Yesterday was a blessing! My sister, Missy gave birth to her second son. Both Mom and Baby are healthy and happy. I had the honor of changing his first diaper. (When did that become and honor?!)

I give myself a pass for not blogging yesterday’s chapter from Mark Napo’s book. If you have an aha or insight you would like to share, please do so below!

Today’s short reading reminded me of something that took me a long time to embrace, but embrace it I did! Mark writes about the struggle we have all experienced in “hiding what is obvious about us”.

For me it has been my voice, or what my husband lovingly refers to as my intense energy. I’m not the shy quiet type. I speak my truth and I am mostly direct in doing so. I am also very passionate and I get animated when I talk about that which I am passionate.

As a kid I was loud and boisterous, always full of energy. Some of it was about trying to get attention, so when my mother would “shush” me and tell me not to be so loud, it would squash my me-ness. Of course I didn’t understand it that way back then, but as I journied inward during times of self-exploration as an adult, to learn what had caused me later in life to not express myself, these experiences were front and center.

In time I learned to embrace my energy and even how to manage it. I know it’s a lot – and often times too much – for some people. But hey, that’s their problem, not mine. In those cases I don’t apologize for who I am, I just remind myself that not everyone processes energy in the same way. I also make note that those particular people are not “my people”. They are not who I flourish in relationship with. I have sacrificed who I am in past relationships (as I’m sure you have too) just because I wanted to be accepted. But to be accepted for anyone other than who you are is not acceptance, it’s conformist behavior.

The funny thing that happens when you finally come to own that thing you were trying to hide, I mean owning and embracing it as the fiber that makes up who you are, people come to expect it from you, even rely on it.

I’m proud of my voice, my energy and the passion I hold for the things that are important to me. And I’m proud of the fact that the people in my life know they can depend on me to tell them the truth, in a loving and gentle way, even if it’s not what they want to hear at the time.

So what is “that thing” for you? What did you try so hard to hide, that you know now, makes you who you are?

I know, I know, two posts in one day!

I just had to get ‘up to date’ with my readings of Mark Napo’s book, “The Book of Awakening”. http://amzn.to/awakn2012 (My perfectionism hard at work) I promise, this one will be much shorter than the first.

Reading today’s entry about ‘unlearning back to God’ was a pleasing experience for me. Napo writes about the film or layers we build up as we live our human lives and move further away from that deep deep connection within. (My interpretation) Although I have felt completely disconnected and angry with God, I had no trouble finding my way back to that soul-filled place deep inside me. That place where no matter how angry or resentful we get, we are always loved, accepted and welcomed back with loving, open arms. That truly unconditional place.

The guidance at the end of this chapter invites the reader to bring to mind two things that you love doing and to meditate on what it is about these two things that brings you alive. My two things came to me instantly – working with an ideal client and being with my husband. The thing that brings me alive doing both of these things is in the witnessing I am honored to experience doing both.

If you’ve seen the movie Avatar, you’ll remember Neytiri telling Jake, “I see you”. It’s like that. REALLY seeing someone for who they are and witnessing their spirit. It’s in moments like that when the layers of my human-ness are pulled back, my insecurities, my not-enoughness, my doubts and fears, they all disappear and my full spirituality is revealed. For me, this is unlearning my way back to God.

What’s it like for you?

Greetings and Happy New Year!

I hope it wasn’t too anti-climactic for you. Adam and I spent a nice quiet evening together. We went to a friend’s house for a glass of wine and some hors d’oeuvres, took a walk in the balmy 45 degree foggy night and made our first fire of the season. We were in our “comfies” by 10:00.

As we watched Dick Clark’s Rockin’ News Year’s Eve, I heard something that has probably been said every year previous to this one. Yet I heard it this year for the first time. I’m not sure why this message has escaped me all these years. Perhaps it didn’t have any meaning for me then, and this year it certainly does.

The message I heard over and over again was that NYE is everyone’s chance to make a fresh new start. To clear the deck and   begin again. To wipe the slate clean. To begin with a blank canvas. If that is what you choose to do. It’s possible that having a blank canvas in front of me feels like a great place to be this new year and that’s why this message landed so hard.

The first thing I decided to do to create on my blank canvas was to start the new year with a new daybook. A book that offers an inspirational story, insight, poem each day for an entire year. The book I chose this year is Mark Napo’s “The Book of Awakenings” http://amzn.to/awakn2012. Of course I conveniently forgot about this new year’s intention the first two days. Ooops!

So last night when I saw the book by my bedside, I decided ‘better late than never’, and I read January 1st & 2nd’s inspirations. Like anything else you may pick up to inspire you, some things will resonate, some won’t. The January 2nd sharing really spoke to me. Now what I love about how Napo set up this daybook, is that at the end of each sharing he prompts you with gentle directions for you to go within and create an even deeper experience of the chapter.

The meditation for this 2nd chapter in the book encourages one to look at what we are holding onto that is preventing us from moving forward. Or “opening the door” to the next thing in our lives. During my meditation I clearly saw myself standing at the gates of heaven with my arms loaded with bags and luggage, my back weighed down heavily with a large backpack and my spirit broken due to all that I was carrying.

To clarify, the ‘gates of heaven’ piece – I was not facing death. This was me standing in front of the gates of heaven here on earth. I had so much weighing me down that I was unable to fully embrace and ‘enter’ into the heavenly life that is right in front of me. The baggage was my ego. Not ego in the arrogance kind of way. The ego that keeps me separate from God. I heard Wayne Dyer explain ego as Edging God Out. Holy crap! That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.

I got lost on my way and when I didn’t get the answers I wanted, I got pissed off at God, unconsciously claiming that “this spiritual stuff” must not work for me (separation) and I dug myself deeper and deeper into a lonely hole of resentment. All the while I have an abundance of opportunity just waiting for me to say “Yes!” to. But I can’t, because my ego has cleverly placed a blindfold over my spiritual eyes.

The action I was inspired to take during this meditation is what I am doing right now. The inspiration to share the journey of my experience with this daybook came from this meditation. If you know me at all, you know that I fully trust in the power of divine inspiration. My first thought was to brush this idea aside for many different reasons. I knew that was fear (ego) talking. That was my negative inner voice attempting to talk me out of it and when that voice shows up I KNOW there is something juicy on the horizon that my ego is deliberately try to keep me from experiencing.

So here is what I’m inviting YOU to do – join me. Go get this book. http://amzn.to/awakn2012 and join me for what I’m certain will be an inspirational adventure. My intention is to share in this blog my daily experience of Mark Napo’s “The Book of Awakenings”. What I invite you to do is share yours too. Now I know it’s a big commitment. So right here and now I give us both permission to fail. I might not make it here every day, perhaps you won’t either. However, by setting this public intention, I’m hoping it will help me to stay on track.

Think about it. If you/we take this daily action to stay connected to ourselves and our spirituality, imagine what kind of year we will have! Imagine the beautiful creations we will be inspired to fulfill with each daily inspiration. We can help each other stay focused. Give one another new insights and different perspectives. We can to this together, we can keep each other accountable.

Tell your friends, your mother, your sister and your daughter. Get inspired to create a year of connection and meaning. That’s what I intend to do with my canvas. To create a technicolor picture that flourishes in every area of my life. Spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially and professionally.

It’s funny (well, not really). You stress and worry about something for God knows how long until you get up the courage to do  what needs to be done and in doing so, a whole new world opens up to support that decision.

More specifically I’m talking about my recently shared news to take a step back from my business and re-evaluate how I can best align myself with who I am and get my gifts out into the world.

Can I tell you how long I had been struggling with this? The better part of this year, then off and on over the past few years. I think of the time and energy I spent asking if there isn’t an easier way. At one point I saw this as wasted time and energy, but I know better than that. It was necessary time and energy spent. I needed to have each of those experiences, as painful and frustrating as some of them were, in order to peacefully get to this point.

As soon as the email went out last week sharing this news, I felt an opening. And this was before I got any feedback. Then when the emails came in acknowledging my “honesty and courage” for being “so transparent”, I was reminded again of the power and strength available to each of us in telling our Truth.

What was even more empowering was to read that others have been experiencing similar feelings. To know that you are not alone, especially when you have been feeling so isolated is relieving. For a split second I mistook this as “misery loves company” and I just as quickly dismissed it.

This is about individual Truth and having the courage to pursue yours (mine).

Last night I watched Mitch Albom’s movie “Have a Little Faith”. I read the book last February and it became one of my top five spiritually inspiring books.

Mitch asked his Rabbi, “If our religion is so special, why are there so many others?” The Rabbi’s response was, “God created trees, yes? God made the tree perfect, so why not stop at one tree? Why all the different varieties of trees?” Then he answered his own question with, “So that all the different tress and their branches could reach up to God.”

There is not one perfect way to deliver our gifts to the world. There are many. We have each been blessed with a divine purpose. It is up to us to explore the many possible ways already out there and then to look within to find the alignment in order to fulfill our purpose and help heal the world.

The ways by which to deliver our gifts just might be as unique as the gift themselves. And it may look nothing like you have imagined.

If what you are doing now, doesn’t feel divinely inspired, and in complete alignment with who you are, then I invite you to join me on an adventure of personal discovery and partnership with divine wisdom.

It’s how this Jewish girl would imagine it feels like to run downstairs on Christmas morning, anticipating what is wrapped in all those presents under the tree.

I’ve asked for what I want and now I expect without attachment, to receive it in the way in which it will serve the highest good for all. I’m replacing the fear of the unknown with curiosity and wonder.

My intention is to stay in this place of curiosity, excitement and wonder as to what the universe has in store for me in this next chapter of my professional life.

Like the child opening her gifts, I can only unwrap each next inspired action with anticipation and joy. My ability to conjure up possible ways in which I will deliver my purpose is minute in comparison to what the universe will create for me.

So for now it’s about feeling grateful for my willingness to follow what’s real for me and stay open to what’s next to come.

If you are on a similar path, please share what you are experiencing. It’s so liberating to talk about it and I know it will help others along their path too!

Share below.

November 14, 2011 Practical Spirituality Class

Highlights & Homework

Highlights from Today’s Class:

NOTE: Next week, November 21, is our final class of this season. It will be an open Q & A call, so send me your questions or be on the call live to get your question answered and have a chance to sit in the love seat and get coaching with me!

With next week being the final class of the season I want to send you on your way into the holiday season feeling fully prepared to take it on with empowerment and confidence.

How do you do that? – Be fully present every day and be in a position to set your self up for success. 

Create a Spiritual Ritual (do you see that ‘ritual’ is part of the word ’spiritual’?)

Your spiritual ritual looks different than your everyday, this-has-been-a-habit-for-years, kind of ritual.

I’m talking about a daily or weekly step-by-step process in which you are highly aware and conscious of each step, each moment, each breath of the ritual in which you are performing.

The purpose of this type of ritual is to connect inside.

Examples of what this type of ritual might look like:

• Weekly Sunday night bubble bath with candles, bath salts, a meditation, your journal, or a good book. NO interruptions.
• Morning walk in nature to converse with your inner wisdom and God.
• Morning meditation and intention setting.
• Intentionally speak your affirmations that you created through the belief changing technique.
• Daily Conversational Journaling exercise
• Practice surrendering one thing to God every day and activate your faith in divine wisdom.
• Build and strengthen your new relationship with money by having a journaling conversation together.
• Have daily or weekly meeting with your inner team.

What’s most important here for your ritual to be of greatest service to you and those around you is if you create it based on what you want to attract more of in your life.

In order for it to be effective it has to be specifically designed for your needs.

Your Assignment

1. Open your journal and ask your self:

• What do I want to create for my self during this holiday season?
• What tools do I have that will help me to do that?
• What support do I need to stay connected to my spirit?
• What steps can I combine to create a meaningful daily ritual?

2. Create your ritual – allow your self room for flexibility as you establish what works best for you. Remember, you always get to change it if it’s not what serves you best. there are ALWAYS do-overs!

3. Perform your ritual daily.

4. Send in your questions and share your ritual in class next week during our LIVE Q & A call!

Have you ever woken in the middle of the night feeling anxious about your future and wondering, “Is this all there is? Have I reached my peak and it’s all downhill from here?” Do you feel that tightness in your chest or the emptiness in your stomach that you’re not doing ‘it’ right, that you won’t  ‘make it’?

I hear it all the time from women who are disconnected from their Inner Wisdom. You know, that place deep inside you where you have access to a wealth of personal, professional and divine information that when activated will guide you to higher levels of confidence and certitude about all of your life decisions. Yeah, that place.

When you don’t have access to this sacred place you feel self-doubt, uncertain, lost, fearful of the future and very much alone. What’s so interesting about this phenomenon that women are experiencing, is that you think you are experiencing it alone, and nothing could be further from the truth!

The other thing that is very frustrating to me is how much of your precious energy is put into worrying about the ‘what ifs’. Does any of this sound familiar:

• What if this is all there is?
• What if I’ve reached my peak?
• What if I don’t find that special someone?
• What if my business doesn’t succeed?
• What if I don’t lose the weight?
• What if I mess it up? (My kids, my marriage, my job)
• What if . . . (wait for it) I FAIL! (BIG GASP!)

All of this fear and uncertainty is a result of not having a deep loving relationship with the one person who can help to resolve all of these ‘what ifs’ with clarity, confidence and empowerment. That one person is YOU!

You see without this secure connection to your Self, you will continue to look OUTSIDE your Self for answers. That’s where the uncertainty comes in. For NO ONE can guide you on your path better than you.

Now check this out. I love this! As you learn more about your Self and become more connected to your Inner Wisdom you also gain access to your divine wisdom. That’s the place where you experience your connection to the magic behind the curtain. What you’ll discover behind the curtain is all the love, support and guidance you’ll ever need to attract the right people, circumstances and ideas to help you make the decisions in your life that create Joy, Freedom and all the Good Fortune you can imagine. Yes, even peaceful uninterrupted nights of sleep.

But first you MUST make that connection with your Self.

So how do you do that? I’m so glad you asked!

Your Assignment

When I work with private clients in my 6-month mentorship program we use a variety of tools, concepts and practical exercises to begin a “courting stage” in this new relationship we are building. We want to treat this just like a new relationship because you have never been in this place before in your life and you are a different person then you have ever been.

So let’s begin where you are and get clear about what’s going on in your mind every day. What are your thought patterns?

A simple way to discover your thought patterns is to keep a pad of paper with you for a few hours. Write down every single thing you say to your Self in your mind. No matter how silly you may think it is, write it down. You will learn SO much about your internal dialogue from this exercise.

November 7, 2011

Homework & Highlights

Highlights from today’s class:

Creating Your Support System –

Outer Team -
1. You don’t have to do this alone
2. Accountability
3. A Soft Place to Land

Inner Team –
1. Connect with the energy of a person who serves as a ‘short cut’
2. Activate desired energy from within
3. Move forward with that energy – make it your own

Your Assignment –

To Build Your Outer Team –

1. Set your intention as to why you want this support system
2. Cherry-pick the members of your team
3. Hire a mentor

To Build Your Inner Team –
1. Consider the areas of your life that you would like to enhance.
2. Think of someone you know ~ past or present, living or not ~ who possesses this same energy you would like to acquire
3. Now close your eyes and tap into their energy and activate it within you

Important: This is NOT about wanting to be like someone else. This is about tapping into a higher sense of how you can activate un-mastered skills sets in your self.

Be sure to post any questions you have here on the blog.

It is not uncommon for those of us in the healing profession to simultaneously be experiencing the exact same things our clients are experiencing. That’s one of the greatest gifts, I find, in being a healer, we heal in others that which needs to be healed in our self.

Recently I have noticed a common thread in my conversations with almost every client, the illusion of control has been running the show and nothing is getting done other than frustration, self-sabotage and negative self-talk.

Then the universe cosmically pulled the sheet off the mirror so I could see how my clients were reflecting back to me precisely what I had been experiencing in my life.

As I so eloquently guided my clients to let go and surrender, my inner observer was sitting back chuckling saying, “Hey sweetheart, that’s some great advice, why don’t you try it on for size?”

So I did.

Try it on.

And it was itchy and uncomfortable. It was too tight and I couldn’t breathe.

Letting go was one thing but surrendering completely was a whole different story.

The dictionary says that to surrender is to “hand over”. I find comfort in feeling like I have some control in my life, so to even entertain the idea of “handing over” any part of that control (illusion or not) was quite intimidating.

But nothing else was working. None of my old trickery of willing, forcing and pushing my way through would even budge what I was up against this time. It wasn’t working because what I was up against was more of the same old familiar opponent, only stronger and wiser over time. That great opponent was me. Only now I was savvy to my trickery and it no longer held the weight it used to.

Surrender was my only option.

So I said the words.

God, I cannot do this on my own. Please take this burden from me and transform it. Help me, guide me, show me the way.

And then I was able to breathe again.

Your Assignment

Go on . . . go get your journal. And use these questions to start the conversation:

1. What does surrendering look like for me?
2. What does surrendering FEEL like for me?
3. To whom or to what am I surrendering?
4. What exactly am I surrendering?
5. What am I most fearful of if I were to surrender?

Let this exercise flow. Give your Self permission to really step into the energy of surrendering and experience that fully. You just might learn something meaningful.

A personal request from Aimée:

Did the above article resonate with you?

Do you disagree?

Do you have an insight to add?

Do you have questions about the material?

If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts & questions.

Please feel free to comment on the above article on my corresponding blog post here:

October 24, 2011

Highlights & Homework

Note ** There is NO Practical Spirituality Class next week, October 31.

Highlights from today’s class:

• Women will spend on average, 8 years of their life shopping!
• Many women have no problem spending their money on clothing, shoes, and accessories that they may never wear, but they have considerable difficulty spending money investing in their most valuable asset: themselves.
• Perhaps there is an opportunity for growth here!
• YOU are your greatest asset and in so many ways you neglect to see your true value.
• You contribute to the well being of others in so many ways. How do you contribute to YOU?
• If you take of yourself to give to others (withdrawal), and you don’t give back to yourself (deposit), eventually you will be running on an empty balance. (Sound familiar?)

Why don’t we invest in our personal and spiritual growth & development?

• You value the needs of others more than you value your own needs
• You question your worthiness
• You fear what may be exposed when you do the tough work
• It’s easier to maintain the status quo
• You have an unhealthy relationship with money

Let’s look more deeply at this last one!

• We have a relationship with everything, including money.
• We know that everything is made of energy and has it’s own unique vibration, including money. We also have ENERGY around everything that we PERCEIVE about our relationships.
• Therefore you have an energetic relationship with money. Let’s look at it!

Your Assignment –

1.    What is presently showing up in your life with money?

2.    What is your current experience with money, prosperity and abundance?

3.   If money were to show up as a person for you, who would that person be?

4. What would money look like to you, if it were this person? Be detailed in your description.

5.   Ask the question to money, “What is the relationship that I currently have with you?”

Now to shift this energy you want to ask:

7.    What kind of relationship do you want to have with money?

8.    What would you like money to look like if you were to create it as a person?  Describe that person in great detail.

9.    As you make this shift, what are you noticing about your energy? How do you feel? How is this energy different from the energy you started with?

10.  Share your new awareness below.

October 17, 2011

Highlights & Homework

Highlights from today’s class:

** Send me your questions about spirituality. **

What are you most curious about when it comes to developing your own unique partnership with the Divine?

What are your biggest challenges? Where do you stop on your journey?

Send me your questions and one may become a topic for a future class.

Struggle to Surrender

• Surrender is not weakness
• Surrender means: ‘to give up or hand over’
• The more important something is to you the more important it is to surrender
• Surrender is a gentle liberation from pain

Fear of Faith

• “Faith is not a jump in the dark it is a walk in the light” – Unknown
• Faith means: “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”
• Let go of the need to control, trust in the wisdom of a Divine plan
• You may think you are in the driver’s seat, but you are holding on for dear life, white knuckling your way through life
• Let go and have faith that you will be lead in the right direction

Recommended Reading:

A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

Your Assignment

LET GO!

Grab your journal and follow these simple steps to surrender:

1. Give your Self permission to let go – it’s OK, this only an exercise.
2. Look at the picture at the top of this post and imagine that YOU are that angel surrendering to the universe.
3. Close your eyes, get present and FEEL your Self extending your arms, leaning forward and letting go . . .
4. What are you letting go of?
5. What does it feel like?
6. Where do you feel it?
7. Do you land softly or do you soar?
8. Write down every little detail of this visualization.
9. Share what you are willing below.