So, here's the thing...

It's a choice to experience a blessed life, or you can choose to focus on what you don't have and feel miserable about it, thus creating even more of what you don't want! A shift in perception is all it takes to turn your day around. A shift in how you choose to look at things is the difference between manifesting an abundant life, or remaining stuck. When the inside changes, the outside follows. That  is  how it works. Always has, my friends. This is not "new age" crap.  This is a law of attraction, and it's within your power to harness this truth and use it to full advantage. Here's how it can be done. And, here's a couple examples of how wearing your limiting beliefs like a badge of honor will make sure nothing ever changes. I feel passionate about some things in this life, and this is one of them: Deflecting negativity.  I couldn't write about anything here unless I had seen for myself the positive and negative results of my own thoughts as I...

Your value is not what the world tries to make you believe. It's not an IQ, it's not about your status in society, it's not how many friends you have, it's not how much money you can make, it's not how many "likes" you get on Facebook, and it's certainly not your own opinion of yourself when you're feeling down.  Life ebbs and flows, it shape shifts, startles, frustrates, and hurts sometimes. But... This is what I know... There isn't a single solitary thing you can't achieve if you want it bad enough. There isn't a pain or tragedy that you can't get through if you will only allow it to help you grow. There isn't a person anywhere in this world that can strip you of your innate grace, peace and worth. There isn't a job, or relationship, or family member, or friend, that can make you feel less than your own radiant self, unless you allow them to.  But here's the thing, just when you think your life is on track, someone...

I had a client a few weeks ago tell me she felt like she was at the end of her rope. She said she felt everyday was a battle with herself.  Her exact words were, "I feel like I'm living by the skin of my teeth.  I don't trust myself to know how to live right anymore.  It's like I'm going to fall into a hole and never get out".  Yeah, there are times I hear some heavy stuff as a massage therapist.  The sacred space I'm able to hold for people in my line of work is something I never take lightly.  I never give unsolicited advice. That's not my job.  As I begin my work, I simply listen and silently bless the person on my table. What I do know is they are so much more than their current problems!  It's as if we fall asleep for a while and forget just how magnificent we are.  Her follow-up question was, "What should I do?" I'm not a psycho therapist, nor a counselor, but I remember responding with telling her to try living by her lights , ...

...and believe me there are days when I don't know much at all, but this is something I can write about with certainty: Our level of daily stress in this life is in direct correlation to how we choose to react to it. Just look at the news for a second...wait, don't do that! We're working on lowering stress at the moment!  (The lopsided media is another blog post for another day)  I can only write from my heart, and I can only write convincingly about what I truly know and have experienced.  And I know about stress. I know about a level of stress that can kill, or at the very least make you sick in heart, mind and body. Yep...I know about all of this intimately...and so do you.  But here's the thing: Living a low-stress life is a choice. It's very easy to say our level of stress comes from outward events, places, things, people. We are very reactionary as humans. This is normal, this is how we decipher situations and make choices about how to act. But it's the ...

There is no way around it, negativity comes at us every single day.  Sometimes it's hard to recognize until you hear yourself talking, or you are suddenly stunned by your own thought processes....the times you scare yourself silly, the times you start on a downward spiral of self-loathing, or letting a sense of doom come over you.  The media, newspapers, neighbors, work, school, our political climate, you name it, and you know what I'm talking about here, it comes at us almost as soon as we walk out the door, or turn on the television or radio.  Fear is the outcropping of negativity, but when it begins to take over we feel unable to get a hold of it.  In my massage practice I hear every type of problem, both physical, and emotional. I hear the pain, I sense where it's being held in the body, and then I surround my clients in a space that allows for healing.  Getting a hold of negativity before it lodges in our minds and hearts is what I want to talk about today....

Hello!  It's been awhile, and I apologize for neglecting my blog.  Life gets to running at full throttle sometimes, and the things we wish to pay more attention to go by the wayside.  *Le sigh*  But here I am again, so let's start anew... How is this New Year going for you, so far?  We are in the midst of some very cold and snowy weather here in Kentucky, like most of the country is dealing with.  Unusual for us, though, and for many a very unwelcome event in their lives.  I admit I am a Winter person, in fact, I love the way it allows me to slow down and notice life around me.  I become more conscious of my surroundings, my movements, my thoughts.  I've written before of the barren landscape, and the metaphor this represents for me.  I crave the times I can go within and listen, dream, contemplate, and recharge,  How about you?  Do you rebel against the things you cannot control?  And weather is one of those things, for...

It has happened to me more then once recently.  I know when it's coming, too. Before, I never knew how burdened I was until I got down sick.  Sick and tired, and then I got angry because I was sick and tired. Now when I'm coming to a breaking point because of juggling all the things I need to do within a day, I feel the tears behind my eyes getting hot.  So I stop, I let everything drop, and I cry.  Stop, drop, and cry.  That's my survival skill. There is something miraculous about crying.  Something magical happens when you just let everything go.  It's not giving up, it's giving over to the moment, because you see, sometimes the moment knows better then you do what needs to be done.  And stopping, dropping the "to do" list, and releasing the burdens through your tears is many times your best and healthiest option.  Those closest to us never like to see this either.  It's not for the weak at heart, or for the "fair weather" friend t...

Well, it's been an interesting year so far.  I've grown in so many ways.  I've been tested, challenged, ridiculed, adored, fallen down, gotten back up, made a hard decision, known great joy, saw my intentions fall into place, and been scared out of my wits. But, I was able to perfect the talent of landing on my feet...every time. I prayed for peace of mind.  I got storms.  I asked for a smooth road.  I got potholes. Man, I thought, what gives here?  Is the trick to not ask for what you want?  Well... You see, all of these things have been for my personal growth, even though I never saw it at the time.  They are a gift bestowed by a benevolent Universe to show me that I have the chutzpah, the grit, the talent, the grace to handle whatever comes my way.  And don't get me wrong, I have days on end that are exquisite in their simplicity and joy, but my outlook during the rough times is what I believe paved the way for the good times to come...

Every life is going to experience a barren patch from time to time.  Those places where our inspiration and ability to keep growing comes to a halt.  A drought can come unexpectedly, one day you're fresh and green, and a week later your life is full of burnt grass and deep cracks.  This spiritual path I walk aways has me looking for the meaning in everything, and what I know for sure is everything that comes our way comes bearing a gift in it's hands.  So, in having to endure over the last few weeks a heat wave that had many days of triple digit temperatures, and watching my normally lovely oasis of a back yard turn into a dried up patch of earth, I had to pose the question to myself...how does this apply to me?  How does this apply to life in general?  The first thoughts I had were:  nothing is dependable, nothing stays the same,  and  you really can't control anything.   This drought we just went through sucked the very life out of...

I have figured out that one of my big life lessons is change. Things change, people change, places change, lives change, perceptions change. Nothing lasts forever in this material plane of existence, but what does last is your "inner knowing". These are the things that are unshakable, and they are different for each one of us. These are mine: my deep abiding love of "home", the love of my daughters, my absolute belief that I am loved and cared for by a power far above this human plane, and I'm strong, compassionate, loving...I am enough, just as I am.  There is an unshakable core in everyone that knows how to deal beautifully with life. When nurtured, this centeredness will allow you to be calm, flexible, buoyant, and expectant of a good outcome, no matter what. It allows you to be at peace when everything around you is running amok. I realized one day after being down on my knees one too many times, begging that I get through this or that crises, that I j...

On Friday, March 2nd, our beautiful state of Kentucky, our beautiful Bluegrass region of the world, suffered terrible loss and devastation when an F3 tornado ripped through the state just after 5pm. All in all that day, seventy-nine tornados blew through. Nearby Indiana had small country towns wiped completely off the map. The videos posted have been heartbreaking, footage of the awesome, terrible power of the tornados have circulated widely by now. There is no way to explain or make sense of it all. My own fear was hitting hard at about 5pm when we knew Lexington was just about to be hit. Eighty-five mile an hour winds briefly tore through the city, large damaging hail fell fast and furious. As I was heading out the door with my five cats, my child and, would you believe, my Irish Bodhran drum, (funny what you think is valuable at such a moment) the hail started. I ended up staying put, I somehow felt certain, and thanks to the excellent play-by-play reporting of our local met...

I am always thankful beyond words for the little blessings that spring up in my day: The fleeting glimpse and/or feeling that everything is going to work out....whatever the current situation may warrant. Something someone says that is just what I needed to hear. (How did they know?) Or the way the sun falls dappled across the bedroom floor through the lace curtains, dazzling my eyes and welling them up with tears for reasons I cannot comprehend. The cardinal that perches outside the window for just a moment, sparking my life with a flash of vibrant red on a stark winter's day. The sudden warm embrace from someone close to me. You know what I'm talking about, we all experience our own little moments of grace. What struck me today was a passing comment from a lovely lady, a yoga teacher no less, so how perfect when she said we need to stay fluid . I wasn't even in her yoga class this morning, I was simply talking with her about the possibilities available for me to ...

I don't make resolutions. Never have. What I have to come to realize as a much more powerful route to realizing the manifestation of my desires is simple intention . It's a subtle shift in focus. To be resolute means to will something into submission, to resolve to make something happen, it entails a certain amount of force and/or willpower. Intention, on the other hand, is gentle, direct, and moves with lightening speed. To intend something is a simple act, and acting "as if" you already have what you desire is how you create the next moment of your life, and the next, and the next week, and the next month, and so on. "Thoughts become things", so only focus on what you you intend to have. I intend to let go of what I think my life should look like....and I intend to stop should-ing all over myself, as well! I intend to be of service to others, I intend to support myself and my child on my own, I intend to become all I am capable of becoming irrega...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY FRIENDS! This says it best: "I salute you. I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. There is nothing I can give you which you have not. But there is much, that while I cannot give, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instance. Take peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy! Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty . . . that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage then to claim it, that is all! . . . And so I greet you, with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away". "Letter to a Friend" by Fra Giovanni, 1513 Until next time....blessings upon your heart Cindy

I would love to draw your attention to a website for just a moment: www.theinnerchristmasmovie.com. This is a soft place to land during this busy holiday season. You will receive the gift of twelve days of quiet exploration into the heart of the matter....and into what really matters. Be sure to watch the "Inner Christmas" movie that tells you just what this is all about. It's only purpose is to bless and comfort you. I don't know about you, but I prefer the days after Christmas. When many are feeling a "let-down" of sorts, I am just starting the best part of Christmas, in my humble opinion. It's time to go within and ask, ponder, consider, and dream. It's a quiet thing. It's a gift you give yourself. And you get to revel in it for twelve days and nights! These are the gifts I give myself during this sacred time of year: If there is snow....a moonlit walk, or an early morning just standing in the pristine whiteness of newly falle...

I lost my job last Monday. Or rather, I was "released" from my position as a massage therapist for no good reason other then sheer, undiluted greed and a pure lack of ethics. Just like that, I was told I was no longer needed. "Goodbye, get your things, you can go now, see ya...oh, and have a Merry Christmas"! Just like that, no lie. GOBSMACKED ! As a co-worker helped me get my things to my car, she expressed her mutual shock and dismay and disgust for these employers, (employers that had made her a shell of the woman she used to be), then she hugged me, and I drove away. I was shaking slightly. I wanted to cry, I thought I should cry, I attempted earnestly to cry....but I couldn't! I must be in total shock, I thought, it hasn't sunk in yet. But what came over me was a sense of relief . My shoulders began to relax, they were back down where they belonged, about six inches below my ears. I put on Christmas carols, and I drove back home with a lig...

"Let not your heart be troubled". If you are starting to feel the pressure of the holidays, read on. I've always found that to be such an odd phrase,though...."the pressure of the holidays". Holidays are supposed to be fun, aren't they? Parties! Visitors! Family and friends! Presents! Presents! PRESENTS! Oh wait, no pressure there, right? Take a deep breath... In spite of myself I still feel the occasional panic when I think of the holidays. And now that I'm on my own, money is the potential panic button here. I've learned in years past the value of paring down the excesses in my life, but that came after I learned some lessons and saw my own desperate need to fill my life with "stuff". There was a time when I never had to think of money. It was just there. I didn't even need to keep track of spending in my checking account. Money was just always there. I became a little irresponsible in this area. While never becoming ...

I wish each and every one of you a very happy, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving! If the only prayer we ever utter from our lips is "Thank You"...it will be enough. You are enough. You are all you need. You are loved more then you know! Be well...Be content...Be you And until next time... blessings upon your heart Cindy

Another year is coming to a close and with it comes a time of reflection for many. The stark barren trees and landscape can lend itself to moments of sadness, a bereft feeling, as if something is dying inside. This can also yield great moments of enlightenment as well. As the year ends is there anything you can actually let die within you? Perhaps regret, the loss of a former way of life, or despair? As the leaves fall I am always struck how the trees don't try to hold onto them. They simply, gently, let go and fall to the ground, and that's that. Within the stark contrast of a once vibrant tree now lies a secret life within. The tree is sleeping for a while, rejuvenating itself, doing it's inner work so it may once again burst forth with new life. The lessons here are not lost on me. Dying to the old so you may once again break forth with freshness and vitality is a beautiful process to behold. Do not fear letting go of that which no longer serves you. For the...