My only warning was the sudden click of the doors unlocking themselves.
I briefly wondered WHY such a thing would happen before it donned on me.
I had lost control of my car.
Rather a heavy car….at twilight…on an unlit highway…12 miles from the nearest cell service…going 60 miles an hour.
Thoughts ran through my mind about what the bleep to do.
You bring your heart forward to people you love, but perhaps you don’t always feel like you’re able to help them as much as you’d like.
Luminous Listening is a powerful technique here to help as we explore the letter L in my A to Z Alchemy series.
Imagine that someone you care about is talking to you. They’re stressed and you want to help. I’ll bet your attention is focused intently on them as you listen with all your might to what they’re saying. You’re probably caught up in the surface content of what they’re sharing, thinking if you listen hard enough you can help them problem solve.
I’ll also bet in these moments that your heart rate and blood pressure increase, your jaws and stomach get tight and your breathing gets shallow. In your deep desire to connect and be of service, you have very likely allowed them to become the emotional leader and followed them into their stress.
Stop. Catch yourself. You have a totally positive intention to help them, and I promise there is a better way to achieve the result you want more quickly and easily.
Consider yourself kissed! I am completely delighted to be celebrating “K” in our A to Z alchemy exploration by starting a new tradition of gift-giving from The Art & Science of Creating Sacred Space.
Kisses from your True Self are simple practices designed to inspire a deeper relationship with the wisest part of you. The best part is that each kiss is GUARANTEED to take 3 minutes or less – although you have total freedom to enjoy the goodness as long as you like!
In celebration of my 100th post (YAY!!!), I invite you into the remarkable adventure of exploring the Hero’s Journey in your life with a hearty dose of alchemy for adventurers.
There is a pattern in all the great stories of the world that are really one story – one monomyth, with different faces. This is the hero’s story – the sacred journey of your life.
Moms, in light of Mother’s Day, I dedicate this exploration of “J” in our A to Z alchemy series to you and the profound process of new parenthood.
I offer you two short videos, one easy infographic and one condensed list. Taking a few minutes with these concepts will help connect you with your inner alchemist to bring clarity, understanding and even peace to strengthen you in your incredible journey.
Your invitation to inspiration has arrived!
Did you know the meaning of the word inspire means, literally, to breathe life into?
Join the adventure with the magical letter “I” in our A to Z alchemy exploration through an incredible poem (some might even say incantation) by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. I challenge you to let the words soak into your soul and inspire your own relationship with your uniquely beautiful and potent self.
The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
I know you bring your heart and soul forward to honor other worthy people, but do you do this for yourself? It’s time to learn the essential elements you need to honor your deepest truth and connect with your inner alchemist as we explore the letter “H” in our A to Z alchemy series.
The first and most important tool is honesty. Hiding from or ignoring the way you feel won’t protect you. It can prevent you from gathering the help and information you need to feel as healthy and whole as possible.
Bringing your awareness to what you are dealing with and how you feel from the inside out is incredibly empowering. Give yourself total permission to actually know how you feel.
You embody genuine genius.
Yes, you.
Need proof?
Check out this definition from Mirriam-Webster: a peculiar, distinctive or identifying character of spirit; a personification or embodiment, especially of a quality or condition.
That’s right. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are overflowing with intellectual capacity – although that may absolutely be the case.
As we explore the letter “G” in our A to Z alchemy series, I want you breathe this in:
How many times have you hidden your peculiar, distinctive or identifying character of spirit?
Thousands? More?
I know I have.
It comes with the territory.
This is the day it stops.
Ready to learn the key to fundamentally enhancing your quality of life? The ultimate positive psychology resource?
It’s my beauty secret.
Flow.
The fabulous state of flow is freaking AMAZING.
Haven’t had the pleasure yet?
Join in our exploration of A to Z alchemy with the concept of flow as a state of consciousness in which we are completely absorbed in an activity, particularly one that uses our creative capacity.
Remember a moment in your life when you were fully engaged in something you loved, when self-consciousness disappeared, you felt strong, alert, capable and you lost track of time.
In that moment, you were in a state of flow, deeply connected to your inner alchemist.
It is my passion to share alchemy for adventurers in life, so I’m letting you in on the surprising secret:
This optimal experience does NOT occur during relaxing, receptive, passive times. The happiness of flow is not something that happens to us, it is alchemy we can actively court & encourage to enter into our lives!
Empathy. You know it when you feel it. The moment another soul connects with you and you KNOW that you are seen, heard and witnessed in all your imperfect humanity.
You are recognized and accepted just as you are without any rankling ounce of pity.
I am not a fan of pity. Don’t want it, don’t give it.
But empathy…..well, empathy is MAGIC.
One of the surest balms for the soul we ever experience.
It is the understanding and ability to share the feelings of another.
I bet you know people who try to fake this, but you have built in radar, don’t you?
As a natural empath and alchemist, I’m here to tell you the single biggest key to increasing excellence in empathy as we explore the letter “E” in A to Z alchemy.
It’s time to discover dynamic dance benefits to energize your life!
Did you know dance is natural therapy for gathering strength, increasing self-confidence, opening up your capacity for healthy self-expression and bringing greater enjoyment into all areas of your life? It’s true! It’s a brilliant choice for connecting with your inner alchemist.
Powerful mind-body dance benefits are too great to limit to official dance classes. Join in our exploration of the letter “D” in our A to Z alchemy series as I share alchemy for adventurers in life and note that dance is designed to enjoy anywhere, anytime.
I’m not afraid to break out dancing in my office during sessions. A little jig of happiness often bursts forth in spontaneous honoring of a client’s WIN. (Have I mentioned how much I love your wins?) Sometimes we’ll even blast the music and groove for a few minutes. Everyone else in the building, including my husband, quietly and professionally providing chiropractic care, wonder what the heck is going on…. and, more importantly, WHY ARE THEY MISSING THE PARTY?!