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Mary Oliver, Thank You for Giving Words to My Surrender
The Power of Letting Go The concept of our true self has been a theme lately that keeps popping up in different areas of my life. Who are you underneath that mask? Who are you when you are aligned in body, mind, spirit, values, senses, action and in ways that you didn’t even…
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Hello. Thank You. You Are Beautiful.
A Way of Being For a while now I have been intrigued by this concept of Ways of Being. It is the idea of having a consciousness that is aligned with an intention but not being caught up in the actions or strategies that might get you there. For instance you could be of…
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Seeing the World with Curious Eyes
A Deep Open-Minded Noticing Right now I am sitting in a hospital room with my girlfriend. She has an undiagnosed terribly painful condition which is a cycle of nausea and extreme pain that comes in waves of abdominal spasms. She yells out in pain her face pale and red, her eyes pleading for…
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Racism and Gratitude
Thank You, Martin Luther King Today as we appreciate Martin Luther King Jr. let's take an opportunity to acknowledge our privilege. Our gratitude practice is one way we can look at the privilege we have with humility and appreciation. Instead of defending ourselves saying we don't have privilege and instead of being so…
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The Power of What You Are Not Grateful For
Don’t Ignore That Big Void of Gratitude Did you reflect on 2015? If so, there were probably a few regrettable things that stood out. If you were reflecting with gratitude you may have just skipped right over those negative parts. Or maybe you still were able to find something you are grateful for.…
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Solstice Gratitude – In the Dark of Night
On This Darkest Day of the Year Look inside and find your light; say thank you. On this darkest day of the year, Peer into your heart and into your mind; say thank you. On this darkest day of the year, Go outside and touch the earth; say thank you. On this darkest…
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How To Express Gratitude for Loved Ones
What a Beautiful Way to Connect Writing gratitude is one thing but expressing it is quite another. Take your gratitude practice to another level by using it to connect with those who matter most. This doesn’t mean a simple, “thank you” when your loved one does something for you. This is about expressing detailed…
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Confuse Your Family with Being Grateful for the Dismissed
Show Everyone That It’s Not Just the Big Five Whenever I ask people, “What are you grateful for?” without any other direction almost everyone says the same thing. I call these the big five: Being alive, Family, Health, Friends, God. It reminds me of going around the table at Thanksgiving sharing our gratitude and…
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Desperately Seeking Abundance
When All Else Fails … Love Yourself I want a vast ocean of energy. I want a warm bath that holds me like a loving mom. I want to be able to give more. I want to be able to help more without checking my balance of energy. I want to love like I…
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She said, “The things that are happening to me are a function of my view of them.”
Freedom in Uncertainty I am preparing for the Dealing with Negativity webinar this Thursday and came across the work of Ellen Langer, Ph.D. She is a Harvard professor who has been studying mindfulness for forty years. She is quick to point out that she is not talking about mindfulness mediation and in fact instead of using…
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Remember Those Days When You Were Focused on Gratitude?
Restore That Childlike Wonder Imagine a day. A normal Monday like today. Except this day the moments are slow, filled with wonder, curiosity and enjoyment. The colors you see are vivid because they are noticed and taken in completely. The leaves on the trees are calling out to you lighting a fire in your…
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Worried? Do You Keep Replaying Things in Your Head?
I Am Freaking Out Right Now! I’m stressed. I’m worried. The clock is ticking and I am pulled in so many directions with work, family, love, music and an ever-growing list of things that absolutely need to get done. On top of that I just shared whole lot of honesty with a colleague and friend…
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Your Health – Are You Complaining about It or Appreciating It?
Respecting Your Body and Mind You are a beautiful being inside and out. Acknowledge this beauty and show respect for it by making a list of your health gratitude. Your body functions all day and night, awake and asleep. What are you grateful for about the ways that your body functions? Your mind is constantly taking…
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I Keep Getting Stood Up … By the Moon
Make Room for Gratitude I started a practice of moon bathing and I committed to doing it for at least one week. (You can too! Join us in the Moonbathers group.) This started in part because I have found that some of my best memories of solitude involve sitting outside at night alone under the…
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This Story Has Taught Me for Nine Years
Thank It and Release It Nine years ago I learned something profound about acceptance, gratitude and letting go that has never ceased to teach me. A Curandera was doing a limpia, an energetic cleansing that helps facilitate release, on a woman who was determined to let go of something that was negatively affecting her life.…
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They Can’t Take Their Eyes off of You
You. Lit Up. I am inspired this week by the Maya Angelou quote you see below. I love the idea of doing something I love so well that people can’t take their eyes off of me. Although it could be the extroverted part of me that likes being the center of attention. In reality it…
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Notice and Savor
Tell Me What You Do Every Day and I’ll Tell You Who You Are I am working on establishing a new daily habit. A learning habit. Throughout the month of June I am committed to starting my day with a few minutes of skill-building as I learn Illustrator. I have been really liking this software…
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Desperately Seeking Calm
Take Yourself on a Journey to Now On Friday I found myself racing down a deserted dirt road, a dust cloud billowing behind me, skidding on the bumps and turns as I rushed to get to our campground. The landscape was beautiful, a rare treat to see it so lush and green in the high…
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Disturbing but True
I just couldn’t find gratitude in that situation so I looked away. You have heard my gratitude time and time again for the toads in my backyard. From mating calls, eggs, tadpoles, back to toads their life cycle brings me so much joy. When I bought this house the backyard was a wasteland of weeds…
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This Is Where I Feel Gratitude
The Poetry of Emotion Gratitude, like all emotions, is like artwork, expansive and uncontainable. Sometimes these feelings in my body last a long time while other times they are fleeting. This poetry of emotion sometimes emerges as a sensation in my body. Gratitude does not always show up the same way but a couple of…