Moving On

Well, I did it! I sold my house about a week ago! I thought for sure I’d be sad, remorseful…but, no! I was giddy with excitement. This is really a new chapter in my life…new business, new place to live…! Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely stressful as well, but the excitement overpowers the stress.

So, everything is packed up and in storage with the moving company. I was supposed to go this week and look for a place to live, but got thwarted by the blizzard in the northeast. So I rescheduled my flight for next week. Me and my dog are living out of boxes in my mom’s house – not fun!

I am looking at Annapolis, thinking that it was fairly close to DC, but I keep hearing rumors to the contrary. Does anyone out there know what the commute from Annapolis to DC is like? I have a company that has interviewed me twice now and are wanting a third interview in DC.

Also, today is the last day for me to work on the project from hell that I’ve been on since summer – I’ve been doing the happy dance over that one! I can’t believe how free I feel!!! Woo! Hoo!

I think now is the time for me to get my schedule in order – there is so much to be done! Two businesses, seminary, plus a full-time job and moving on top of it! I also really want to keep blogging, so I’ve decided I will do it first thing in the morning before anything can take its place.

OK, then, bye for now!

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Experience the Reality of Success

Wow! What an experience this was. The week of March 23rd I attended David Neagle’s seminar entitled Experience the Reality of Success, or ERS for short. It took place in Las Vegas at Caesar’s Palace.

This seminar was like being in a massive session of intense group therapy for four very full days. We were stretched to our emotional, physical and spiritual limits. David’s information comes mostly from Wallace Wattles, Thomas Troward, A Course in Miracles , and his own life experience thrown in.

If you are familiar with any of these you will have some idea of the content – basically a lot of stuff about changing your thoughts and beliefs in order to change your reality. The difference with this seminar and most is the focus on EXPERIENCE. Hence, the name “Experience the Reality of Success”. There were a lot of exercises that we had to do that really challenged some of our belief systems.

I also met some very cool people there and due to the intenseness of the seminar, really felt like I bonded with some of them. I think that I have probably made some life-long friends there. I also met my next business partner there. I won’t say too much about this except that we met “by chance” (I don’t believe it was chance at all, but the hand of the Divine was definitely involved). We connected and discovered we both had the same Vision and idea for a potential business. Since then we have started working together on it. I will tell you more when there’s more to tell.

One thing I took away from the seminar that I will pass on to you is that the difference between success and failure is very slim. Basically if you can see the negative of something, that means that the opposite of it is right there. David used a piece of paper as an example of this. If one side is the result you don’t want, the other side represents what you do want – just turn it over! Of course, it is our belief systems that sometimes prevent us from doing that.

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Missing In Action

I am so sorry that I haven’t been posting in a while. The last few weeks have truly been crazy. I have been traveling a lot and attending some interesting seminars that I will be telling you about over the next few blog posts. I was in Galveston for a earth-shift meditation, Las Vegas for a self-improvement seminar called Experience the Reality of Success (ERS), Los Angeles for Ali Brown’s Platinum Mastermind group session and New York for my seminary class over the last three weeks.

I am now back home and trying to get caught up at work. Someone else subbed for me while I was gone, and then the customer’s mother died and she is not there this week. So, getting updated and figuring out where we are and what we need to be doing next is a bit challenging to say the least!

So, start checking back here every day for the updates of what I’ve been up to! Lots of stuff is going on! I will also have some book reviews in there since that’s what I was doing on all those flights back and forth across the country!

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God is Great!

This past Saturday, a miracle occurred. I am sure that is what it was – there was definitely the hand of the Divine involved.

My daughter and son-in-law were traveling west on Highway 290 on their way from Houston to Austin. They were driving my 2004 Honda Civic coupe. It was raining and as they neared the top of a hill, they realized too late that the car two cars in front of them was stopped. The car in front of them slammed on his brakes and swerved to avoid hitting it. But, my daughter tried to swerve to avoid hitting both of them and lost control. They ended up flipping over several times until the car finally stopped in a ravine.

They were able to walk away, shaken and a bit bruised and sore – but intact! I am so grateful! According to the sheriff and the tow truck driver, they shouldn’t have lived or should at least have had major injuries. The sheriff speculated that the fact that it was raining actually helped because it made the ground softer and therefore, softened the crash.

The interesting thing is that exactly at the moment of the crash I was attending a Sikh Miracle Blessing.

The blessing was done by Satya Shepherd of the Spectrum Center in Houston. We put our requests in envelopes on an altar she had set up. Then she chanted the chant that is in the above link for about 15 minutes. Here is a beautiful handout she gave us as well:

The heart that surrenders to the Higher Power within
is the raft to cross over the unfathomable world-ocean
The cycle of birth and death in the world is ended for those who have this
faith in their hearts
Those humble beings who have this faith in their hearts are awarded
peace within
They forsake Maya, emotional attachment and greed;
they are rid of the frustrations of possessiveness, lust and anger.
They are blessed with the Inner Vision to see God,
the Cause of causes, and all their doubts are dispelled.
So serve the Divine, in the way that is right for you;
These ways and means are subtle and yet powerful
This Sacred Grace is the Boat to carry us across.

I don’t know if this had anything to do with it, but it’s a beautiful thought toknow that God is with us always, protecting us.

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90 Days to a New Me

Well, I have taken stock of my current situation and find myself in a surprising place. My house is completely cluttered. This resulted when I was spending most of my time in Minneapolis and my daughter, son-in-law and ex-stepson were all living in my house. I had to rearrange all my things to make room for them. When I came back, I had additional household items that I had purchased in the Twin Cities. However, there is no room for them here because I really need to clean out other unwanted stuff first. So almost every room has to be cleaned out and reorganized. My garage is still holding items that belong to my former houseguests!

Second, I am the fattest I have ever been in my entire life. I am 39 pounds OVER the weight I was when I delivered my daughter (that’s 39 pounds over 9-months pregnant weight!) My skin is broken out in a rash on my chest and one calf – I am sure this is entirely a result of stress. I am stressed because I am working a full-time job and trying to start up a small business. I am also attending seminary to become and ordained interfaith minister – all of these things take up time and I am spread thin amongst them all.

Third, the company I work for has been having cash flow problems and the last three months they have pushed back our paydate. This along with a 25% paycut at the beginning of this year has put me in a position I never thought I’d see again. I had been spending without really thinking much about it and unfortunately continued to do so after the paycut. I now realize I have gotten back into debt and have made a huge dent in savings. This is also adding to my stress!

However, like Scarlett O’Hara, I will not let myself get down about this – tomorrow is another day. Actually, I am quite excited because I am starting a 90 day program of my own design to get me from here to where I want to be. I think this program could eventually become a product/service I can deliver in my coaching business. As Film Producer Mike Todd said, “I’ve never been poor, but I have been broke.” Broke is a temporary situation; poor is a state of mind. I am definitely not poor! It’s all in your attitude no matter your situation.

So, yesterday was Day 1 – I took stock of my checking and savings balances and debt balances. I also created a vision of the life I would love. I then created a spending plan. I am now working on a project plan to get me from the current situation to a new situation in 90 days which will be a step on the road to my ultimate dream life. I looked at my outflow and cut back on some expenses. I also called in some money that was owed to me. I even found 7 bucks and some change in a wallet I haven’t used in a while! It just goes to show that with the right intention and positive thought, God provides what you need to you.

So, today I didn’t change my financial situation much and I definitely didn’t change my stress – I worked on work stuff for 14 hours and didn’t exercise. But I am getting some of the clutter under control so that should help me get my mind clearer as well to determine the best time to schedule some of the things I need to do daily. The plan is to make small improvements daily – I’ll let you know how it goes!

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Slipping Through My Fingers

Well, my daughter turned 24 on Friday. I can hardly believe it! I still remember that fuzzy-headed little girl with the lisp. Now she’s a grown woman with a job and a husband! Where did the time go?

I think it really hit me when she got married last August – that my major-playing role in her life was over. IT was time for her to move on and have her own life. The ABBA song, “Slipping Through My Fingers” says it so well (and came out in the movie right before her wedding):

I feel like there were so many things I wanted to do with her and say to her and I have no idea where the time flew away to! It’s tough adjusting to this new role – more on the outside looking in and feeling just a little bit unnecessary.

I’m sure we will adjust and I will enjoy my new role – it’s all about the journey, right?

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Spring is in the Air

Ah, yes! Spring is in the air!

My eyes and nose are in a perpetual state of runniness (is that a word?) along with periodic bouts of itchiness. It is so frustrating to be feeling the most miserable during the time of year when the weather is gorgeous and all I would like to do is be outdoors. This happens to me twice a year – in the fall and in the spring. In the spring it’s all the trees and flowers blooming and in the fall its the ragweed. So in I go when the weather is 70 – 80 degrees and sunny with low humidity and back out I go when it’s cold in the winter and sweltering in the summer – yuck!

It’s worse in the morning when it seems like all I do is blow my nose. Then somehow everything dries up until I go out to take Isis for a walk. I have to bring tissues with me in case my nose decides to start running! I do keep my office door open during the day just because it’s so pretty and I like to hear the birds singing.

Oh well, soon enough it will be too hot to open the door and all the pollen will be gone – so I’ll feel better, but then be cooped up inside to avoid the heat! I’ll just enjoy it while I can – through the runny eyes and nose!

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Spinning Out of Control

I have been away for a while because it has been really crazy. I realize I didn’t even do a Friday Favorite last week! I have been out of town for most of the past week. At the beginning of the week, I went to Seattle for my job. A team of us flew in to meet with the customer and to meet our counterparts there. We spent all of Wednesday afternoon in meetings. Then on Tuesday, it was once again, back-to-back meetings. These were followed by a quick dinner and more meetings withing our own team in the hotel lobby. Wednesday morning was spent in…you guessed it….more meetings until we flew out around noon. I got in late Wednesday night and then aside from work, began getting ready for a conference this past weekend.

Friday afternoon, I drove to Chapel Hill, Texas for the Texas Astrology Retreat. It was AWESOME! We learned a lot of new (for me) techniques based on the the ancient Hellenistic style of astrology which dates back to the Babylonians. These techniques really work and are much more”systemized” and structured. I am definitely employing more of these in my readings. I had been using the Vedic (Indian) system which is very similar to the Hellenistic, but this just gives me even more tools to work with.

This week, I really need to get my “Coaching With the Stars” website up. I am planning on using the wordpress.org version of WP to do this as I want total control of my own website! This is where I will have all my astrology/coaching stuff. Of course, I have the Blissful Soul website which is purely Life coaching. Actually right now all it is is a way to get on my email list if you want to keep up with what I’m doing, but soon that will change to a more robust website as well. I’m just taking it a step at a time right now.

I also have to write to papers by the end of the week for my seminary homework and one other one on Frida Kahlo for my Vedic Astrology homework which will demonstrate Vedic timing techniques and how these indicators have played out in her life.

I can’t believe March is already here and I still have so much personal paper work to do! Last year I swore that I would not wait until the last minute to submit insurance claims and FlexTime claims like I had the previous years, but lo and behold…guess what I still have to do and the deadline is the end of March. I also still have to do my taxes, but I haven’t been really organized this past year and I need to find all my receipts and things like that! AAUUGGGHHH! I feel like I’m drowning in paperwork!

So, needless to say, I have been running and running, but feel like I’m going nowhere fast!!! I think I”m not alone either – it seems like many people I speak to are feeling the same kind of time crunch. Could it be that time really is speeding up?

Well, I better get back to work and get at least some of these things done. I have a few hours I can squeeze stuff in before my next meeting. Then after two more meetings, I will go to my T-Tapp class and then a meditation class! Whew! I’ll need some meditation after a day like today!

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Update on Isis, the Mighty Mouse Huntress

This afternoon I took Isis back to the vet for a follow-up on the infamous rat poison incident. (Click here for previous post). The good news is that her blood clot time is down to 3.5 minutes or 5 minutes (depending on the method used) which is down from 7! So, she is pretty much in the clear – however, she does need to take the Vitamin K for another month.

Everyone just be sure if your pet comes in contact with rat poison, take them immediately to the vet! I was very fortunate that I caught it when I did. And many thanks to everyone who prayed!

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WeightWatchers DropOut

I have officially deemed myself a Weight Watchers dropout. Not that I don’t like the program or think that it works. I do believe that it is one of the best systems for losing weight for many people – I’m just not one of them.

As you may know, you get a certain amount of points allowed per day based on your current weight. Every food is worth so many points. The points values are calculated based on calories, fat and fiber. So, two items with the same amount of calories, the one with less fiber would have more points. So, theoretically if you eat “good” foods such as fruits and vegetables, you will have plenty of points to make it through the day. So, while it’s true that you can eat what you want when you want it, it isn’t entirely true because sometimes you are out of points when the thing you really want will cost you a lot of points.

My problem is that I am an emotional eater. I eat when I’m bored, anxious, sad, nervous, angry, pretty much anything except hungry…oh, yeah and when I’m hungry too! The other issue for me is that the minute something is deemed off-limits, then it’s all I can think about. I have dreams of it and want it with every fiber of my being. So, while technically WW allows you to have whatever you want (you just count the points), if you are out of points – YOU CAN’T HAVE IT!!!

Many years ago, I lost quite a bit of weight and the way I did it was to be VERY permissive with myself. I was actually working for a psychotherapist who specialized in eating disorders and this was a method she employed with her compulsive eaters, AKA emotional eaters. I told myself I could have whatever I wanted. The deal was that there were a few ground rules…

1) Eat only when hungry – that’s physically hungry. For some of us it takes a while to figure this one out – we’ve never allowed ourselves to actually experience it

2) Stop when satisfied – NOT gorged to the max, just satisfied. A friend and weight loss coach once told me that she finds this point is when in the middle of a meal she sighs – that is her body’s indication that she is satisfied. I have used this one as well – simply because sometimes there is no other indication.

3) Eat with no distractions – thoroughly enjoy and focus on what you are eating. This means no TV, no eating in the car, no stressful conversations while eating, no reading while eating. Focus totally and completely on your food – on the taste and smell of it, the texture. Enjoy it to the fullest. This also makes it easier to determine when you are satisfied.

4) Eat only what you really want to eat. If you eat what you think you should eat, you will never really feel satisfied and then you will reach for it later and probably consume way more than you would have if you had just allowed yourself to have it to begin with.

Geneen Roth, in her book – When Food Is Love”, describes her first few weeks of eating only what she wanted. She ate chocolate chip cookies both baked and the raw dough and variations of each at every meal for about two weeks until she got to a point that she never thought she’d want to see a chocolate chip cookie again. Some of us have deprived ourselves for so long, that we want those things fearing we will never get to see them again. These first few weeks can be scary as our minds adjust to believing that we aren’t going to be deprived anymore.

Now, when we stop using food to cover up our emotions, we are still left with the emotions we have to deal with. There are many methods for doing this including therapy, journaling, meditating, screaming. The most interesting one is the one used by Paul McKenna in his book and TV show of the same name, “I Can Make You Thin”. It is EFT or the Emotional Freedom Technique which consists of a series of tapping motions that you make on various meridian points on your body in conjunction with stating appropriate affirmations. This actually works surprisingly well IF you can remember to do this when you’re in the middle of a binge.

Well, for what it’s worth, I’ve canceled my WW membership and re-read Geneen Roth’s books and am now starting down my path of dealing with the emotional eating rather than the weight. It probably means I’ll be blogging more so I can vent my emotions through my writing. Stay tuned!

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