ❌ it’s not a plan that triggers massive resistance, stress, overwhelm, or procrastination as you strive to take action each day and week.

• ❌ it’s not a plan that leaves you exhausted at the end of every day, so you never quite have enough time or energy left to create the bigger changes and dreams you excitedly put on your Vision Board!

❌MASSIVE & PERSISTENT RESISTANCE❌ is often a sign that you’re striving too hard and need to pause & PLAN A MORE STRATEGIC WAY (with more aligned actions) to build your dreams!

A Strategic Conscious Creation Plan IS a plan that:

• ✨ feels EASEFUL and allows you to show up and TAKE CONSISTENT ACTION in an ✓ALIGNED and ✓SUSTAINABLE way.

• ✨ allows you to feel GROUNDED, RESOURCED, and HAVE ENOUGH TIME + ENERGY to both maintain (and enjoy) your life, and build your dreams (without massive resistance or constant burn-out)!!

• ✨is comprised of EFFICIENT + SUPPORTIVE SYSTEMS that work together to conserve your time + energy (not random actions and to-do’s that waste time + energy).

A NON-STRATEGIC Conscious Creation Plan is ▷ inefficiently EXTRACTIVE😵, and it takes more time + energy than you have to give each day and week (which is why it leads to big resistance and burn-out)!

While a STRATEGIC Conscious Creation Plan is ▷ efficiently REGENERATIVE😎, and allows you the time, space, + resources you need to rest and replenish yourself each day and week.

A NON-STRATEGIC Plan ▷ has you working HARDER, not smarter🤕!

While a STRATEGIC Plan ▷ helps you work SMARTER, not harder🤓.

And finally, a STRATEGIC Conscious Creation Plan is ▷ built on STRONG FOUNDATIONS which allows it (and you) to adapt and endure through the natural ups, downs, and unexpected things in life.

While a NON-STRATEGIC plan ▷has little foundation or endurance (and falls apart easily!).

To successfully build your dreams this year you don’t need more goals or to-do’s. You need a strategic CONSCIOUS CREATION PLAN with more SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS & SUPPORT!

And so this June, I invite you to ask yourself…

❓❓Do I have a “Strategic Conscious Creation Plan” that will support me in taking sustainable, easeful, and joyful action to build my dreams through the rest of the year?

❓❓Or, do I have a non-strategic plan that constantly triggers massive resistance + overwhelm… and leaves me no time to both enjoy my life AND build my dreams, without chronic stress and burn-out?!

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Want to learn the 3 components of a “STRATEGIC CONSCIOUS CREATION PLAN” that will help you build your dreams and change your life, with more ease and success this Summer?

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article (coming next week)! Or JOIN THE NEWSLETTER here, and I’ll send it right to your inbox!

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The Sacred Art Of VISIONING (Visions vs. Goals)

As a woman devoted to consciously creating my dreams, living in alignment with my purpose, and evolving to my fullest potential in life, February is my absolute favorite month! Because every February, I spend most of the month VISIONING everything and anything my soul longs to create over the coming year!

While VISIONING is such a critical step in consciously creating (or manifesting) dreams and change in your life, it’s also a step that’s often either skipped entirely, rushed through, or done ineffectively.

And so today I want to clear up all your misconceptions about the sacred art of VISIONING, so you can use this powerful practice to create the dreams and changes you truly desire this year (with ease, joy, and flow…. not stress & overwhelm)!

SO, WHAT IS VISIONING?

Visioning is a powerful practice that helps you DEEPLY CONNECT WITH YOUR TRUE SOUL’S DESIRES, longings, and purpose, to help ensure you’re consciously creating them (and not someone else’s desires).

A strong vision will REIGNITE and FUEL YOUR MOTIVATION, EXCITEMENT, HOPE, & COURAGE to show up and take aligned actions toward your dreams and purpose (when it feels really hard, impossible, or hopeless).

It’s one of my core beliefs that if more of us were truly living life from our purpose and soul’s desires, over time we would naturally heal ourselves, our communities, and our planet. And Visioning helps us do just that!

VISIONING VS. GOAL-SETTING

“Visioning” is often confused with “goal-setting”. And while they’re related (and equally important skills for creating change), they are most definitely not interchangeable!

While the power of ✔️GOALS✔️ comes from them being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound… the power of 🔮VISIONS🔮 come from them being, well 🤔, pretty much the opposite.

In fact, one question I love to ask when helping people vision is this, 👉 “🔮If you had a magic wand, and time, money, or obligations weren’t a factor, what would you create in your life or the world??”

And while I rarely use the words “should” or “always”… I’m adamant that, Visioning should always come before goal-setting!

There’s a saying that a goal without a plan is just an unrealized wish. Well, wishes can’t harm people, but unaligned, and unrighteous goals can!

A goal without a righteous, soul-aligned VISION is at best, extra work. And at worst, the cause of harmful actions, products, or situations (for ourselves, others, or the planet)!

Most (all?) of the harmful actions, systems, products, movements, etc. in the world, were born from people who lacked a soul-aligned, righteous vision… and were really good at achieving their unrighteous goals! And the same goes for any harm you’ve caused yourself from wasting time, energy, money, or other precious resources on the pursuit of unaligned goals and plans.

And it’s for this reason that we each have a personal and collective responsibility to properly Vision what we want to consciously create in our lives this year, before creating goals or taking actions!

And so before you start planning, making goals, and diving into all the things you think you want to do, create, grow this year… please🙏 do yourself and the world a favor, and take some time to VISION and ensure those goals are rooted in the exciting and righteous desires of your soul (and not rooted in your fears, your wounds, or the toxic expectations of society).

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T TAKE TIME TO VISION?

Remember, Visioning is what gives you the CLARITY and WISDOM to create soul-aligned goals that help create positive impacts in your life and the world.

Visioning is also what gives you the MOTIVATION, EXCITEMENT, and COURAGE to show up in the face of doubt and adversity, and take the often difficult and uncomfortable actions (that create those big beautiful changes you crave in your life and the world)!

And so when you try to skip, rush, or improperly vision before goal-setting, 3 things tend to happen.

1. You waste a lot of time, money, and energy taking actions that build careers, relationships, or other situations that don’t make you happy (and move you further from your purpose and soul desires).

2. You stay stuck in unfulfilling jobs, relationships, or situations that don’t light you up because you have no idea anything else is possible; you feel hopeless to create change; or you can’t muster up enough motivation or courage to begin creating the change you crave.

3. You get excited about a new idea or change (and maybe even create a plan and some goals), but quickly fall back into the cycles of busyness, distraction, or drama, only to maintain the status quo in your life for yet another year.

SO, HOW DO YOU VISION EFFECTIVELY?

Well the art of Visioning is something best taught through guided practices vs. a blog post. Which is exactly why I created my ART OF VISIONING WORKSHOP SERIES! I host it live every February, and enrollment is currently open (as I write this blog post now)!

☞LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ‘ART OF VISIONING WORKSHOP SERIES’ HERE☜

But for now, here are 5 tips to point out some of the most important aspects of Visioning.

5 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE VISIONING

(1) Spend some time contemplating powerful “VISIONING” REFLECTION QUESTIONS that help you move beyond your mind and go deep to uncover the “righteous” soul-aligned Visions you truly desire (and not just settling for what your mind thinks you want).

You can start with the one I shared earlier👆 in this article! And if you’d like a workbook filled with powerful Visioning prompts, check out my “Art of Visioning” Experience here.

(2) Use visualization meditation to ENGAGE YOUR BODY, SENSES, and FEELINGS when you do your visioning (and not just your mind). This is why in “The Art of Visioning”, in addition to journaling questions, we also do guided meditation to help you activate your Visions in your body system (as well as your mind)!

(3) FOLLOW-UP YOUR VISIONS with an aligned plan, goals, action (and the support systems to safely take those actions), to ensure you can actually create your Visions.

Remember that Visioning is just one part of the conscious creation (or manifestation) process! I’ve developed a 5 step Conscious Creation System that helps you move from any soul-aligned Vision to the tangible creation of that Vision (and I share it in the “Art of Visioning” too).

(4) Create a visual reminder to RECONNECT TO YOUR VISIONS often! Especially when you lose motivation, inspiration, or hope; you get distracted; or you start to sink back into old patterns.

This is why Vision Boards can be so powerful! And why I create one every year (and why we create one together in the ‘Art of Visioning Workshop Series’)

(5) ALLOW YOUR VISIONS TO EVOLVE as you evolve! Don’t cling too tightly to your Visions. Remember they aren’t goals. They’re the exciting dreams and possibilities that are meant to inspire, motivate, and guide your goals and actions throughout the year!

And this is why I don’t just spend time Visioning at the beginning of the year, but do it often anytime I desire to start something new! I also share a monthly New Moon Visioning Ritual with members of my Moon Circle Community (to use the power of the New Moon to set new intentions each month).

5 Steps to Powerfully RELEASE Old Patterns & Blocks in your life this year

As we transition into a new year, I start to hear a lot about the importance and desire to “let go of what no longer serves you”.

And while I wholeheartedly agree that “Releasing Work” is necessary and powerful (so much so, that I spend much of my January immersed in it), I don’t see much shared about HOW to actually do deep Releasing Work, beyond simply repeating some basic affirmations like, “I release what no longer serves me, to make space for the new!”

Prayers and affirmations can be a potent part of the releasing process, but on their own they don’t do much (in my honest opinion).

And so in today’s blog, I’d like to share 5 steps that I use to do my own Releasing Work in January (or anytime I want to release a block or non-serving pattern). And since all the steps begin with the letter “R” (and because I love alliteration), let’s call them…

The 5 “R’s” of Releasing

Plus I share a ✨BONUS STEP✨below, to help Supercharge your Releasing work 😉

#1 RECOGNIZE the need for releasing work

The very first step to doing releasing work is to recognize WHEN it’s time to do releasing work. A few signs I notice when it’s time to do some releasing are:

• feeling really stuck somewhere (no matter how hard I try to get unstuck)

• Something that was once flowing smoothly, starts to feel overwhelmingly out of alignment, blocked, or like it’s no longer working (and may even be impacting other areas of my life)

• craving change or dreaming of something new, but feeling “weighed down by” or “shackled to” something (that won’t allow space for the new)

✨TRY THIS 👉ask yourself, “Am I experiencing any of the above symptoms in my life right now?”

#2 RESOURCE yourself

Once you recognize that there may be a block that needs to be released, it’s important to assess if you’re feeling RESOURCED ENOUGH to do some deeper releasing work, in that moment.

“Releasing Work” is not a passive, relaxing practice. It requires focus, intention, and energy, and so it’s important to make sure you’ve got the resources for it, before diving in.

Feelings of “stuckness” or resistance are often accompanied by difficult emotions. And, when difficult emotions are present and not skillfully processed, we can become dysregulated in our nervous system and disconnected from our body. And too long in that ungrounded and dysregulated state can lead to overwhelm and exhaustion.

And you never want to try to engage in releasing work when you feel dysregulated, ungrounded, overwhelmed, or exhausted (it won’t be effective and you’ll just drain yourself more!).

Instead, first make sure you’re adequately “resourced”. Meaning you:

• feel GROUNDED and “SAFE” in your body (not stuck in a fight-flight-freeze state)

• are CONNECTED to your inner wisdom & ability to make conscious choices (not stuck reacting unconsciously from fear or unprocessed emotions)

• feel relatively NOURISHED and RESTED (not overwhelmed, exhausted, or burnt-out)

✨YOU MIGHT TRY 👉resourcing yourself with mindfulness meditation🙏, getting outside to connect with nature🌳, breathwork🌬, a nap💤, a bath🛀, or even taking a break from healing work all together💃 to do something fun or rest deeply (without the need to “fix” or change anything for the moment)!

#3 REFLECT on what’s “RIPE” for releasing

And now, let the releasing work begin! Once you’ve recognized a need for releasing work, AND you’ve determined that you feel adequately resourced for the work… the next step is to clarify what feels RIPE (or ready) to be released.

This step is important! It’s the heart of releasing work (and sadly also the most overlooked part).

Just like fruit has a life cycle and stage of RIPENESS (when it’s ready to be consumed, digested, and expelled)… so do our “blocks” and “old patterns”.

You can’t release anything before it’s ripe and ready.

And things are most ripe to be released when 1️⃣you’re currently experiencing the negative impacts of it on your life (don’t try to release everything at once just because it sounds like something that should be released), 2️⃣after it’s served its purpose (aka. you’ve digested the wisdom and lessons from it). If you try to release something before that, it often just won’t work.

If When you work to release something and it lingers, it simply means you’ve either got deeper reflection work to do on the block, OR you simply need more time to release it (see #5 below). The important thing is… don’t beat yourself up.

Releasing is an art, and practice… not an exact science!

Also remember things you perceive as “blocks” or “old patterns” were likely created to serve you at some point in your life, when you didn’t know a better way. And part of the releasing process is also to HONOR the old, while slowly training your body to TRUST that the new way will also keep you safe (and serve you even better!)

✍️During this step I do a lot of deep REFLECTION and JOURNALING. And I consult with my favorite oracle system the I CHING䷊ (Tarot also works well!) to:

✔️UNDERSTAND the root causes + impacts of the blocks,

✔️CREATE A LIST a list of specific patterns, fears, behaviors, mindsets, relationships (or relationship dynamics), etc. that aren’t working or don’t feel aligned anymore.

✔️DIGEST and CELEBRATE the wisdom, lessons, and blessings from each one.

It’s important to take your time here. Get specific and get to the root of the block. If you’re too vague or superficial with what you want to release, it won’t be as effective.

‼️Simply saying, “I release procrastination” may not be as effective as taking the time to understand the deeper causes and effects of your procrastination habit. For instance, “I release perfectionism and my fear of being judged as not expert enough, that is causing me to get overwhelmed daily and procrastinate in reaching out to new potential clients.”

**NOTE: if you’re in any sort of toxic or unsafe situation, don’t worry about if there’s more to learn or if it’s ready to be released. You can absolutely physically “release” (remove yourself from) the situation, and then move through these steps to do more energetic releasing work once you’re safely away. (and in fact, you will often find that it is nearly impossible to do step #2 above until you’ve created a safe distance from the toxic situation anyway.)

#4 REPLACE the old with something new & aligned

Once you’ve got some clarity around what feels ripe to be released, it’s important to make sure you dream🔮 into what NEW THING you want to REPLACE the old one with + make sure it feels ALIGNED!

As you release something, an empty, fertile space is created. And if you have NO IDEA WHAT NEW THING (ie. mindset, behavior, system, relationship, situation, etc.) you’d like to replant in that space, you’ll often find the very thing you just worked so hard to energetically release, will re-sprout in your life once again.

Or if you CHOOSE SOMETHING TOO FAR OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, or too unfamiliar to your body or mind, it may not stick either (and you’ll revert back to the old).

Again, that’s why I say releasing work is an art and practice, not an exact science! It takes time, intuition, and experimentation to truly discover ❓What’s ripe to be released, AND what’s the new thing that feels aligned to take its place❓

✨TRY THIS 👉 VISUALIZE the new behavior, mindset, or pattern you’d like to embrace.

• SEE THE IMPACT it has on all parts of your life, the lives of your loved ones, and the world around you!

• FEEL THE IMPACT in your body as you embrace and become the new.

• ASK: Does it feel aligned (ie. exciting, expansive, easeful, and maybe a little scary too)? Or does it feel unaligned (ie.contracting, terrifying, dreadful, or make you want to run or hide)?

• ADJUST accordingly.

#5 REPEAT in REAL-TIME

And not only do you have visualize the new pattern you’d like to replace the old with, you must also replace the old belief, behavior, or other pattern, with the new one in REAL-TIME.

Think of it like this. Your OLD PATTERN is like a plant🌱 growing within you now. You’ve been watering it for years and each time you choose that old mindset or behavior, it’s like you’re nurturing it to grow even stronger. You must stop watering it!

The NEW PATTERN you want to grow is like a baby seed {,} planted within you now. It has the potential to grow strong, but you must water it consistently by consciously choosing it instead of the old pattern, as much as possible.

This is how you train your mind and body to release an old pattern and embrace a new one! Through real-time, conscious repetition!

BONUS STEP: RITUALIZE it

This step is OPTIONAL, but I wanted to mention it briefly because a huge part of my personal releasing practice involves “RELEASING RITUALS”. They’re something I picked up in my college days of dabbling in witchcraft and spell-casting, and I’ve found them to be incredibly powerful when combined with the above steps!

Rituals are powerful in 2 main ways.

☝️Rituals help with CONSISTENCY (which as I mentioned above is essential in releasing work), because they can easily be scheduled as part of your regular self-care practices.

When you learn to work with energetic cycles and seasons as I have, you discover that certain times are more powerful for releasing work. And so, I tend to schedule releasing rituals in during these times, simply as part of my regular self-care practice.

For example ANY ENDING is a powerful time for releasing work, which is why I schedule releasing rituals each year ✔️during the month of January (which marks the end of a year) + monthly ✔️during the Waning Moon Phase (which marks the end of a moon cycle).

✌️Rituals SUPERCHARGE YOUR RELEASING WORK by powerfully channelling your energy through a set of symbolic actions or words (or sacred objects) + performed with strong focus and devotion for a specific intention (in this case, to let go of certain non-serving patterns).

This is where releasing prayers or affirmations🙏, fire ceremonies🔥, cord cutting visualizations✂️, drumming or sound healing🎶, and other releasing practices that you may have heard of can come into play.

Or even simply letting your body release in whatever way it craves- crying, yelling, hitting a pillow, shaking, movement, cutting up a picture of a past relationship, etc.

REAL TALK ON RELEASING WORK:

• Releasing work often takes a good amount of TIME, CONSISTENCY, MINDFULNESS (of both mind and body), and radical SELF-COMPASSION.

• The more attached you are to the old pattern (or the more connected it is to old trauma)… the more effort and/or professional support the process may require.

• It’s common for releasing work to happen over MONTHS, YEARS, or even LIFETIMES (like in generational trauma healing work!).

• It’s normal for releasing work to feel really awkward, uncomfortable, unnatural, and to bring up a lot of grief or shame. It gets a bit easier with time and practice.

• If you’re not getting any shifts on your own, don’t beat yourself up! REACH OUT (another “R”, ha!) to a professional to help guide you.

And finally, here are some signs that your releasing efforts are working🙌:

• you’re more aware of when you’re choosing the old pattern.

• you remember to choose the new pattern more (even just 1% more!).

• the new pattern begins to feel slightly less uncomfortable (and eventually more effortless).

• as you embrace the new pattern more, you start to experience the bigger changes you desire in your life!

Whoo! I didn’t plan to write this much, but this is a topic very dear to my heart and often misunderstood or watered down in the online space!

If you want more support around doing your own RELEASING WORK this month 👉 then I invite you to join the waitlist for a new Workshop Series I’m hosting soon! I’ll be walking you through a RELEASING RITUAL as part of the series!

Join the Waitlist

"ART OF CONSCIOUS CREATION: VISION BOARD WORKSHOP SERIES"

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February is the New January (Here's Why!)

Years ago I made the life-changing decision to begin my new year in February, instead of on January 1st (like everyone else around me), and I’ve never looked back! As others began posting about their ambitious New Year’s resolutions and sharing sweaty gym selfies the first weeks of January, I was still curled up on my couch relaxing in the stillness of Winter a bit longer.

And as the weeks of January went on and people started quickly ramping up their efforts to set and take action towards big New Year goals and resolutions, I focused my slow growing energy in a very different way (more on that below).

But rather than just telling you it’s better to start your New Year in February vs. January (and expecting you to take my word for it), let me share 3 reasons WHY I made that choice, so you can decide for yourself what to focus on in January.

3 REASONS WHY I START MY NEW YEAR IN FEBRUARY (and not January!)

REASON #1: Not every culture celebrates a New Year on January 1st

Do you know what January 1st, February 1st, and April 1st all have in common?

If you guessed that they’re all dates different cultures are celebrating their 2022 New Year, then you’d be correct!! Not to mention different cultures and people have their own unique rituals to honor a New Year.

🗓January 1st is the New Year here in the US (and many parts of the world).

🗓February 1st is the Chinese New Year.

🗓And, April 1st is the Hindu New Year.

(*note that the Chinese and Hindu New Year dates vary from year to year because they’re based on a lunar calendar, while ours here in the US is based on a solar calendar).

I hope you’re starting to see as I did, that there isn’t one “right” day or “right” way to begin your New Year,

You can choose when and what feels “right” for you, rather than forcing yourself to abide by some arbitrary date and rituals that society has dictated for you (especially if you live in a culture like ours that has developed customs more aligned with capitalistic values than the rhythms of the natural world around and within us).

REASON #2: When it comes to masterful creation & transformation, Mother Earth does it best

Once I realized that there wasn’t one “right” day or way to start the New Year and I gave myself permission to find my own flow and rituals, I came to discover that my own inner rhythms closely mirrored the growth cycles of natural world around me.

Which makes complete sense because Mother Nature is the first masterful “conscious creator” that we witness (and continue to witness year after year) in our lives!

And since January is still a dark, cold, and Wintery time around me (and Mother Nature is still in a state of rest, self-nourishment, and death/releasing… NOT new growth yet), setting ambitious New Year’s resolutions and diving into immediate action on big goals for the year just didn’t feel aligned for me.

And so instead I created new rituals, and January became my month to mirror Mother Nature and:

✔️fully REST & RECHARGE myself after a long and active year of growth.

✔️more actively focus on RELEASING RITUALS to energetically cut cords with old patterns, relationships, and other baggage that I didn’t want to carry into the new year (to make space for the new!).

✔️DREAM about the new desires and changes I wanted to consciously create in the new year, as I release the old (*note that ‘dreaming’ is a much more passive and relaxed process than the more active ‘goal setting’, which comes later).

Reading fantasy novels is one of my favorite ways to recharge!

And once I felt more fully recharged + energetically freed from the baggage of old patterns, February and March became my months to begin the more active work of Visioning, Planning, and Initiating my new, big goals for the New Year!

REASON #3: The aggressive January 1st “New Year, New Me” mentality didn’t actually seem to facilitate sustainable changes

I tried the ambitious New Year’s resolution strategy for many years (before adopting my new approach), and it never worked to help me create sustainable changes. Plus it always left me feeling frustrated, exhausted, and overwhelmed before the first quarter of the year even ended!

And others didn’t seem to be doing any better with there own dramatic goals and resolutions in January either. When I looked around, I noticed two main ways in which people were getting stuck (or some combo of the two). Let’s call them “Group A” and “Group B”.

“GROUP A” entered January psyched about the New Year, their resolutions, and what their life would look like when they created all the changes they craved! They ✔️set big goals, ✔️dove into action, and ✔️felt good! But after weeks or months of hard work, they started to find themselves in the same exact old relationships, situations, and patterns they swore they left behind in the previous year! Defeated, burnt-out, and stuck, they had no idea what went wrong.

Meanwhile, “GROUP B” entered January still exhausted from the previous year. But they ✔️believed the overly ambitious “January 1st, New Year resolution” hype and ✔️tried to keep up with it. And so instead of giving themselves permission to rest and recharge fully, they set big goals, couldn’t keep up, and felt like a failure before February even started (and also, had no idea why)!

Fun fact 👉 There’s even been a day named for these folks! The second Friday in January has been coined “National Quitters Day”, by a social network for athletes called Strava (after its research discovered that it was the the day most people gave up on their new year’s resolutions!).

And it’s because of those 3 reasons above that I truly believe,

If you listen to your own inner rhythms and follow the seasons of Mother Nature, instead of forcing yourself to go from 0-100 in January, you will have much greater long-term change & soul-aligned success (instead of burning-out or “failing” the first weeks or months of the year)!

And so as we shift into January, I challenge you to take a moment and contemplate:

❓When and how do I start my new year?

❓Why have I adopted the date, mindsets, and rituals?

❓Does how I begin my new year truly support my peace, flow, and long-term change + manifestation efforts?

Looking for a new way to begin your year, that’s more aligned with the wisdom and rhythm of Mother Earth (& allows you to consciously create the changes you desire this year with greater peace, joy, and flow)?

Then I invite you to join the waitlist below, for my “Art of Conscious Creation: Vision Boarding Workshop Series” that happens in February!

3 Steps to Get DEEP REST (even if you’ve forgotten how or don’t have time)

In this week between Christmas and the January 1st New Year holiday, more people than ever begin to realize that they crave DEEP REST. And even though on a primal level we all know rest is a very natural and necessary human need, we still constantly struggle to recharge and nourish ourselves enough to truly thrive.

Meanwhile, plants and animals who haven’t forgotten the wisdom and rhythms of Mother Nature (like we have), have now surrendered to the dark, stillness of Winter, to receive the deep rest and nourishment that they need for their next big growth cycle, beginning in Spring.

Today I’m sharing 3 steps that will help you finally get the deep rest and nourishment that you crave, during this Winter pause or anytime you need it.

3 STEPS TO GET DEEP REST (even if you’ve forgotten how or don’t have time)

(1) REMEMBER the importance and power of deep rest

The first step to getting deep rest, is to remember why it’s so damn important to make time and space to consistently rest, nourish, and recharge yourself deeply (because society is constantly trying to convince you that rest is a luxury, not a necessity).

Imagine what a cellphone at 100% charge feels like. And now imagine one that’s at 1%? Too many people are trying to live life with a 1% charge, constantly stealing those few minutes here and there just trying to recharge enough to not collapse. (can you start to feel a difference in your body just imagining what that feels like? I can!)

Try asking yourself:

• When was a time I felt deeply rested, nourished, and recharged? What did that feel like?

• How did I show up differently for myself, my relationships, my work, etc. when I felt deeply rested and nourished? (How do show up when I’m exhausted, burnt-out, and overwhelmed?)

• What would become possible (or change) in my life if I had a magic charger I could plug myself into to feel deeply rested, nourished, and recharged each day?

Once you reflect on those questions, you should start to have a better idea of why neglecting consistent deep rest and self-nourishment is so detrimental, and why it’s so important for you to heal your relationship with deep rest this Winter!

(2) UNLEARN the lies of capitalism and patriarchy

Have you ever wondered why it is that deep rest is so hard for us humans, even though it’s such a natural and necessary act (and even though plants and animals in nature seem to do it so effortlessly)?

It’s because as humans, we are living within the confines of oppressive systems (like capitalism and patriarchy) that have subconsciously programmed us with false beliefs and behaviors, that block us from prioritizing the deep rest we crave and need to thrive!

CAPITALISM has brainwashed you to believe things like:

• “It’s only your ability to be productive, work, produce tangible results, and make progress towards goals that makes you valuable and thus deserving of rest (but not too much rest… just enough to not burn-out, get injured, and become unproductive)”.

• “Rest (simply because you want it) without illness, burn out, or some terrible tragedy, is an act of weakness and laziness. And if you rest too much or for too long (without a damn good reason), then you must also be weak, lazy, and thus undeserving of abundance, success, and respect.”

Oh and let’s not forget about the lies that PATRIARCHY has fed you:

• “Individualism, self-reliance, and being ‘self-made’ is the ultimate sign of strength and success.”

• “And if you rely on community and others to help you, it’s just another sign that you’re weak, lazy, and a burden.”

Please know that these stories👆 are complete bullshit! And they create an extremely toxic culture that leaves most of us little time to rest, recharge, and nourish ourselves, as we work tirelessly to produce enough money for ourselves and families to survive (without expecting any support from friends, community, or our government).

And if you truly want to consistently get the deep rest you need (without feeling guilt and shame), you must begin to unlearn those toxic stories of capitalism, patriarchy, and any others that have been fed to you by family, teachers, bosses, or society.

(3) RELEARN the art of deep rest

Now that you know why it’s so important to regularly and deeply recharge yourself and what’s at stake if you don’t (step 1 above)… and you’re starting to see what’s blocking you from actually getting the deep nourishment you crave and need (step 2 above)… it’s time to re-teach yourself how to fully receive the deep rest that you need to truly thrive in your life this year!

Start by taking all of those toxic stories blocking you from receiving deep rest that you uncovered above, and reframe them into healthier beliefs and behaviors that support a consistent habit of deep rest and self-nourishment.

For example the toxic belief that,

“I only deserve rest after I’ve been very productive and gotten a lot done!”

Can be reframed into something healthier like,

“I deserve rest ANY TIME my body or mind wants it, no matter how productive I was or wasn’t today. Because when I am deeply nourished I can truly show up as my best self and experience more joy, love, and soul-aligned success.”

It’s also important to know HOW to actually receive deep rest and nourishment, so once you start using some of the mental reframes above you can follow them up with regular rest and self-nourishment rituals.

I see too many people that want to feel deeply rested and nourished, end up instead exerting more energy TRYING TO REST than ACTUALLY RESTING and recharging themselves. (sort of like plugging your dead cellphone in to charge for a few hours, only to return and find that, for some reason, it hasn’t charged at all!)

MAKE A LIST of all the things that truly nourish and recharge you. (my guess is it’s not collapsing on the couch exhausted, scrolling Instagram… even though that might resemble “rest”).

What are some things you can do to truly “fill up your cup”? And then give yourself permission to practice them this week, this Winter, and any time you crave deep body, mind, and soul rest!

I know that trying to maintain enough resources to keep food on the table, a roof over your head, maintain your physical health, care for your family, AND have enough time for deep rest and self-nourishment can feel like a daily battle in our current society!

And yet, I also invite you to work with the steps and questions above, and see what becomes possible when you bring a bit more awareness and effort into your “deep rest rituals” this Winter (and into the new year)!

If you loved this article and want weekly-ish tips, resources, and energetic alignment readings to support you in living a more soul-aligned life, sign up for my email community below.

Reawakening Your Feminine Powers: Part 3 {DESTRUCTION}

As we move farther into the dark half of the year (Autumn and Winter), this is the perfect time to contemplate the balance between your own inner "dark" (Divine Feminine) energies and inner "light" (Divine Masculine) energies.

The Divine Feminine (aka. yin) and Divine Masculine (aka. yang) are the two most elemental powers that course through our bodies and move us through our lives each and every day.

And in my years of studying Chinese Medicine, I learned that flow & health can only exist when the two energies of yin and yang are in a state of RELATIVE BALANCE.

And when they drift too far out of balance, stagnation and dis-ease ALWAYS result.

**HERE’S 👆A CHART I CREATED TO HELP YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT YANG VS YIN ENERGIES FEEL AND LOOK LIKE IN YOUR LIFE (THIS IS BY NO MEANS AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST).

Because we live in a excessively yang (and patriarchal) culture, we’ve been taught that it’s better to rely solely on our masculine powers to move through life each day (and neglect our feminine powers). This creates massive disharmony, with very real and often debilitating consequences for us (mentally, spiritually, and physically)… as well as causing harm to the collective and planet.

And so my intention over the next few weeks, with this “REAWAKENING YOUR FEMININE POWERS” blog series, is to help you:

• see how your over-reliance on your masculine powers is actually causing harm.

• and, reconnect with your feminine powers so you can create a healthier yin-yang balance, to experience greater peace, flow, and soul-aligned success in your life (without overwhelm, burn-out, or sacrificing happiness)!

In Part 1 here, we talked about your Feminine power of SLOWNESS. {click here to read it}. And in Part 2, we talked about your Feminine Power of GOING DEEP {click here to read it}.

And today, we’ll delve into what is arguably your greatest Feminine Power of all… your power of “DESTRUCTION”!

PART 3: Reawakening your Feminine Power of “DESTRUCTION”

We all love our Masculine (or yang) power of “ORDER”. “ORDER” is when all the pieces seem to fit neatly together. There’s a sense of clarity, certainty, and knowing. And with that sense of “ORDER”, we can construct and build things up. Or, we can maintain things as they are (situations, systems, relationships etc.) as they are. We like “ORDER” because it feels relatively safe and stable compared to it’s Feminine counterpart of “CHAOS”.

And as much as we’ve been conditioned to fear and avoid it at all costs, our Feminine Power of “CHAOS” & “DESTRUCTION” is one of our greatest superpowers!

“CHAOS” is when something (a relationship, a career, a system, an area of life, a plan, etc.) seems to be breaking down or falling apart. And this breakdown is accompanied by a sense of confusion and uncertainty. But with this sense of “CHAOS”, comes the powerful ability to “DESTROY” those systems, relationships, situations, etc. that are no longer healthy and working.

Without the Feminine power of “CHAOS” and “DESTRUCTION”, nothing old would die, and nothing new could be created. Without destruction, we couldn’t experience change or transformation in our lives!

In the words of Pablo Picasso, “All of creation is first an act of destruction.”

Here are some signs that you may be addicted to your Masculine power of “order” and disconnected from your Feminine power of “chaos” and destruction”:

• perfectionism

• a fear of being vulnerable (or looking emotionally ‘weak’ or unstable)

• constantly trying to fix situations that are toxic or beyond repair (vs. letting them fall apart and trusting something better will arise in their place)

• a desperate need for answers, clarity, and certainty (vs. being able to embrace a time of mystery, uncertainty and questioning… trusting that clarity and answers will arrive in their own time)

☯HERE ARE 3 TIPS TO EMBRACE YOUR FEMININE POWER OF DESTRUCTION FOR MASSIVE HEALING & TRANSFORMATION ☯

#1 Practice your MEDITATION TOOLS

While destruction and breakdown are powerful and necessary precursors to healing and change, they can feel scary and threatening to your nervous system. And so to let go of what you know and embrace the chaos, you’ve got to be able to regulate and navigate the challenging waves of emotions that come along with that fear and uncertainty.

And MEDITATION helps you ride the waves of the emotional storm that comes when things are in a state of breaking down, so you can get to the other side of breakthrough and transformation (with more self-trust, peace, and grace)!

But not just any type of meditation. I’ve found 4 specific meditation practices that, when used together, powerfully help you stay grounded, connect to your inner wisdom, and transmute a chaos and breakdown, into clarity and breakthrough!

**If you want to learn more about these 4 practices, you can join my free meditation challenge here! (I’m hosting it live from Nov 1-4th!)

#2 Gather your SUPPORT COMMUNITY

No one should have to suffer in silence, when you’re going through a difficult time. So while you strengthen your meditation tools, you also want to make sure you have people who can help support you through these breakdown periods. These are friends, family, and trained professionals who know how to hold safe, non-judgmental space for you when you’re struggling.

Some tips for gathering you’re support community:

1. Make sure you ask a person if they have the mental and emotional capacity to hold space for you, before you emotionally dump on them.

2. Make sure you’re actively nurturing these same relationships all year long! Not just reaching out when you need something.

3. And make sure you’re willing to return the favor, by holding space for them when they too go through a tough time (as long as you feel mentally and emotionally able to do so at that time).

#3 REST

Navigating times of breakdown take a lot of mental, emotional, and physical energy! So be willing to give yourself plenty of time for rest and self-care when something big in your life is in a state of “destruction”. This may mean asking for more help and/or delaying projects, until you feel better able to manage it all again.

✍️Take a moment to pause, and reflect on if anything in your life feels like it’s in a state of breakdown, chaos, or confusion. Are you allowing the breakdown or resisting it? Do you have the meditation tools & support to powerfully navigate the breakdown?

Want to join me for a free 4 DAY MEDITATION JOURNEY to help you unlock the vast Feminine WISDOM & POWER, that lies deep within you + holds the key to creating greater soul-aligned success in any area of life you choose?! 👇

Reawakening Your Feminine Powers: Part 2 {GOING DEEP}

As we move farther into the dark half of the year (Autumn and Winter), this is the perfect time to contemplate the balance between your own inner "dark" (Divine Feminine) energies and inner "light" (Divine Masculine) energies.

The Divine Feminine (aka. yin) and Divine Masculine (aka. yang) are the two most elemental powers that course through our bodies and move us through our lives each and every day.

And in my years of studying Chinese Medicine, I learned that flow & health can only exist when the two energies of yin and yang are in a state of RELATIVE BALANCE.

And when they drift too far out of balance, stagnation and dis-ease ALWAYS result.

**HERE’S 👆A CHART I CREATED TO HELP YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT YANG VS YIN ENERGIES FEEL AND LOOK LIKE IN YOUR LIFE (THIS IS BY NO MEANS AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST).

Because we live in a excessively yang (and patriarchal) culture, we’ve been taught that it’s better to rely solely on our masculine powers to move through life each day (and neglect our feminine powers). This creates massive disharmony, with very real and often debilitating consequences for us (mentally, spiritually, and physically)… as well as causing harm to the collective and planet.

And so my intention over the next few weeks, with this “REAWAKENING YOUR FEMININE POWERS” blog series, is to help you:

• see how your over-reliance on your masculine powers is actually causing harm.

• and, reconnect with your feminine powers so you can create a healthier yin-yang balance, to experience greater peace, flow, and soul-aligned success in your life (without overwhelm, burn-out, or sacrificing happiness)!

Last week I wrote about your Feminine power of SLOWNESS. {click here to read it}.

And today, we’ll delve into your feminine power of “GOING DEEP”….

PART 2: Reawakening your Feminine Power of “GOING DEEP”

Because of our culture’s addiction to “fast results” (as I wrote all about in last weeks post), we grossly over-prioritize the quicker, MASCULINE QUALITY of “SUPERFICIAL & SURFACE-LEVEL” ways of moving through life…. while disregarding our incredibly important 👉FEMININE POWER of “DELVING DEEP” in life!

☯HERE ARE 3 WAYS EMBRACING YOUR FEMININE POWER OF “GOING DEEP” WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! ☯

#1 You’ll DEEPLY UNDERSTAND YOURSELF, your GIFTS, & your PURPOSE

When you’re stuck in the Masculine energy of “surface-level” living, you move through life with a lot of superficial assumptions (or ignorance) about ‘who you truly are’, ‘what you love’, ‘what you’re good at’, and ‘what you’re meant to do with your life’.

BUT, if you embrace the Feminine power of “GOING DEEP” (and allow yourself the time and space for regular, deep self-reflection and introspection), you’ll start to notice that much of what you thought you knew about yourself just isn’t true!

Once you understand that many of your so-called dreams and gifts aren’t coming from deep within your soul, but superficially from your mind (implanted by family or society long ago), you start to search deeply for who you truly are. And slowly, you start discovering your true self, your gifts, and your purpose!

#2 You’ll go beyond surface-level learning and INTEGRATE EXPERIENCE INTO DEEP WISDOM & MASTERY

When you live primarily in your Masculine energy of “superficial learning”, you tend to chronically collect and CONSUME INFORMATION. Addicted to intellectual learning, you take course after course, or read book after book, attempting to prove your mental smarts (only to forget what you consumed OR constantly feel like a ‘jack of all trades’ & master of none).

BUT, when you embrace your Feminine power to “GO DEEP”, you give yourself time to INTEGRATE and IMPLEMENT the mental knowledge you collect. And thus your intellectual knowledge mixes with real-life experience, and becomes DEEP EMBODIED WISDOM!

Most of us don’t need more information, but need A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING of the information we’ve collected. So rather than looking to accumulate and memorize more and more surface information, slow down and deepen your understanding of the what you’ve already gathered (through integration, implementation, experience, and embodiment).

And you’ll discover that instead of feeling like a jack-of-all trades (lacking in adeptness and expertise) you’ll start feeling more and more like an empowered master of the things you’re passionate about! And, you’ll start to see how your experiences deeply connect with your gifts and purpose in this life (so you can live with more purpose & soul-aligned success)!

#3 You’ll gain deep INSIGHT INTO THE ROOT CAUSES OF YOUR SUFFERING (and deeply heal them)

When you’re stuck in the Masculine “surface-level” living, you have a tendency to focus solely on managing the superficial symptoms of disharmony that arise in any area of your life (health, work, relationships, etc.).

You start to feel like you’re constantly putting out the same metaphorical ‘fires’ (or putting ‘band-aids’ over the same symptoms), over and over again, without any deep, systemic, long-term change (sort of like Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day”!).

But when you embrace your Feminine power to “GO DEEP” (with introspection and reflection), you start to recognize symptoms as simply the tip of the iceberg of disharmony. And, you start to UNCOVER THE DEEPER WOUNDS, belief patterns, and behavior habits that need to be tended to for TRUE & DEEP HEALING to occur!

And when you do that, you stop having to deal with the chronic stressful symptoms of disharmony because you’ve healed them at the root. And not only does this lead to lasting transformation (in work, health, love etc.), you also stop passing those same deep wounds on to your children and other loved ones (and model how to create true, deep healing for them)!

And now, I’ll leave you with a quote from my favorite wisdom book, “The I Ching”, which beautifully embodies this feminine power of “going deep”.

“Cleverness and learning have their place. But ultimately the presence of deep insight [and understanding] rise above all else. It is only when we reach the deepest meaning… that we can properly render a judgement [and use it to create healing and change at the deepest level].”¹

✍️If you’ve read this far (and crave any of the above benefits), take a moment to integrate the information you just consumed by reflecting on where you can bring more of this feminine power of “GOING DEEP” into your own life right now.

✨And stay tuned for the final PART 3 of the “REAWAKENING YOUR FEMININE POWERS” series…Your Ultimate Feminine Superpower!!… coming soon. (and while you wait, you can catch up with PART 1 here)✨

Want to get each part of the series delivered right to your inbox when it’s ready? Sign up for my newsletter below👇!

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footnotes:

¹ Deng Ming-Dao, The Living I Ching: Using Ancient Chinese Wisdom to Shape Your Life

Reawakening Your Feminine Powers: Part 1 {SLOWING DOWN}

As we move farther into the dark half of the year (Autumn and Winter), this is the perfect time to contemplate the balance between your own inner "dark" (Divine Feminine) energies and inner "light" (Divine Masculine) energies.

The Divine Feminine (aka. yin) and Divine Masculine (aka. yang) are the two most elemental powers that course through our bodies and move us through our lives each and every day.

And in my years of studying Chinese Medicine, I learned that flow & health can only exist when the two energies of yin and yang are in a state of RELATIVE BALANCE.

And when they drift too far out of balance, stagnation and dis-ease ALWAYS result.

**here’s 👆a chart I created to help you better understand what Yang vs Yin energies feel and look like in your life (this is by no means an exhaustive list).

Because we live in a excessively yang (and patriarchal) culture, we’ve been taught that it’s better to rely solely on our masculine powers to move through life each day (and neglect our feminine powers). This creates massive disharmony, with very real and often debilitating consequences for us (mentally, spiritually, and physically)… as well as causing harm to the collective and planet.

And so my intention over the next few weeks, with this “REAWAKENING YOUR FEMININE POWERS” blog series, is to help you:

• see how your over-reliance on your masculine powers is actually causing harm.

• and, reconnect with your feminine powers so you can create a healthier yin-yang balance, to experience greater peace, flow, and soul-aligned success in your life (without overwhelm, burn-out, or sacrificing happiness)!

Today, we’ll begin by talking about your feminine power of SLOWNESS….

PART 1: Reawakening your Feminine Power of SLOWNESS

One of the most important feminine powers that we neglect is our power of SLOWNESS. Society doesn’t value “slowness”, and has convinced us that the opposing masculine power of SPEED (or “fastness”) is better.

“Faster is always better”, right?!

WRONG. The yang power of “fastness” definitely has its place. In fact it works really well for emergency situations where your physical safety may be in danger. Take too long to make a decision or take action, and you could be harmed! And so in this case, the power of speed is very important in potential survival situations.

The problem is, because we place so much value on doing things quickly, we never stop to ask ourselves if sometimes slower might be better.

Here are some signs that you may be placing too much value on the masculine (yang) power of “fastness”:

• a constant sense of URGENCY (ie. feeling guilt if you don’t respond to non-emergency texts/emails immediately, or expecting others to respond to you right away; placing unrealistic deadlines on projects or decisions, and then feeling stressed/rushed; having a never ending to-do list, because everything feels like an urgent priority; etc.)

• a constant sense of SCARCITY (ie. never feeling like you have enough time; always feeling behind or ashamed that you’re not farther along in life; feeling bad that you don’t have enough of something in your life, even when you do; etc.)

• constantly SACRIFICING PLEASURE for speed (ie. feeling like you have too much to do to slow down and enjoy life; or, when you do make time for fun/pleasure you’re too tired or distracted to enjoy it; etc.)

If you resonate with any of the yang-excess symptoms above👆, then one powerful antidote is to ☯REAWAKEN YOUR FEMININE POWER OF “SLOWNESS”¹.☯

This reawakening starts first by you entertaining the possibility that since, on some level, we are all culturally brainwashed to think “faster is better”, then there’s a good chance that you’ve greatly neglected your own sacred power of “slowness” over the years. Right??

And, if you resonate with any of those signs of imbalance above, doesn’t it also stand to reason that starting to experiment with using your “slow power” could be one simple way to create more balance and greater peace, flow, and healing in your life?

Do not underestimate the simple power of “slowness”!

Here are 3 tangible and life-changing ways you benefit from tapping into your feminine power of slowness!

#1 YOU FEEL MORE JOY, PLEASURE, & CONNECTION to loved ones

So many people I speak to feel like they are constantly rushing and striving, and not slowing down enough to actually s a v o r their “fun” time, or truly c-o-n-n-e-c-t with their loved ones when they’re with them.

In other words, you’re running through life, trying to get to some imaginary finish line before giving yourself permission to s l o w d o w n and experience the pleasure and joy along the way! One major lesson that came from the last year is that life is unpredictable and fragile. And so if you’re not actually making a point to truly enjoy moments in life, then what’s the point of all the hustle anyway?

Also, when your yin power of “slowness” is activated (and the hustle and busyness is turned off), you enhance your creativity, passion, inspiration, and intuition… all qualities that directly impact your ability to create more soul-aligned success, faster!.

#2 YOU CREATE LASTING & SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

When you’re addicted to “fastness”, you’re attracted to quick fixes and promises of overnight success. And while these “fast solutions” may get you results, the results are superficial and short-lived.

This can look like the “yo-yo success” where you seem to create success, it feels incredibly hard and exhausting to maintain, and so you don’t sustain the results (over and over again). Or, it can look like success that is wrapped in massive unworthiness and shame, also making it unsustainable and short-lived.

When you instead give yourself permission to embrace the feminine power of slowness, you stop looking for the “too good to be true” snake-oil, quick-fixes, and you stop idolizing people who tout overnight success.

And, you start seeking more sustainable, long term healing paths (and the experts who are honest about how long it actually took to create their big changes/ successes).

Plus, you work to build a healthy ecosystem (by addressing your beliefs, mindsets, emotions, behavioral habits, and support community) that can sustain, lasting and joyful success!

#3 YOU MAKE MORE CONFIDENT & ALIGNED DECISIONS

When we’re stuck in that “faster is better” mindset (or worse, when we allow someone else to rush us), we don’t honor the time and space we need to make an aligned choice.

Rushed decisions so very often lead to regret. Regret that could have been avoided had you just slowed down and taken the time you you needed to analyze your options and connect to your intuition, until you felt confident about your decision.

The truth is, we each have our own process for making decisions, and the amount of time we need for an empowered decision varies. As an HSP (highly sensitive person), I’ve found that I often need more time than others to make a confident decision (and so I’ve found my own “confident decision-making process” and have learned to advocate for the time and space I need).

Taking a little longer to make an empowered decision, will almost always save you time, energy, money, and stress in the long run!

And now, I’ll leave you with a quote from my favorite wisdom book, “The I Ching”, which beautifully summarizes this feminine power of “slowness”.

“Work that has taken place gradually is not easily undone. Whenever we find ourselves impatient that advancement seems slow, we should take comfort in this fact. We must persevere and build our momentum slowly. Then when we are ready, we can show ourselves in our fullness. Others will be awed because we have built ourselves carefully. Anyone can begin the work, but few can last to someday rise up grand and unopposed.”²

✍️If you’ve read this far (and crave any of the above benefits), take a moment to integrate the information you just consumed by reflecting on where you can bring more of this feminine power of “slowness” into your own life right now.

✨Here are a few ideas for inspiration:

1. let yourself spend time indulging in something you love, even if it doesn’t relate to your goals (hobbies are so underrated!).

2. drink your morning cup of tea or coffee s l o w l y, savoring the taste, smell, and warmth as is flows from your mouth to your stomach.

3. recognize when you feel rushed or pressured to make a decision, and ask for the time and space you need (or if you’re not sure what you need, start to discover your own empowered decision-making process!).

4. think of one area in your life where you’re rushing growth and success, and beating yourself up for not being farther along (or somewhere you get “yo-yo success”). **Remember, anyone who created “too good to be true” success is likely either bending the truth, or didn’t do it sustainably. ❓Ask yourself, “how would things look or feel differently if I took the timeline for success away, and allowed myself to fall into a slow, and steady growth process? ❓What would I be doing differently now?”

✨Stay tuned for PART 2 of the “REAWAKENING YOUR FEMININE POWERS” series, coming soon!✨

Want to get each part of the series delivered right to your inbox when it’s ready? Sign up for my newsletter below👇!

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footnotes:

¹It’s important to acknowledge that the systems built out of an excessively yang (patriarchal) culture, make it challenging for many people to truly embrace the level of “slowing down” that your body, mind, and soul need. And, your level of privilege will impact how much you can “slow down” without it negatively impacted your livelihood. So while it is super important to reawaken our inner feminine power of “slowness”, the ultimate goal must be to work to dismantle these systems of oppression, until we can all embrace a healthy balance of “slowing down” without sacrificing our livelihoods.

3 Questions to Ask yourself this August to Ensure you Manifest that Big Vision Board Dream This Year!

Harvest Season has officially arrived! And an argument could be made that, in terms of “Manifestation”, the next three months are the most critical of the year!

Here’s why…

Between August and November many Pagans celebrate three harvest festivals, which mark a time when the seeds planted in Spring are reaching full fruition and ready to be harvested for food. The first of these festivals called Lughnasadh, is celebrated on August 1st primarily as a grain festival (and is sometimes called the “Sabbat of First Fruits”).¹ (if you’re curious, the other two harvest festivals are Mabon on September 22nd and Samhain on October 31st).

To make sure that you too have a successful harvest and bring your yearly “idea seeds” to full, tangible fruition (rather than leaving them in the world of your dreams and “new year resolutions”), you can look to Mother Earth’s growth cycle for manifestation wisdom.

Harvest Season reminds you that if you set annual intentions and resolutions for change at the beginning of the year, between August and November you should be seeing some real, tangible signs that your desire is indeed manifesting.

And if you don’t start to see some form of physical change or manifestation in your life during Harvest Season, you’ve got to get really honest with yourself and figure how you’re blocking your seeds of desire from growing to full fruition.

Normally during Harvest Season, Summer’s fiery, yang energy will fuel you to take more consistent and persistent action to physically create your greatest desire (or desired change) for the year! And between August and November you’ll experience the impacts of change and manifestation in your life, little by little.

But manifestation doesn’t always happen, if you don’t know how (or aren’t equipped) to do the intense Summer manifestation work.

Over the years I’ve noticed 3 main ways manifestation during Harvest Season can unfold for people (#3 is what we’re aiming for!):

1. You get stuck in fear, doubt, resistance, boredom, or the busyness of Summer and can’t seem to focus and show up to take consistent, persistent action towards creating your greatest desire for the year! The next thing you know, it’s December and you’re feeling guilty that the biggest dream on your vision board never quite came to life this year.

2. You use all your will-power and energy to painstakingly manifest your desire (or create the change you wanted). But afterwards you feel burnt out and discover that the change you created doesn’t last, because it wasn’t rooted in sustainable mental and behavioral habit change! (ie. you work really hard to lose 30 pounds only to gain it back shortly after; you manifest a great partner, only to sabotage the relationship months later; etc.).

3. Summer’s fire energy fuels you to take more consistent and persistent action, you laser focus that action, and you tangibly MANIFEST and MAINTAIN your greatest desire (or desired change) for the year! (**and you work to maintain the change in the following months and years, by solidifying your new, aligned mental and behavioral patterns).

As a sensitive, introvert, and empath (prone to anxiety), I tend to live in the world of my mind, imagination, and dreams. I’m highly creative and great at visioning the changes and creative projects I want to birth in my life and the world! And yet I’ve often struggled committing to one thing AND focusing my energy to take consistent, persistent action towards tangibly manifesting that one thing, during the second half of the year.

And so, for years I mostly tended towards manifestation scenario #1 above (with scenario #2 showing up when I got frustrated enough to force myself into action!). And many of my community members and clients find themselves falling into similar patterns this time of year.

So as August initiates us into this year’s three month Harvest season, it’s time to make sure your own 2021 dreams and ‘desired change’ seeds, have a fighting chance to come to full blown fruition and TANGIBLE MANIFESTATION in your life this year! Rather than living another year solely in your imagination and vision board.

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Here are 3 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF THIS AUGUST, to ensure that you tangibly manifest your biggest desire this year!

QUESTION #1: What is my ONE GREATEST DESIRE that I want to tangibly manifest by November this year?

Summer’s energy is full of potential growth power, ready to be focused for some massive manifestation work. Manifestation takes FOCUS, COMMITMENT, and consistent, persistent ACTION.

And so this first harvest festival of Lughnasadh asks you to CHOOSE ONE desire (or desired change) to laser focus on and commit to, while you shelf the other dozen ideas, projects, and desired changes you’re giving energy to… at least for the next few months of Harvest Season!

Trying to manifest or change every single thing on your vision board at once is a sure way to manifest nothing fully!

Also, while it’s great to stretch yourself, be sure to keep the one desire you do choose relatively realistic.

So, what big desire can you realistically bring to fruition, over the next 3-4 months, with focus and hard work (while also honoring the amount of time and energy you’re willing to devote to growing that desire now)?

QUESTION #2: What are 3 TANGIBLE SIGNS that my desire is actually manifesting from idea into physical form?

Remember, if you set annual intentions and resolutions for change at the beginning of the year, between August and November you should be seeing some real, tangible signs that your desire is indeed manifesting.

So how will you know your desire is actually manifesting? What are the tangible micro-changes you’ll experience on your way to fully creating that desire? How will you know you’re taking the right actions and getting closer (versus staying stuck in the same old behaviors and mindsets)?

Again, be realistic here. If you take your realistic desire from above and showed up as consistently and persistently as you can to create it over the next three months, what are three sign-posts you expect to see on your way to full manifestation?

QUESTION #3: What is one NEW, ALIGNED IMPACT ACTION that I can commit to doing this month to manifest my desire?

If you want something different, you must DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. And so if you haven’t yet fully manifested your big desire or change for the year, now is the time to get clear on what the best new action(s) are that will help you close the gap between who you are and who you need to become to manifest that desire.

And then, TAKE THOSE NEW ACTIONS, consistently and persistently until you see the changes start to unfold.

Note that these aren’t just any old actions you can think of. The best actions are what I call “IMPACT ACTIONS”. A few simple, focused actions that will create the greatest impact in your manifestation journey (without creating overwhelm or burn-out).

I love to use an oracle system like the I Ching to get myself and clients clarity on our new impact actions. Then focus on a one new action at each new moon, during harvest season. And then, spend the rest of the monthly moon cycle refining and strengthening that action into a habit!

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¹ Edain McCoy, The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways, Llewellyn Publications, 1994.

How to 'Do Better', once you 'Know Better'.

As we leave the first Eclipse Season of the year and enter Summer, the energies shift drastically! And as these new energies sweep in, they’re asking us to show up very differently than we did in Spring.

To help guide us, I asked my favorite oracle system (the I Ching) how to best align with the new energies, during this first month of Summer. And she answered with the hexagram* of “SMOTHERED LIGHT”. (*like the cards of a tarot deck, ‘hexagrams’ are the language and wisdom of the I Ching!)

To really understand the energy of July, the “Smothered Light” hexagram gives us the image of earth, over fire.

Imagine you’ve just lit a bonfire and begin to add wood (which is a form of earth) to help it grow. If you just throw a bunch of wood on the new fire, mindlessly, you run the risk of smothering it, rather then helping it grow. But, if you MINDFULLY place the wood in the fire with intention, you fuel the new flames and they grow bigger and stronger!

In the image above:

• THE FIRE🔥represents your own inner light, clarity, insight, and empowered truth that has emerged (and grown exponentially) during the May-June eclipse season.

• and THE WOOD represents the “initiation situations” you’ll encounter (or perhaps are already encountering) this month, that will help initiate you into the newer more aligned version of YOU, that is ready to show up fully this year. (more on this below)

Let me explain this a bit more. The 6 week Spring Eclipse season, that just ended, was especially important in helping bring you massive inner breakthrough, insight, and empowerment around what you deeply desire this year + what’s truly been blocking you from creating it (as long as you did some inner healing work during Eclipse season).

But while the inner breakthroughs of Eclipse Season may feel really powerful, it’s important to remember that BREAKTHROUGHS ON THEIR OWN, DON’T GUARANTEE MANIFESTATION or tangible change in your life!

So if you’re serious about bringing those desires on your 2021 vision board to life this year, now’s the time to roll up your sleeves and fuel the flames of your new-found inner breakthroughs into outer transformation, by taking strategic and intentional ACTION this Summer!

And because the Universe is always helping us co-create our soul desires, she will start to give you some very synchronistic “INITIATION SITUATIONS” this month!

These “initiation situations” are circumstances that feel challenging, but that turn out to be the perfect opportunities to get some real time practice, releasing the mental and behavioral blocks you discovered during Eclipse Season, and then practice showing up as the new, more aligned version of YOU (who can easily manifest your 2021 desires)!

Here’s an example of an “Initiation Situation” playing out…

Let’s say you really want to to create deep self-love and confidence, so that you can manifest a healthy partnership this year. And Eclipse Season helped you discover that one of the biggest things blocking you from cultivating that deep self-love and confidence right now, is your lack of setting and honoring boundaries in your relationships.

And so sometime this month, you may find yourself confronted with a situation in which someone close to you really tests your boundaries! And, you’re forced to TAKE ACTION to either practice the new, more empowered (yet still awkward) “conscious boundary setting” habit… OR choose to revert back to your old pattern of self-betrayal, which then perpetuates your lack of self-love and confidence.

The most important thing to remember about these “INITIATION SITUATIONS” is that, while they may seem like they’re threatening to smother the light of your newly found clarity, truth, and power… in reality, THEY’RE HERE TO MORE FULLY INITIATE YOU into the person you need to become, to manifest your greatest desires before the end of the year!

If there was a quote that summed up the energy of this month it would be this one by Maya Angelou…

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

— Maya Angelou

For the first 6 months of the year (and pre-eclipse season), you did the best you could with the level of awareness that you had.

But, now as you exit Eclipse season and move into the second half of the year, IT’S TIME TO DO BETTER, with all your Eclipse season clarity, breakthroughs, and new knowing!

And to help you “do better, now that you know better”, here are 3 steps to take this month, to ensure that you actually create the tangible changes you crave in your life (and the world) this year!

STEP #1: INTEGRATE YOUR ECLIPSE SEASON BREAKTHROUGHS

I wrote all about this in last month’s oracle reading here. But I’m repeating it, because taking time to REFLECT on and DIGEST all the synchronicities, breakthroughs, and lessons from the pre-Summer Eclipse season is key to how much you transform, heal, and manifest in your life over the final 6 months of the year!

And so if you haven’t yet taken time to process and integrate your Eclipse Season lessons from last month, grab your journal and some tea, and REFLECT ON THESE 3 THINGS ASAP!

STEP #2: LOOK FOR YOUR “INITIATION SITUATIONS”

Once you integrate all of your Eclipse season breakthroughs, your inner awareness and wisdom is different than it was just a month ago. In other words, you now know better! And as Maya Angelou says, “When you know better, do better”!

And so, it’s now time to start SHOWING UP DIFFERENTLY in your outer ACTIONS!

To help you do this, the Universe will often deliver you “Initiation Situations”. These situations may feel oppressive and threaten to smother the light of all your new-found clarity, wisdom, and power.

But when you STAY MINDFUL and navigate them with INTENTION, you’ll see that they are actually perfect opportunities to more fully INITIATE YOU into the person you need to become (mentally & behaviorally), to manifest your greatest desires this year!

Without these initiation situations this month, you might not get to practice showing up as the NEW YOU, release the old patterns, and really anchor all your new inner breakthroughs into tangible change!

STEP #3: SHOW UP AS THE NEW, EMPOWERED YOU

So when you find yourself in the midst of an “Initiation Situation” this month, it’s so important to STAY MINDFUL and remember that you’ll have two choices:

1. the choice to show up differently, with the new more empowered mindsets and behaviors, that you discovered over Eclipse Season (that may still feel awkward, vulnerable, and scary to try out!).

2. OR, the choice to go back to your old mindsets and behaviors that you now know are no longer serving you and the changes you want this year (but also still feel so familiar, safe, and easy!).

And, if you find yourself reverting back to your old patterns at first don’t worry! This is actually a super normal part of the transformation process.

The good news is that you’ll get multiple “initiation situations” to show up as the “new, empowered YOU” this Summer! Just keep staying mindful and keep practicing “doing better, now that you know better!”.

Because the more you “do better” (even just a little!) and choose the new ways, the more you’ll strengthen those more empowered mindsets and behaviors (and release the old ones)! AND the greater chance you have of choosing the new again, and again, and again.

And, THAT 👆 is exactly how you turn your inner Eclipse breakthroughs into outer transformations this Summer! And, that is how you change your life!

If you want to talk about how ✨Mindfulness + Intuitive Transformational Coaching✨ can help you do this life-changing work now, apply for a free Discovery Session below!

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3 Things you Must Do to Integrate all Your Eclipse Season Lessons Now!

Woohoo! The first Eclipse Season of the year is over (almost 😁!!). And now that the chaos of the past month is starting to settle, you’ve got some super important work to do, to make sure you extract and integrate all the healing and wisdom you were meant to receive, during the extremely transformational season!

I know this past month of Eclipses has felt long and intense for so many of us (whether you were consciously working with the eclipse energies or not). We came face to face with our biggest fears and emotional triggers... relationships went through massive shake ups (and maybe even endings)... and some of our big goals for 2021, seem to transform overnight!

And as the intensity of the season starts to die down, and life begins to re-stabilize, the tendency is to want to just move on from it all, dive into something new, and enjoy the Summer, without looking back!

But I caution you against being too quick and eager to just move on from Eclipse season now….

Because, one of the biggest ways we rob ourselves of healing, growth, and transformation is by jumping from one cycle to another in our lives, WITHOUT TAKING TIME TO REFLECT BACK ON THE PREVIOUS JOURNEY & INTEGRATE ALL THE LESSONS!

Just as farmers take time to harvest their crops, enjoy the fruits of their labor, and clear the fields at the end up the growing season… we too must take time now to HARVEST our own “fruits” and lessons from Eclipse Season, before beginning anything new.

When you skip the work of “reflection” and “integration” (and dive immediately into something new), you end up:

✔️AT BEST, missing opportunities for healing and growth, only to have to repeat them later. While also limiting how quickly and easefully you can manifest and create changes in your life.

✔️And AT WORST, totally misinterpreting the lessons and wisdom, and walking away from Eclipse season with even more non-serving stories, patterns, and wounding.

Now, you may find yourself wondering, “So, how does one go about doing this work of harvesting and integration? 🤔”

I’m glad you asked!

Here are 3 STEPS TO HARVEST AND INTEGRATE LESSONS, after every single Eclipse Season (or at the end of any relationship, project, or experience).

1. CELEBRATE🎉

We have a tendency to obsess over our mistakes and how much further we must go to get to some ideal version of success. Meanwhile, we completely neglect to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work and progress we have made!

When you DON’T pause to celebrate all of your hard work and progress (no matter how insignificant it seems), you find yourself in a perpetual state of “not enough-ness”. It also creates a false sense that you’re in a never-ending race with no finish line… which is exhausting!!

When you DO take the time to consistently pause to celebrate and feel proud of yourself for your hard work and wins, your confidence, self-love, and energy levels start to skyrocket!!

2. SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM CHAFF🌾

In order to harvest wheat and make it digestible, you must first separate the edible part of the plant (the wheat), from the inedible part (the chaff).

Similarly in your own harvest work, after celebrating the things that feel easy to celebrate, it’s important to also acknowledge and honor anything you feel was a “mistake”, “failure”, or didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to (the chaff).

And then, separate out the attached wisdom and lesson in that “mistake” (the wheat). Remember, there are no failures in life… only experience and feedback! SKIP THIS step, and you miss out on lessons, only to have to repeat them again and again, until you finally digest them!

DO THIS step, and you’ll learn, grow, and successfully manifest quicker than ever before!

3. FORGIVE💛

When I was a new life coach just starting to work with clients, I was shocked to see how much shame, guilt, and resentment everyone seemed to be carrying around as baggage, every single day of their lives! And I believe this is directly related to our struggle with forgiveness.

When you DON’T regularly practice forgiveness (towards yourself and others), you end up collecting shame, guilt, and resentment from every experience that doesn’t work out perfectly (which, let’s be honest, is most of them). And then you bring that heavy emotional baggage to every future relationship and experience, unconsciously sabotaging it with your unhealed shame, anger, and resentments.

When you DO consistently forgive, you release pent up shame, resentment, and anger before entering something new, which prevents you from poisoning new things, before they even have a chance to get off the ground!

And so in this post Eclipse season period, I lovingly urge you to first take some time to rest + recharge yourself (because Eclipse season has been 😳)…..

And then, roll up your sleeves and do the powerful work of REFLECTING on and DIGESTING all the synchronicities, breakthroughs, (and breakdowns!) from the past month. Because this INTEGRATION work is the key to how much you transform, heal, and manifest this year!

Want support harvesting and integrating your own Eclipse Season lessons now?!

Check out the ✨ECLIPSE BREAKTHROUGH INTEGRATION EXPERIENCE✨ which includes a ✔️workbook of powerful journaling questions, ✔️a personalized oracle reading, and ✔️a live community ritual, to help you reflect and integrate your greatest Eclipse lessons!✨

7 Steps to Consciously Create Your Dreams this Year

There are a lot of misinterpretations of this sort of woo woo concept of "manifestation" (I actually prefer the term conscious creation). In many cases, those who have only heard the term casually often think manifestation advocates are claiming that all you have to do is think about what you want hard enough and it will magically appear. Not quite.

I'd like to introduce you to my own interpretation of manifestation (aka. conscious creation). I see it less as simply getting what you want and more as a personal growth journey of becoming what you want. In my experience, the things I wanted most (more love and connection in my relationship, more money in my business, etc.) never ended up being the gold of the manifestation journey, but rather the motivation and fuel for it. And instead, the gold of manifestation has always been the self-discovery and personal growth that I was forced to undergo in order to manifest or create what I wanted.

If you want something and it manifests easily for you, wonderful!! But in order to manifest (create, attract, etc.) something that you're having a hard time manifesting, you've got to look deep within and see how you're blocking yourself from getting it or keeping it.

“Just because something comes easily, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to hold onto it, or that it’ll make you happy.”

I often think about those people who desire money and spend a lot of time and energy playing the lottery. You've probably heard the stories of them winning millions, only to lose it quickly and go into debt. And then they're no happier or better off than they were before they won. The point being, just because someone is able to manifest the money (love, etc.), does not mean they know how to maintain it, or that they'll be happier because of it.

You've really got to prepare yourself (from the inside out) to manifest and maintain your deepest desires. If your habitual beliefs, thoughts, and actions don't match what it takes to maintain your desires, you won't be able to maintain them. Just like those lotto winners that lose their money shortly after winning it. 

The 7 step process below is how you can not only manifest your deepest desires, but also prepare yourself to maintain them. Happy manifesting beauty!

1. KNOW WHAT YOU DESIRE

The first step to creation is to really take the time to dream into what you want.

“Everything is created twice, first in the mind [as an intention] and then in reality [as a physical manifestation].”

— Robin Sharma

The key here is to really imagine what it would be like to have what you want, and FEEL it as if it already exists. Think of this first step sort of as daydreaming or fantasizing. Your only job right now is to really allow yourself to feel and get excited about the WHAT.

One of the biggest blocks at this step, is being preoccupied with the HOW. Worrying about how you’re going to create what you want at this stage, will only serve to block you energetically from manifesting it.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Carve out at least 20 minutes to get still, calm your mind (try some mindful breathing), and really visualize what it is you truly want to manifest most right now. If you find yourself worrying about the how or fearing it’s impossible try this. Imagine you have a magic wand and anything is possible! What would you manifest then?

2. Have fun with this fantasy and visualize yourself as if you already have what you want. As you enjoy the fruits of your new manifestation, notice how you’re FEELING. Are you feeling confident, playful, at ease, purposeful, fulfilled, etc.? When you come back from that fantasy, write down your main feelings.

3. NOTE: The FEELINGS are key because in most cases what you think you desire will shift over time, but the feelings your soul is truly craving will remain the same- which means you've got a much better chance at getting what you truly want if you follow feelings vs. things.

4. Create a visual representation that will help you stay connected to your desired feelings, and keep it somewhere you’ll see it daily. I have a special table in my home where I set up an altar dedicated to what I’m currently working to manifest, and I stand in front of it to reconnect with my vision for a few moments each day (or at least a few times a week, when I feel like I start to doubt or fall off track). This “vision board” or desire altar, can be made up of words, pictures, or anything else that connects you to what it feels like to have what you desire.

2. RELEASE it, ASK for guidance, TRUST the process, and have PATIENCE

I’ve got some great news for you. 

When it comes to manifestation, you are not the sole creator of your life, but a co-creator with the universe (God, the divine, etc.).

Why is this great news? Well for one, you’re only human, so if you mistakenly ask for something that’s not in your highest and best, the universe can step in and help guide you to something more aligned. And secondly, sometimes you feel really stuck around how you’re going to get from where you are, to where you want to be (the how I mentioned above). In this case, the universe can step in and provide you with bread crumbs for you to follow towards manifesting your desires.

TAKE ACTION:

• RELEASE IT + ASK FOR GUIDANCE: This is about letting go/ surrendering your vision (from step 1 above) to the universe. This means you stop trying to force it into existence and stop trying to control every single aspect of the creation process. Because let’s face it, if you could easily will it into existence, you would already have it. As writer Paulo Coelho says,

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”.

So simply declare, “Universe, I want ____, and I want to feel _____. Please help me create that, by
giving me guidance and clues that I can interpret.” (or create your own statement
with a similar intention)

• TRUST THE PROCESS + HAVE PATIENCE: I know this is easier said than done, but again, it’s so important to trust the unfolding process and stop trying to force progress…especially if it doesn’t seem to be getting you anywhere. I’ve found that so much of my own growth, empowerment, and self-discovery have come from the experience of creating my desires (the manifestation process itself)….not from having whatever I want easily handed to me.

Ultimately manifestation is about personal growth and evolution, and this all takes time! If you try to rush it, or if you lose faith, you’ll slow the process down even more.

• AFFIRMATIONS are a simple yet powerful way to shift your mindset any time you fall into the low vibrational mindset of “it’s taking too long”, or you lose faith that the manifestation process is still unfolding at all. Try this one or make up your own: “I trust that everything is unfolding in divine timing and for my highest and best.”

3. Practice MINDFULNESS and maintain a HIGH VIBRATIONAL energetic state

Once you hand over your desire to the universe, in most cases it won’t just magically land on your lap. Remember, I said manifestation is a process to help you grow and discover yourself on a deeper level (so you can receive what you desire). Once you declare it and ask for help, the universe will give you clues to help you create what you want. The challenge is staying open and in a high vibrational state (hope, optimism, faith, etc) so you can see and act on these clues. If you’re stuck in low vibrational states (fear, doubt, desperation, etc) it’ll be very hard to recognize the clues and thus create your desires.

TAKE ACTION:

• As much as possible, stay grounded, open, and present so you can recognize clues. Practicing MINDFULNESS meditation daily will help you do this. Then, look for clues in the form of:

  1. SYNCHRONICITIES: meaningful coincidences that catch your attention and nudge you in a direction

  2. OPPORTUNITIES: things that excite, and possibly scare you. They can be random ideas that pop up or opportunities that seem to magically land on your lap. In many cases they're just slightly out of your comfort zone, but are ultimately going to help you grow and create your desire.

  3. CHALLENGES/ BLOCKS: any resistance or difficulty that arises as you work towards creating your desire. Contrary to how it may feel, these are actually opportunities also. They’re opportunities to learn a lesson and/or shed any limiting mindsets and behaviors that are blocking you from receiving your desires.

• And if you find yourself stuck in a low vibrational state (fear, doubt, loss of faith, desperation etc.), shift that shit!!

Remember, ultimately you have control over your mindset and energetic state.

If you slip into a lower, fear-based state…which is natural and will happen…notice it quickly and do something to shift it. Tools I use to shift my mindset are gratitude practice, affirmations, dance, getting outside in nature, acts of self-care, creating art,doing something fun, journaling, or even playing with oracles. Anything you can do to shift your perspective and find the faith, hope, and excitement again will work!

4. RELEASE BLOCKS

Blocks are simply a general term for anything that makes you feel stuck on your path to manifesting your desires. Basically, they occur when you’re resisting a lesson or any change that wants to take place for your highest and best (and for the manifestation process to unfold). Blocks can show up as:

• A challenging situation given to you by the universe to overcome in order to shape your character, help you grow, learn a lesson, or simply course correct.

Like school, life is trying to prepare you for what's to come (your purpose). And in many cases, lessons come through a bit of adversity.

• Emotional discomfort indicating that something within you is out of alignment and needs to be released. In many cases these are things you’re clinging to that are keeping you from receiving your desires. These “things” can be entire situations or relationships that drain you and keep you in an energetically low-vibe state (and distracted from creating your desires). Or they can be patterned mindsets and behaviors that you’ve adopted but no longer serve who you want to become or what you want to create in your life.

TAKE ACTION:

• First, simply acknowledge this block is not an attack from someone else or the universe, but actually an opportunity for you to grow. Many of us feel victimized by someone else or the universe when faced with an obstacle.

This victim mindset, where you blame others for your pain and misfortune, simply serves to disempower you from learning the lessons you’re meant to learn, and block you from creating the change you seek.

Instead, anytime you feel blocked and like a powerless victim of your circumstances, repeat this affirmation (or create your own). “All of my obstacles are opportunities. As I rise to meet these challenges that are a natural part of living, I awaken to my many undiscovered gifts, my inner power, and my purpose."

• Second, do some REFLECTION to gain insight into what this block is trying to tell you. My favorite reflection practices, to help me understand the opportunities in my obstacles, are: using oracles (like the I Ching), journaling, and meditating on simple questions like, “What does this make possible, that wasn’t possible before?; What do I need to learn in order to grow from this?; What do I need to release that’s holding me back from receiving what I desire? How am I creating my own suffering right now?”

• Finally, take action on the insight and release what needs to be released! As Picasso said,

“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction”.

So in order to make space for what you want to create, you’ve got to destroy/ release/ let go of something(s). Remember, if you were ready to receive what you desired, you’d already have it. 

Releasing takes courage and the trust that something better is coming along!

• NOTE: Sometimes simply uncovering the cause of a block will allow it to release quickly, on it’s own. But in many cases the root of the block is a deeply ingrained thought or behavioral habit. And in this case, letting it go can be an ongoing process that takes time, patience, and perseverance. Think of it as peeling back the layers of an onion. You’ll keep doing it over, and over, and over again until you get that final layer off.

• A meditation tool I love to use for releasing is VISUALIZATION. I write down all the things I want to release and imagine throwing them into a big bonfire, one by one. Then I watch them burn as I feel them being released from my body. I also sometimes invoke the power of goddesses. Kali is a very powerful energy for letting go of things no longer serving you. There are lots of meditation tools to help with releasing, but ultimately it's all about your intention. If you need help with this, you know where to find me :)

5. ACT on OPPORTUNITIES, SYNCHRONICITIES, INSPIRED IDEAS, and JOY 

Challenges are one way the universe guides you towards the creation of your desires. Fortunately, once you put your intentions out to the universe, guidance can also come in more pleasant packages. Look for these pleasant packages in the form of:

• Exciting Opportunities: These are aligned opportunities that, after feeling stuck, seem to land on your lap as if by magic. If you set an intention and then something comes along that feels aligned with it, it’s a gift from the universe.

In many cases these new opportunities may feel a little scary. You may not feel ready for them. But growth is always just out of your comfort zone.

As they say, fortune favors the bold! So please don't waste an opportunity out of fear. Take action on it!

• Inspired Ideas: The universe can also work as a muse delivering you new and exciting ideas. Many great artists like Beethoven and Michelangelo refused to take credit for their works, instead saying they were divinely inspired. So notice what new ideas start to pop up for you, and take action on them!

• Synchronicities: These are what Carl Jung calls "meaningful coincidences". They're the coincidences that seem to catch your attention and gently nudge you in a specific direction. When you notice one, get curious and see where it leads you (aka. take action on it).

• Joy: Even if you don’t see obvious guidance, you can simply take it upon yourself to do things that bring you joy. Joy is always a great indicator you're headed in the right direction. Not to mention, joy is a high-vibrational state, which means you're much more likely to attract those other opportunities we discussed above.

So take a class, attend an event, create art, read that fiction book you’ve been saying you have no time for, visit a new coffee shop to work or read from, talk to that person that caught your attention at that event, etc.

It’s amazing how simply following the things that light you up, can lead you to your purpose and the creation of your deepest desires.

6. Have PATIENCE and ENJOY THE JOURNEY 

I know I’ve already mentioned patience in step #2, but it bears repeating. The only difference between success and failure is the ability to not give up. As Napolean Hill said,

“Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”

Letting go of mediocrity in order to manifest your deepest soul desires, isn’t an easy journey. But it’s the most fulfilling journey for the human soul and will help shape you into the best most true version of yourself. Are you ready for this wild adventure?

7. Get SUPPORT

And finally, you don’t have to do it alone. Find a mentor, find community, get support. There are many people out there on their own journey of greatness. There’s a saying that you become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. I completely agree that the more you surround yourself with those who are also doing the work, the more empowered and inspired you’ll feel to push out of your comfort zone, and keep going too. Find these people, and keep them close!

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The Ultimate Guide to Starting and Maintaining a Successful Meditation Practice

So what exactly defines a “successful” meditation practice? Over the past 10 years of watching my own meditation ups and downs and speaking to others, I’ve come up with this. A successful practice is one that’s easy, enjoyable, enduring, effective, and makes you more you.

Let's quickly clarify those terms a bit: 

• "Easy" meaning it doesn’t feel like an uphill battle each and every time you meditate.
• "Enjoyable” meaning it doesn’t feel like an annoying chore on the to-do list every single time (although there will still be obstacles to deal with some days).
• "Enduring” meaning you’re consistent with your practice and not just meditating sporadically or only when sh*t hits the fan in your life.
• “Effective” is a bit more subjective. But to keep it simple for now, let’s just say you get the benefits you crave from your practice (whatever those personal meditation aspirations may be).
• And finally, a successful practice will help you feel more aligned with your true-self (which will ultimately lead to a deeper sense of happiness, purposefulness, and fulfillment in all areas of your life).

“The the thing about meditation is: you become more and more you.”

— David Lynch

A quick google search will show you there’s no shortage of free meditation instruction or guided practices out there.

But just because you have some guided practices or basic instruction, doesn't mean your practice will be successful.

If you truly want to cultivate a successful practice that’ll bring you consistent and lasting benefits throughout your life, here are 13 things I wish someone had told me at the beginning of my meditation journey 10 years ago.

1. Connect to your MEDITATION MOTIVATION

“When you lose your why, you lose your way.”

— Michael Hyatt

Let’s be honest. If you think you don’t have time to meditate, you’ll never find the time. You’ve got to make the time. So with kids, a demanding job, a side hustle, a new relationship, or [insert excuse], how do you do make the time to meditate?!

Making time for your practice takes both a mindset shift and strategy. Let's start with the mindset shift.

Rather than viewing your meditation practice as a nice luxury you wish you had time for, you've got to view it as a self-care necessity that's important enough to become a priority. 

And the best way to do this, is to reconnect with your meditation motivation. The more you remember why you're meditating, the easier it'll be to allow other time-sucking, non-priorities to take a back seat to your practice. And the easier it'll be to allow yourself permission, to take time to meditate.

“There’s always enough time to do what’s important to you. If you aren’t doing the right thing in life, it’s because it isn’t important enough to you [yet].”

— Larry Winget

TAKE ACTION: If you’re having trouble prioritizing your practice, ask yourself "Why do I meditate?" or "What will having a successful meditation practice make possible for me?"

And then continue to revisit this question any time you lose your why and your way, in your practice.

2. SCHEDULE TIME

“If it’s not scheduled, it’s not real.”

— Marie Forleo

Once you make the above mindset shift and your practice becomes a priority, there's one more piece to making sure you do it. You need a strategy- a plan. Make it real, by scheduling it. We'll get into more detail on specific aspects of your meditation strategy, but for now start by simply adding it to your schedule. 

TAKE ACTION: Decide when you want to meditate, and write it in your schedule (if you're like me and still use a handwritten planner). Or add it to your online scheduling system (if you're like most modern folk).

3. Create a SACRED SPACE 

If you think about it, we have dedicated spaces in our homes for everything. Cooking, bathing, sleeping, eating, working, etc.

So why don’t more of us have a dedicated space just for being, reflecting, and reconnecting with ourselves?

“The secret to a home meditation practice is to create a space where the busyness stops.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Having a space in your home devoted solely to meditation (and other spiritual practices) is a very powerful way to establish a regular practice. It helps by both,

1. Serving as a visual trigger to invite you to practice daily (we'll discuss this more in #9), and
2. Creating an energetic area that can quickly help quiet your mind, and induce feelings of peace and calm whenever you enter it.

Your meditation sacred space can be as simple or ornate as you'd like.

The only non-negotiables are:

• you can meditate comfortably (a cushion, chair, or some blankets can help with this), and
• you won’t be disturbed during your practice. Although some outside noise from others is fine (we’ll address this more in #10).

Objects can also help amp up the energy of your space and meditation rituals.

I love decorating my space with pretty objects. Adding things like candles, gemstones, essential oils, goddess pictures, spiritual and personal growth books, etc., help me feel more connected to my space and make me want to spend more time there. 

My meditation sacred space

Take Action: Take a moment to scout your home for a place you’d like to dedicate to meditation. And then decorate it as much, or as little, as you'd like.

4. Start with CONCENTRATION

“Once you develop even a little concentration, which happens over a relatively short period of time, all other spiritual practices become easier.”

— Ram Dass

One of the biggest obstacles I hear from beginning meditators is “I can’t calm and focus my mind", “I can’t concentrate”, “I can’t quiet my thoughts”, or something else along those lines. While getting rid of thoughts is impossible and not the purpose of meditation, you do need to cultivate the ability to focus your mind and allow distractions to pass you by (without getting swept away by them).

Anyone can can focus and concentrate with practice, no matter how noisy your mind may feel right now.

Believe me, if this anxiety prone over-analyzer can do it, so can you! All it takes is the desire, commitment, and the right tool. And that tool is "concentration meditation” (aka. one-pointedness meditation).

Concentration has been called "the root skill of all meditation practices". When I did my first ten day meditation retreat, they taught us a simple concentration practice that we did for the entire first three days (before ever introducing us to any other meditation technique). They did this because they knew that if we couldn't focus our minds in a simple practice, we would find all other meditation practices frustrating and likely give up. (yes there are many types of meditation and we’ll discuss these further in #5)

Here’s the simple concentration meditation practice I learned in that retreat, and the one I continue to practice to this day to keep my mind clear and focused. 

Take Action: Sign-up for the free guided concentration meditation below, and begin experiencing a calmer more focused mind.

5. CHOOSE the meditation(s) best suited to you 

“Does one really have to fret about enlightenment? No matter what road I travel, I’m going home.”

— Shinsho

In my 10+ year exploration of meditation, I've come to realize that there are many different types of meditative practices out there.

Not only are there different general categories of meditation like "Concentration" or "Mindfulness",  there are many different ways to practice each of these types of meditation.

I don't tell you this to confuse you, but rather to give you options so you can find a practice that feels best for you. 

If you've struggled with meditation in the past, or feel like you just can't meditate (Spoiler: anyone can meditate), you may not have chosen the practice best suited for you. 

If you're feeling overwhelmed and confused about where to start (or continue) on your meditation journey, here are 4 simple steps to determine which meditation type is best for you from moment to moment:

1. Start with CONCENTRATION

If you're a complete newbie or find it especially hard to calm and focus your mind during meditation, it's really important you start with a simple concentration practice (as we discussed above in #1). I've seen too many people (myself included) who skip this step, get frustrated, and give up when they can't focus during a more complex technique like "Mindfulness". 

Before all of my meditations (no matter which type I choose), I'll start off with a few moments of a concentration practice to calm my mind and firmly ground myself in the present moment.

2. Decide on your meditation INTENTION each time you practice

Are you meditating simply to feel more calm and relaxed? Are you trying to connect with your intuition to make a decision or understand why you’re feeling stuck? Are you trying to manifest or create something new in your life? Being clear on your intention will help you determine which type of meditation is best for you in that moment.

If you're just starting out and meditating to simply reduce stress and feel more peace and calm, that's absolutely fine. That was my sole intention for the first year or so after I found meditation. And the relaxation CD's and mindful breathing practice (yep people still bought CD's back then), did help me feel more momentary glimpses of peace. Back then, I had no idea meditation could be used for anything else and didn't realize there were so many different types of meditation.

But eventually I began craving more from my practice (and life), and found ways to take my practice beyond simple relaxation and begin using it to transform the stuck areas of my love life, career, health, etc.

I did this by expanding my practice to include four different types of meditation. Depending on my current intention, I'll pick from one of the four meditation types below. Note that each general type can be broken down further into many different practices. This gives you many options to choose from based on your personal preferences (which we'll discuss next). I've also created a chart below to help you better understand how they all fit together.

1. CONCENTRATION (also known as one-pointedness): best to start with to cultivate more acute mental focus and quickly ground your awareness on the present moment.
2. MINDFULNESS: builds on concentration and helps you cultivate a more expansive present moment awareness, equanimity (or non-judgement), and acceptance of what is.
3. REFLECTION: best for connecting to your intuition to gain insight, understanding, and solutions to obstacles or stuck areas of your life (or to make tough decisions).
4. VISUALIZATION: great for grounding and more actively creating transformation of stuck areas of your life (areas that don't naturally shift as you go through the first three types of meditation above).

*Incorporating these four meditation types into my regular practice has helped me create much more lasting peace and life transformation than focusing on just one. 

3. Honor your meditation PREFERENCES.

I’ve seen so many people beat themselves up over not being able to meditate “properly”. Does an injury prevent you from sitting comfortably? Do you sometimes get too sleepy when you’re sitting or lying down? Do you find it really tough to sit still at all? Don’t beat yourself up or assume you just can’t meditate. Did I mention, everyone can meditate!?

Meditation can be done in several different postures like sitting, lying, walking, or even standing. And there are ways to incorporate meditation into other activities like dancing, yoga, etc.

So you have options. And know that your preferences can and will change based on time of day, mood, energy level, etc. So check in with yourself before you meditate, and decide what feels best.

4. EXPERIMENT

Some people get so caught up trying to decide which meditation to start with, they never get started. It took me weeks to decide which meditation CD to order when I first started out! Just choose one based on the steps above, try it out for a few days or weeks, and see how it feels. Remember, you can always try something else later. 

6. Take your practice OFF THE CUSION

“You don’t need to forgive until you need to forgive. You don’t need nerves of steel until you need nerves of steel. You don’t need to call on your reserves of compassion, or fortitude, or faith until you’ve used up everything else. This is why we practice.”

— Danielle LaPorte

Meditation can be practiced “on the cushion", in a formal scheduled session. And it can also be practiced more informally “off the cushion”, throughout your day, by bringing more mindfulness into your daily activities and experiences.

We often forget a successful meditation practice isn’t just about showing up to the cushion for those 10+ minutes a day. It’s about using those formal practices to cultivate the ability to show up with more awareness, compassion, and equanimity in your everyday life. 

After some practice, it’s relatively easy to find moments of peace, awareness, compassion, and equanimity on the meditation cushion. But it can be much harder to conjure those feelings in the midst of a hectic day or crisis. But these are the moments when you need it the most.

For the greatest success, set the intention to also bring your practice off the cushion and begin incorporating mindfulness into your daily interactions and experiences, as much as possible. This can be as simple as taking some deep breaths as you wait in the check-out line at the grocery store or heat your food up at work. Or if you know you're heading into a potentially uncomfortable discussion with your boss or partner, do some grounding and visualization right before hand. 

Adding informal practices into your day doesn’t have to feel hard or like it takes up all your time. In fact, the opposite is true. The more you practice on the cushion, the more natural it'll become to also practice off the cushion during your everyday experiences and interactions.

7. Be CONSISTENT

When it comes to meditation, frequency is more important that duration.

While meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, scientific research behind it is relatively new, and only focuses on a select few styles of meditation like Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Mindfulness. I won't go into details of the research here because that's not the intention of this article (and there plenty of good articles out there on that).

From what I've read though, while meditation has been proven to have many outstanding benefits, research hasn’t discovered an exact amount of time that’s optimal for it. And even suggestions from experienced teachers vary. 

But what does seem to be the consensus, is that consistency is key. Shorter (10-40+ min) sessions, more frequently (1-2 times/day), is ideal. 

Again, experiment, and find what works best for you!

8. Keep it SIMPLE and just start where you're at

One of the quickest ways to fall off your practice before it even gets going, is by trying to do too much too quickly. 

If you’ve never meditated before and have trouble sitting quietly, trying to sit 10-40+ minutes a day will likely feel like way too much. Maybe you just start out with a few minutes a day. Or if that feels overwhelming, start out with a few minutes, a few times a week.

The key is to choose something that feels doable, and commit to doing it. Aim for little wins to train your mind and body that meditation can feel easy.

Then add in a few more minutes or a few more days. Work your way up slowly. Experiencing little successes, will allow you cultivate the meditation habit (we’ll discuss this in #9) much easier than feeling like you’re failing by setting too lofty of goals out the gate and not meeting them.

9. Create meditation CUES

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

— Jim Ryun

After reading the book “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg a couple years ago, I began noticing how much power habits truly have to make life feel easier and more joyful (or, if they're undesirable habits, to keep us feeling stuck).

It turns out our brains are very efficient and don't like to waste any energy. So they love to form habits out of anything you routinely do (or even think). This allows them to switch into auto-pilot the moment they recognize a habit beginning, thus saving valuable energy that can be used for other important functions.

One of the key concepts of the book is something called a “habit loop” which is a neurological loop that automatically runs through your brain each time a habit is recognized.

Understanding and leveraging this natural brain process will help you transform your sporadic meditation hobbies into consistent meditation habits. 

Each habit loop is broken into three distinct parts- a cue, a routine, and a reward). The part I'd like to discuss here is the cue. What makes the cue so important is that it's what tells your brain a habit is beginning and triggers it into auto-pilot. So by setting up cues for each our your meditation routines, your practice can begin to feel as easy and automatic as brushing your teeth each day. 

Cues typically fall into one of 5 categories. Here they are along with some examples you can use as your own triggers for your practice. 

• Location: a home sacred space (like we discussed in #4).
• Time: a specific time of day. You can even set your alarm as a daily reminder.
• Emotional State: stress, anger, grief, etc. Emotionally difficult states used to automatically cue undesirable habits like drinking, but now they cue me to pause....and meditate. 
• Other People: Surrounding yourself with a spiritual community (or just having a friend who's also serious about meditation) is powerful when it comes to maintaining long-term meditation habits. Doing daily or weekly accountability check-ins via text or email can really help you stay on track.
• An Immediate Preceding Action: Choose another daily habit you've already established, and do your practice right afterwards. My favorite is sitting to meditate right after I shower and brush my teeth in the morning!

Here's an example of the habit-loop of my morning meditation routine.

The reward is the pay-off for finishing the routine. And eventually, as the habit forms, you'll begin to notice that your meditation cues will automatically trigger you to crave the reward. Once that happens, your new meditation habit is born!

Take Action: Choose a cue for your daily meditation practice. 

10. PLAN for CHANGE

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Life isn’t static, so why should your practice be? 

If your weekend schedule is different than during the week, create different meditation habits on the weekends. If you go on vacation, take some time when you arrive to decide when and where you’ll meditate (even if you decide there's only time for a 5 minute shower meditation). Or if you stay at your boyfriend’s place a lot, create different cues and meditation routines there. Maybe when you have the "toothbrush talk" you can ask about keeping a meditation cushion in the corner of a room there too! A little bit of planning now, can save you a lot of stress or missed sittings, later.

Take Action: Take a look at your schedule. Do you need to create some other meditation cues and routines to account for regular changes to your schedule? 

11. EMBRACE OBSTACLES

Managing obstacles “on the cushion” will help you  better manage them “off the cushion” (in life).

Like life, your meditation practice will have obstacles. You'll have obstacles like busyness or lazyness that that keep you from showing up to your practice. And obstacles like boredom or distraction that get in the way of you staying focused and mindful during your practice.

The obstacles themselves are not the problem though. It's how you respond to them that causes you difficulty.

When you experience an obstacle during meditation like a busy or wandering mind, or a physical pain, or a difficult emotion, rather than resisting it or beating yourself up over it, lean into it.

“What you resist persists.”

— Carl Jung

By observing the difficult emotion that arises due to any obstacle, bringing compassion to it, and using it as part of your practice, you’ll ultimately be able to transform it.

We often see obstacles that arise around our practice as blocks or nuisances to the practice. But in fact, those obstacles ARE THE PRACTICE.

If you didn't have any obstacles you probably wouldn't need to meditate, would you?  And the more you can lean into and transform those obstacles on the cushion, the more you'll be able to do so off the cushion (in everyday life). Begin to think of your meditation practice as practice for life. 

Take Action: Anytime you're feeling frustrated by a busy mind or other obstacle during your practice, smile and remind yourself, “All obstacles are opportunities to practice”.

12. Maintain a BALANCED practice

“A successful meditation practice requires a constant dance between the masculine and feminine energies.”

We’re all made up of both feminine and masculine energies. While studying Chinese Medicine, l learned them as yin and yang. And also learned that states of dis-ease came when yin and yang energies got too far out of balance.

In the context of your meditation practice, yang (masculine) is the drive and commitment to show up, stay focused, and maintain dedicated consistency. While yin (feminine) is having compassion and forgiveness when you fall off track and the ability to be flexible and adapt your practice when you encounter obstacles or change in your life.

When the yang and yin of your practice are in balance, it will feel good and successful. When one starts to overpower the other, you’ll start to see the shadow aspects of one or the other show up. And you'll start to experience struggle in your practice. Here’s a simple graphic that'll help you diagnose when you're out of balance, and if you need to add more yin or more yang energy to your practice.

13. Find a meditation COMMUNITY

“For most people who overhaul their lives, there are no seminal moments or life-altering disasters. There are simply communities-sometimes of just one other person- who make change believable.”

— Charles Duhigg

In habit research, they found that those who interacted with communities interested in cultivating the same habit were able to develop and maintain those new habits more successfully. I’ve found that surrounding myself with others committed to their spiritual path helps me stay much more consistent in my meditation practices and personal growth. Here are a few ways I’ve done that over the years.

• Local meditation communities: Find a class at a local meditation or yoga center. Or start your own in your living room!
• Virtual meditation communities and live challenges: You can join my free "Meditate with Ease" Facebook community here where you can ask questions, get support, or join one of the free fun challenges I host throughout the year.
• Meditation retreats and workshops: There are many places that host different types of meditation workshops. Do a online search to find one near you.

So there you have it- thirteen ways to start and maintain a successful meditation practice. You don't have to do these all at once. Just start with the ones you feel most drawn to- the ones that are keeping you from getting the benefits you crave in your practice right now. I'd love to support you as you make these shifts in your practice, so let me know in the comments below which tweaks you plan to make first!

And if you'd like to join my VIP tribe and get the guided concentration practice + other valuable resources to help you along your meditation journey, just sign-up below!

5 Signs Your Meditation Practice is Successful

"How do I know if I'm meditating properly?" "Is my practice working, or am I just wasting my time?". These are questions I get asked quite a bit from newbie meditators or even those who've been meditating on and off for some time. I wondered this myself when I first started out.

Over time I realized it's much easier to first tap into how your practice FEELS in order to gauge success, rather than arbitrarily following any sort of specific meditation rules.

The following 5 signs are the barometer I use to measure if I'm meditating "properly" or if my practice is "working". And since awareness is the first step towards change, knowing which element(s) you're lacking will help you make the necessary tweaks to make your practice feel more successful.

One more thing before we dive in. I realize the term "success" is quite subjective. So I encourage you to take these 5 signs in with an open mind, and then use your own inner wisdom to take what resonates and put the rest aside. 

1. It's ENJOYABLE

Meditating shouldn't feel like an annoying chore every time you do it- another tedious thing to check off the to-do list. Sure, there will be obstacles. But if you don't enjoy your practice, it probably won't last very long. And then, what's the point? 

So, does your practice feel enjoyable? Or do you dread it most of the time?

2. It's EASY

Meditation shouldn't feel like an uphill battle each and every time you sit. It should feel relatively easy. Again, that doesn't mean there will never be obstacles in your practice. SPOILER ALERT: there will likely be lots of obstacles. But if you start seeing them simply as an opportunity to practice, and you learn how to manage them, obstacles don't have to make your practice feel so. damn. hard!

So, does your practice feel relatively easy? Or does it feel like an uphill battle most of the time?

3. It's EFFECTIVE

The benefits of meditation are broad. As are each of our personal reasons for meditating. When I polled my community on Facebook as to why they meditate, I got answers like, "to feel more peace", "to find love for myself again", "to connect with the divine", "to connect to my inner wisdom", "to evolve into the best version of myself", "to uncover my purpose", "to calm my mind", "to feel more confident", "to attract positivity into my life", "to set an example of self-care for my kids".

So whatever your own personal meditation aspirations may be, is your practice helping you achieve them? If so, awesome! If not, then you likely just need to make some simple tweaks in your practice.

4. It's ENDURING

For a long time my practice looked like this: A stressful event like a breakup would make me feel stressed and overwhelmed > I'd start meditating daily > I'd start feeling better > I'd start skipping sessions and my practice would slowly fade out (maybe for weeks or even months) > I'd slowly start feeling stressed and overwhelmed again (or another traumatic event would happen) > I'd start meditating daily again. And so the cycle would continue.

Eventually I realized that if I just kept my practice up consistently, as part of my daily self-care routine, I was better prepared (mentally and emotionally) to handle the inevitable little stressors or "sh*t hits the fan" moments in life. 

So, do you meditate consistently? Or is your practice sporadic or often only triggered when something stressful is happening in your life?

5. It makes you more YOU

“The thing about meditation is: you become more you.”

— David Lynch

I love this quote, and I couldn't agree more. Throughout our lives we pick up beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors that are meant to keep us safe, but can ultimately distance us from our true-selves and cause us stress and unhappiness. Meditation has the capability of shining a light on those false beliefs that are keeping you feeling disconnected from your true-self, and fully fulfilled and happy.

When I first started meditating, I had no idea meditation could be so powerful in transforming my life. So I meditated mostly just to calm my anxiety and feel more peaceful.

If you're meditating to just temporarily reduce stress, you're missing out on the greatest potential of meditation- it's ability to reconnect you to your truth and help you become your best self!

So, how do you measure the success of your practice and know when you need to make tweaks to it? Which of the above signs resonate as something you'd like to cultivate more of in your practice? Or is there something else that's not on the list? Let's get this discussion going below in the comments!

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And if you've realized that your practice isn't as successful as you'd like and want to know how you can make your practice feel more enjoyable, easy, effective, enduring, AND make connect you to your true-self, you're in luck! I'm working on a comprehensive guide to help you.

Sign up below to get "The Ultimate Guide to Starting and Maintaining a Successful Meditation Practice" delivered straight to your inbox as soon as it's ready to go out!

The Power of Connection and How to Cultivate it as an Introvert

In the last month I've begun to feel a natural shift from the hibernation and introverted energy that Winter brings, to the more expansive and extroverted energies of Spring. As I watch the flower buds around my yard begin to open, I feel my own cravings to come out of my shell and connect, begin to over-power my natural introvert tendencies.

I've begun to deeply desire community once again and have naturally been planting seeds and cultivating more of it. Modern society has created a sense of isolation amongst us, so it's easy to forget that, at our core, we humans are tribal creatures.

We thrive and grow through connection and relationships with others, not in isolation. 

So while alone time to reflect and recharge is important, connecting with others is equally important. And by "connecting" I don't mean the superficial chit chat that seems to pervade most social environments (although chit chat does have its place too), but real deep, raw connection. 

If you too have been feeling Spring's pull to connect more and on a deeper level, here are some ways to cultivate more community and connection in your life (especially if you're a natural introvert like me). And also some things you may want to watch out for as an introvert getting out there again, after a long winter of hibernation.

1) Schedule "friend dates"

As a natural introvert, winters always leave me with extreme anti-social and home-body tendencies. I think I'd stay in every day reading, drinking tea, and watching movies if I could! And even when the spring naturally awakens my desire for deeper connection, I still often struggle with the introvert's desire to just stay in, alone or with my boyfriend. 

So I've found that scheduling "friend' dates" just as you would schedule a Dr. appointment or work-out session is so helpful to cultivating that regular connection. My favorites are connecting over a weekly hike or walk, cup of tea, happy hour, or even just a phone call. If you're anything like me, if it's not scheduled, you're much more likely to get a little too cozy on the couch, ignore calls, and just hang out solo.

Alone time is important, but won't satisfy your human need for connection.

2) Learn How to Manage Your Energy

Introverts have a tendency to be very sensitive. So it's easy to feel drained when you begin connecting and socializing more. This can lead to feeling cranky and possibly even lead you to make poor decisions or react out of character.

Beginning to notice when your energy is low and replenishing yourself is key to connecting successfully as an introvert!

My favorite way to do this is to have a consistent meditation practice. 

this is how i get ready to go out friday nights. a 10-20 minute meditation to ground myself and prepare my energy for lots of people.

Beginning or maintaining a consistent meditation practice doesn't have to feel hard or take up a lot of time. Here's a free resource to help you get started > the "Meditate with Ease: Mini Course".

3) Be Mindful of Your Consumption of Mind-Altering Substances

This may or may not apply to you, but I feel that it's important to mention because I know it's a common struggle for introverts (particularly those who are sensitive).

Over-consumption of any mind-altering substance (caffeine, alcohol, etc.) can affect your energy and ability to connect mindfully and authentically.

I'm not saying to avoid these things, I'm just saying to be conscious of how you use these substances and how they make you feel.

For example while I enjoy social drinking, I can also have a tendency to use alcohol to help soothe anxiousness around connecting in groups or with new people. But often times it makes things worse. I'm also sensitive to caffeine and notice it can cause more anxiousness when connecting with others. So just be mindful of your usage habits and how they make you feel, so you can make more empowering choices.

4) Join a Women's Circle 

You can learn so much about yourself and grow, when you allow yourself to go deep, open up, and be vulnerable with others.

The best place I've experienced this is in women's circles. If you desire these types of deeper connections and don't really have relationships that satiate that craving (or are just looking for something more), women's circles are aaahmazing!

I discovered the power of women's circles when I moved across the country six years ago to finish up acupuncture school. I really didn't know anyone out there and found myself feeling pretty lonely and isolated, despite meeting people in classes. You see, as an introvert, I had a hard time taking the superficial friendships I made in class to a deeper, more fulfilling level.

So after trying out several meet-up and networking groups (which felt draining and still didn't help me cultivate the deeper connections I craved), I serendipitously discovered a women's circle. And it was transformational! 

Ever since then, I've participated in several in-person and online women's circles, and have even led my own. And each has been powerful and changed me in some way. Finding a group might take a little exploring. Here are some options:

• Search for local yoga studios, wellness centers, meditation centers, or new age/ spiritual shops. Check out some of their events or ask the owner if they have a women's circle or anything like it. 
• Join my private Facebook community here. It's an online community where you can connect with me and others who are on a spiritual path. We're a tribe of like-minded souls who strive to grow and create more joy and fulfillment in our lives (and support each other along the journey). Also by being a member of the group, you'll soon have the opportunity to attend a women's circle, hosted by moi, from the coziness of your own home!
• Start your own local women's circle. If you have some friends who you think you'd like to do this with, you can even start your own group. Check out this book for inspiration and guidance.
• And if you're a man, you could look for some local (or virtual) communities as well. Although I don't have as much experience with men's groups :)

I so look forward to seeing you in the Facebook community if it's something that resonates with you! And if you do join us, you'll also be the first to know when I start a virtual women's circle.

The One Realization That Has Curbed My Anxiety and Brought Me Peace (even in the midst of chaos)

I had a really powerful sunset meditation last night where I just watched the sky change colors as the sun set (somewhere over my neighbors' houses since I'm on the east coast! lol). And it got me contemplating the idea of cycles and change.

I believe the root of a lot of our anxiety and lack of lasting peace, is due to our inability to accept (and flow with) the very natural occurrence of cycles and change in our lives.

Before I truly embraced cycles and change (on an experiential level not just a theoretical level), I never felt at peace for long. I'd have moments (during meditation, in nature, etc.), but the peace was always fleeting.

But then I began to learn about cycles and saw that they were happening all around (and within) me, all the time- no matter what I did or didn't do.

I began to realize that the beginnings and endings of cycles felt the hardest (which is why I tended to avoid them for as long as possible- even if it meant staying in mediocre or downright crappy situations).

I soon learned that the more I accepted and understood how to navigate these cycles, the more I could use them to my advantage. And the more peace (and less anxiety) I felt, even in the thickest of chaos. And then the more my life began to miraculously transform.

There are currently lots of cycles ending and beginning in the next couple of weeks. Which means energies are being stirred up, and there is great opportunity for some real insight and transformation (if you're willing to look within and do the work)!

We've got the Spring Equinox on Sunday (yay spring!!) and a lunar eclipse + full moon on Wednesday.

These shifting cycles can stir up some discomfort in us as well (to help us begin to see and release anything that's holding us back from growth and true peace and happiness). So if you're feeling really triggered or stuck anywhere in your life, these next couple of weeks are especially powerful to go within and gain insight to shift those blocks for good!

My greatest teacher on cycles and change has been something called the "I Ching" (aka. Book of Changes). It's an oracle and ancient Chinese wisdom book that has truly changed how I think and live my life. I've been working with the I Ching for years (studied it in acupuncture school), and it's been the most powerful tool I've found when it comes to connecting to my intuition, hearing guidance from the universe, getting unstuck quickly, and working with cycles and change like a pro! 

If you're feeling really stuck with some aspect of your life and are curious how the "I Ching" can help you gain clarity and forward movement (especially during this Equinox/ Full Moon/ Eclipse period), click here to learn more or to set up a free 15 min discovery session.

Meditation Beyond Relaxation: What's next?

I've always been a natural seeker, and I'm constantly working towards becoming the best (or truest) version of myself possible. And if I'm being honest, it's been a serious pain in the ass at times. But settling and mediocrity is just not in my DNA. 

Anytime I inadvertently settle (in love, work, health etc.), I get a gentle intuitive nudge to keep changing.

These gentle nudges first come in the form of internal struggle or general feelings of discontent. But the longer I ignore these feelings, the stronger (and less gentle) they become. Eventually nudge turns to shove and...you get the picture.

Growing up I didn't recognize these "nudges and shoves" as helpful guidance, but rather as emotional and mental crises that brought up a lot of anxiety and overwhelm. So while I may have appeared to be a normal teenager on the outside, internally much of those years were spent in a constant state of over-analysis and anxiousness. It wasn't until college that I realized living like that, while common, wasn't natural. So I looked for healing and found meditation.

As I dabbled in meditation for the first few years, I noticed the immediate benefit of relaxation.

My constant state of emotional and mental noise lessened, and I was content. But as I stopped having to constantly put out emotional fires (so to speak), I began to see areas of my life that felt lack luster or just plain crappy and stuck.

So I once again turned to meditation for answers.

I was ready to take my practice beyond relaxation and begin transforming all the areas of my life where I was settling or stuck in undesirable patterns (like my love life at the time).

And while I'd heard this sort of life transformation was possible through meditation, I wasn't quite sure how to achieve it. Well I'm happy to say that after years of study and trial and error, I've found some answers.

Here are some of the key things I've learned on my journey:

1. Transforming stuck life circumstances is a process that happens in distinct steps. Knowing these steps is extremely helpful as you work towards changing your life.
2. There are many different types of meditation, and each has its own specific benefits.
3. Each step of the transformation process has meditation types best suited to it. Knowing what practice is best for each step will help you flow through the process with much more ease.
4. There's a root skill necessary for all types of meditation. Constant distraction and frustration calming your mind during meditation (or anytime), may be a sign you need to cultivate this skill first.
5. And lastly, change doesn't happen overnight! In order to achieve long-lasting transformation, commitment (and constant re-commitment) to create change is essential. This means, you've got to make your practice part of your daily life and not just something you turn to when shit hits the fan.

If you're ready to take your meditation practice from relaxation to transformation (or at least curious how it's done), then I've got special gift for you! I've created a blueprint that outlines each stage of the transformation through meditation process + the best type of meditation for each stage.

So if you feel stuck getting lasting change in any aspect of your life and aren't ready to spend hundreds of dollars on psychics, therapists, or healers for answers, download your free guide "Meditation for Transformation Blueprint: 4 Steps to Gain Clarity, Get Unstuck, and Change Your Life for Good".