Category: Blog-Intuition

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The Messy Middle: An Anecdote

I drove through a hail storm today.

It began gently, offering a delightful musical accompaniment to my journey. Intensifying, the hail noisily demanded my attention, as did the wind. And then it was over. Just like that.

How different from the storm which has overtaken the world.

A pandemic whirling through every country with continuous winds of massive change, uncertainty, and overwhelm. Littering the way with too many demands, unclear directions, and everyone unsettled. These are the times in which we live and we’re not through to the other side.

We’re in the “Messy Middle” of a long transformative process.

This term, coined by Scott Belskys, acknowledges the influential middle phase of any project, product development or transformation of a company. Whether intended or forced upon a company, big change brings uncertainty, ups and downs, mistakes, struggles, and frustration. Volatility is to be expected and may be worked with. Far from being helpless, there are wise ways to proceed.

It helps to recognize that no journey is linear. And every middle is messy.

At the beginning of a challenge, planned or unplanned, you may rally. Expend your energy to creatively adapt and to help others do the same. You settle into the new plans in place and manage the frequent need for adjusting your response.

And on it goes. And the storm continues.

You engage. You withdraw. You adapt and look to the future. At some point, you lose sight of that future you looked to and have nothing yet to replace it with. Eventually, energy expended and mindset recalibrated countless times, you realize you’re tired. And unclear about the next tweak, action, or directional focus.

When you run out of steam, it’s a good thing to rest.

Even though life will still blow the winds around you, demanding your attention and your presence. That’s to be expected. Choosing to rest doesn’t mean you’ll give up your responsibility. You know how to do your work, feed the children, and complete the basic tasks of living. And it’ll get done.

The choice becomes where you place your focus: on the storm around you or on the calm within.

It’s too easy to be pulled in the direction of the loudest wind. It takes intent to pull back and engage the quietude within. Here in the stillness of your own being, it’s not so much about doing anything. Not seeking answers or even trying to listen. Just dropping into the quiet spaciousness that awaits your return. Resting there.

Imagine that. In the midst of the storm, you do nothing.

It sounds simple, but it takes practice. Especially after years of the mind and the body clamoring for the to-doing. Yet, the Way into living in flow with the universal energy and the wisdom of your own Soul requires you to slow. And still. And open.

It’s a life practice, not just a smart meditation. (Although it also is a smart meditation.)

Dropping within and seeking nothing, you open the way for deep nourishment. Naturally, you access a wellspring of wisdom that soothes, sturdies, and (eventually) reveals the mystical invitations to live differently than you had before.

There’s an ebb and a flow to the process. And it’s not to be rushed.

There are many ways in. For me, walking the Feminine mystical path has revealed the deep nourishment of sitting within exquisite stillness. Engaging the archetypal energy of the Sacred Feminine, with Her many faces, you awaken your capacity to flow in coordination with life’s movements.

Within this depth of sturdiness, connection, and replenishment, the way becomes clear.

Internally guided rather than externally pulled. Moving with the complexity of Life’s harmonious dance, your life becomes simpler. And the middle is less messy.

There is a difference between working archetypally and psychologically.

 

When you work with archetypal energy, such as the Faces of the Sacred Feminine, you engage timeless, universal principles.

This information is not received through the mind. It is a direct transmission that is encoded with a blueprint for your own evolution. Your Soul recognizes, translates, and activates within you the metaphoric, symbolic language of these archetypal energies.

Archetypal symbols are fluid symbols of light which are the underlying form of the Universe.

Dropping within the stillness and engaging an archetypal face of the Sacred Feminine allows this fluid light information to settle within your being. Shifting and growing you from the inside out.

It’s a mystical process. Perfectly orchestrated by your Soul.

Remember that all journeys are not linear. And any step along your Path may be challenging and the way unclear.

Engaging the Way of the Feminine introduces practical relationships and depth practice to drop within the wisdom, opens you to the archetypal energy, and allows the Feminine teachers to reside within and guide you into the way of living in flow with what is happening.

Entering through the gateway of stillness, you see that every moment is rich with opportunity. And the storm stills.

If you are interested in exploring the Sacred Feminine Mystery teachings, I invite you to explore the offerings on my Workshop and Retreat pages. All classes are for women only (although the Sacred Feminine Mystery is available to all, regardless of gender identification).

There are many ways to live in alignment with the Universal flow.

Stillness is a gateway for all of them. However you find your way in, I do hope you seek what awaits. It changes everything.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

The practice of “stilling” is a way into universal wisdom and your inner clarity. And research proclaims that the benefits for your emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing are many. Sitting still or meditating in your fashion each day changes the brain. Growing gray matter, creating new neural pathways, decreasing stress chemicals and increasing immune response. Reducing high blood pressure, soothing symptoms of anxiety and depression, contributing to wellbeing. No matter what is happening, you can take a minute or more to stop, drop in, breathe, and notice. It’s that simple and that beneficial.

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Creating my Website: 8 Lessons Learned

I value hindsight. It allows me to notice what I’ve learned.

When I complete a project, let’s use my beautiful new website as an example, I find myself naturally settling into a reflective period. I’ve learned the hard way that if I jump in to the next thing too quickly, I’ll miss all the juicy nuggets of things learned. I want to integrate these hard won insights, lessons, and discoveries. So I may practice and improve upon them as I grow.

I’ve learned to leave judgment out of the process.

It just isn’t helpful to judge yourself or others. That’s a diversion and is just covering up something that wants to also be seen. So, if you find yourself judging, dive deeper to see what is within you that needs to be heard, held, and helped. Then you’re free to meander through the project’s creation. Celebrating the sweet spots, taking note of what is yet to be learned, and gently acknowledging things could have been done differently.

Here’s 8 (really valuable) lessons I’ve learned during the creation of my website.

There’s more, but 8 is enough. Here goes. Life is creative. You are creative. It doesn’t matter if you are making your art, developing a business, raising a child, planting a garden, or transforming your life. The act of living is an act of creation. I hope my insights inspire you to keep going and create something beautiful for the world.

1. It’s okay not to know how to do it.

When you are leaping (or crawling) to a new level of creating, it seems obvious that you won’t know “how to do it.” After all, it’s a new level. Ask any high school student at the beginning of the school year if they understand algebra, chemistry, or physics. First time in? Not so much. Ask again at the end of the year. This expectation that you “should” be able to do something which requires learning, new knowledge, and perhaps skills you’ll never get around to learning, is kinda silly really. Funny that it’s such a common expectation. I hope you let that idea go.

2. You can’t do it alone. No one ever does.

No one does it alone. Not ever. Especially when creating and growing requires knowledge, skill, and experience that you don’t have. Kinda obvious, huh? Everything builds on everything. And so many people help along the way. I’m so grateful for Rodrigo who built my first beautiful website when I opened my private practice and started offering workshops in 2005. And for Emma who midwifed me through a lengthy process of clarifying and translating my Soul’s intent into a work of HeArt.

I’m truly grateful for Rich who has supported every need online and found every solution throughout the years. Who is still figuring out how to make things work so I can do my work. For dear friends and colleagues who have encouraged and taught me along the way. For the depth of this Cosmic guidance appearing in so many ways. And for you. All of you who show up, share, and live the inspired ideas that flow through my work. Who inspire me to dive deeper. You do nothing on your own. That much I know for sure. (Which is why I value sending Love Letters expressing my gratitude).

3. Be true to your Soul (and not marketing advice).

I had to let go so much expert advice on “how to” create my brand, voice, website, and offerings. In the midst of confusion and overwhelm during the process, I recognized something. I had to be true to myself and what wanted to flow through me. I had to choose these inner promptings over outer advice. So, I quit trying to be concise (not my strong suit) and just let my words flow. I stopped searching for the catchy phrases or the best way to create a webpage.

I wanted to create a work of HeArt that would serve you. So I did. Unapologetically, I decided to show up true to myself. While I hope that truly serves you, I’m clear about following the voice of my Soul rather than marketing advice. With that said, I’ve learned a lot from the expertise of those in the marketing and business development fields. I’ll keep on learning from them and only take what aligns with my Soul.

4. Let your ideas be seeds not end products.

Your creative process is a process. And it’s influenced by unseen forces which are wildly creative and supremely intelligent. I’ve learned that my little pea brain and the tiny ideas I hold there are nothing compared to what wants to be created through me. Plant your seed: be curious about your ideas and nurture them. Remembering that nourishing an idea does not mean demanding it appear in a way that pleases you. Then go seek genius, beauty, and delight in the world. When you’re inspired by those who let their seeds grow wildly, you open to the possibility of what may be.

Your creative process is a process. And it’s influenced by unseen forces which are wildly creatively and supremely intelligent.

 

5. Transparency helps you stay real.

Tell the truth. Sometimes creating some new version of yourself or a project is exhilarating and enjoyable. Sometimes it’s a shit show. And often it pulls you down into your patterns of limitation. So you can see them, break through them, and rise up higher.  It’s human nature to excel, to fail, to show up, and to hide. So, get real and tell the truth.

Not everyone needs to know everything of course. This isn’t a suggestion for a lack of boundaries or forgoing self awareness. Save the private work for the sanctity of your trusted Soul, true friends and helpers, and supportive colleagues. Just give up the presentation that everything is bright and shiny. Social media does enough harm that way

6. Creativity meanders. Give up the straight path.

You were raised in a world that teaches the linear, hierarchical path. Yet, you meander. We all do. Take a look at nature. Listen to anyone’s life story. Explore how innovators, artists, and rule breakers came into their ideas and their current way of being. You’ll find the meandering path in all of these places. Meandering is the way of the Soul and the movement of life.

The societal message that you have to start here, do this, and get there is a work of fiction. Well accepted fiction, but it’s just not the way of life. When you practice the art of meandering and see each diversion as an indication of your path’s wise direction, you cease to bang your head against the brick wall. This takes practice. We’ve all been trained as head bangers who come up short. It’s not our fault. Meandering wasn’t in the curriculum. Put it back in.

7. Don’t quit. Do go outside and play a bit.

It’s okay to lay down a project. Sometimes you need a break for a bit. Sometimes COVID happens and everything turns upside down. Life is wise. So are you. When inner or outer disruptions interfere with your project, take notice. Breathe deep, take a break, and ask your inner wisdom for guidance. Maybe that answer shows up immediately upon asking, but most the time it takes a while to arrive. It’s a good idea to head out to play a bit. Let what’s happening behind the scenes happen. You aren’t doing this alone, remember?

You may have to let go a hidden belief so you can grow into a bigger potential. Or somebody or something else has to come into place. It may be time to make peace with making mistakes or not knowing how to proceed.  Who knows? Worry less about where you are in the project timeline and enjoy the meandering art of creation. Coming back into alignment with everyone and everything that is conspiring to create something wonderful and beneficial.

And when you’re done playing, get back to work. Tiny actions and persistent effort, when executed wisely, yield very cool results.

8. Let go of perfection as you strive for excellence.

I like things to show up the way I want them. I’m meticulous about beauty and accurate representation. I had to learn to let go and let Emma create beauty. To enter the design with Rich so I could tweak and bedazzle it to my liking. And then just let it be even when parts didn’t work. To make the decision to launch a site that isn’t perfect and may never be.

Again and again, to face the inevitable brick wall that isn’t brick at all. Just a reminder that not everything can be figured out quite yet. That mistakes are made and eventually will be fixed. And to hold the commitment to the Soulful intent with positivity, love, and gratitude. Again and again. Witnessing what unfolds. Accepting what is less than perfect.

At the end of the day, it’s a Love Letter. To you and your Beautiful Soul.

And that’s what matters. You. Loving your Beautiful Soul. We, together, all of us. Loving all Beautiful Souls.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Daily creativity can help you flourish. Research suggests that everyday creativity leads to greater well-being. A study tracked time young adults spent in daily creative endeavors, reports of positive and negative emotions, and “flourishing” (an overall sense of meaning, purpose, engagement, and social connection). Results revealed that being engaged in more creative activities than usual led to positive emotion and flourishing the next day. Negative emotions didn’t change. Since the reverse wasn’t seen (positive emotions and flourishing didn’t increase creativity), findings suggest that everyday creativity is an important to wellbeing.

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My New Website: A Work of HeArt

I feel like I birthed a baby, nurtured her as she grew, and sent her off to college.

Okay, it may seem a bit much to compare the creation of my new website with the miracle of parenting. Forgive me. I’m still a little sleep deprived. But I’ve learned that both experiences lead you on a wild ride. I do know my heart is so full of gratitude, love, and a sense of wonder about possibilities I can not quite see. 

This was my fourth attempt at creating a new website. 

The first three ended in the proverbial brick wall. After banging my head against that damn wall for a while, I admitted I couldn’t do it. And I laid the project down. Disappointed again in my lack of ability to see through the seed of an idea and the nudging of my Soul. Too busy with life and too stymied by my own limitations, I let the project go. 

Over time, I felt a cringe each time I went on my website. 

So I avoided it as much as possible. I orphaned my own creation rather than seek the source of my perceived limitation. Now again, I’ll skip the drama. Truth be told, I didn’t suffer that much. After all, when you avoid a pain point, you can effectively dodge the discomfort. You know this, I’m sure. And you also know that regardless of your avoidance, when your Soul has an idea for your life it will persistently return your focus to that idea. Until you follow it in your own time. In your own way. 

Apparently, I’ve grown up a bit. So I could partner with my Soul instead of hide.

Through all these years of Soulful exploration, meaningful work, and personal transformation, I’ve followed the path that lights up before me. Sometimes I skipped or ran forward. Other times, I walked slowly and took a lot of breaks. Many times, I stepped off the path entirely only to learn that wasn’t actually a thing. Well, it is a “mind thing.” Another dramatic idea of how well or not so well you are living. And it seems to be amplified for the spiritual seeker (but, you already know that mind game). Laying down this mind thing, I realized something.

Your whole life is the Path. So is every acceptance or avoidance. 

 

Through the years, I’ve been clear on what I wanted to offer you. My work reflects that intent, regardless of the state of my website. My heart reflects that intent. When I remembered this truth, the brick wall disappeared. I knew what I wanted to create, just not how to translate it on the web. And I was ready to find those capable of translating my Soul’s guidance and heartfelt intent into a new form. 

When I’m ready to partner with my Soul, I’m all in. No matter what.

You’ll see what I mean when you read some of my stories on my site. And understand that I created a website that is true to my Soul’s intent to create beauty, empower women to awaken their potential, offer rich resources to enhance your life, and serve from my WholeHeart. I hope you feel that when you visit.

I hope you feel the Love that flows through this intent to your heart.

I’ve created some rich resources for you.  Free. Empowering. Practical. In fact, my whole site is full of embedded insights in my pages and blogs.  The free offerings are intended to empower you to develop skills so you may navigate life effectively and with greater ease.  

Download my free Self Soothe Strategy. 

This 60+ page PlayBook helps you understand how to transform Stress to Calm.  The accompanying meditation guides you in a daily practice so you may optimize your body, mind, and energy. I’m kinda in love with that PlayBook. You’ll see why.

Download my free Light Globe meditation.

Creating a coherent energy field is essential to wellbeing. This daily practice will teach you how to harmonize your energy and align with the light of your Soul. Use it anytime you seek to strengthen your field and gain greater clarity in your day.

Angelic Reminders have a new look, too.

These lovely little nuggets arrive weekly via email.  Offering you some Angelic suggestions about how to connect, play, and live the intuitive path.  

You may have to seek and find these offerings. 

That’s the fun of it.  Be curious. Follow through. I’d be interested in hearing how these practices enhance your life. Try them out and let me know. Deep thanks for being with me on this Journey. My heart is full.

Next week, I’ll share 8 (really valuable) lessons I learned along this lengthy creative endeavor. 

You won’t have to create a new website to benefit from these insights. Just apply them to whatever you’re doing these dayst

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Ready to boost your confidence before that meeting? Grab your art supplies (or borrow them from your kid) and let your creativity flow. A study at Drexel University explored how a variety of creative activities would effect self-confidence in adults. Working with collage, modeling clay, and markers, participants were encouraged to create art. Free style. 73% reported an increase in feelings of self-efficacy after only 45 minutes. Just imagine the potential benefits if businesses included art breaks for employees. Why not implement your own 45 minute creative experiment at work or home?

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Talking to Angels

Have you been talking to Angels?

Yeah, me too.  How’s that going? 

(That’s a real question.)

I really wonder what it’s like for you when you chat with the Angels.  I’d love to know the details. The Who, What About, When, How, How often and What happens type of details.  I’d love to know how they respond and how you know it’s them.    

I want to know what doesn’t happen.  Where it doesn’t work, when you doubt (them, you), when you forget them, when they remind you. When they disappoint you.  Or you them.

(Spoiler alert. That last option just isn’t a possibility.  Ever.)  

I want to know all of it.  So, email me.  I’ll read it. I’ll send you a guided meditation as a thank you.  Which one.  Don’t know.  I’m sure “they” will tell me.  

You know how you get so used to your way of doing things, you forget there are other ways?  That’s me.  Hence, my (real) question.

It’s a big world out there.  Lots of humans.  The cosmos is even bigger.  Lots of celestial conversationalists available for a (snap) chat. I wonder if you’re the chatty kind – talking all day to humans and light beings.  Or if you spend most of your time with one group over another.  Maybe you only talk (to humans or angels) when you really need something.  I wonder what it’s like for you.

I don’t read books about how to connect with Angels anymore. 

Not for years.  I read a bunch in the beginning.  They opened a new world to me and I’m deeply grateful for them. I liked having information about the Angels: names, roles, descriptions and ways to translate Angelic guidance.  This initial structure gave me the foundational knowledge and ideas about how I figure it all worked.  

I didn’t realize how these books also kept me bound within limited ideas about the Angelic Presence.  

I do remember the exact moment that door opened.  

I was offering an Angel reading as part of my practicum to become an Angel Healing Practitioner  You can just picture me.  My face and insides all screwed up in concentration as I “tried” to translate something that sounded like Angelic guidance.  Lots of tension. Lots of effort.

Until something akin to a tap on my right shoulder was followed by a question.  

“Do you mind if We take it from here?”

“Have at it!”  My relief was palpable. My knowing clear. My trust complete. 

From that day on, talking to Angels has become as natural as breathing. So has listening to Angels, streaming Angelic Conversations for others, consulting with them on all my life decisions, and helping you find your own way into this ongoing conversation. 

I know you have the skill to do the same.  I have zero doubt on that belief.  

Why so sure? I’ve sat with thousands of people throughout the years.  Heard so many Angel connection stories. Witnessed so many beautiful partnerships, heartfelt wisdom translations, and bodyfelt receptivity to the Angelic Presence.  Too many to count.  So, I know you absolutely have the skill to enter the conversation more fully.  

I just wonder where you’re bound. 

By your limited beliefs. By your doubt in yourself. By your experience (evidence) of not being responded to.  By your disappointments. By your perception that others can do this, but not you.  

I lived all of that.  Fully embodied disempowerment all the while I was having marginal success “talking with Angels.”

Those days are gone. These days I’m clear: the only time I’m not engaged with these lovely messengers is when I’ve left the conversation.  When I’ve narrowed my perception, my thinking, my awareness.  When I’ve gotten lost in one of my countless human stories that lead me to believe I’m separate from this ongoing flowing dialogue. 

These days I know the Angels are always Live Streaming.  

And, unbeknownst to most, you are always engaged in some level at that conversation.   

I wonder what your myths are about how this flowing, streaming beautiful conversation is “suppose to” happen.  

Myths.  Plural.  They are like locked doors – keeping you outside looking in at those who can talk to Angels, easily translate celestial wisdom, access deep Truth. These myths are keeping you separate from someone like me.  Just like my myths kept me in the “I’m not intuitive like you” camp for way too long.

This myth is not true. Just a distorted story which disempowers.  

 

There are lots of myths about how the Angelic conversation is supposed to happen.  If you’ve witnessed me live streaming – which is most typical when I teach, guide a meditation, offer an Angel Healing session, or an Angel Card Reading – you’ve witnessed one way of flow.   

I’d love to also talk about how damn awkward these conversations with Angels can be. 

To help you understand their nonlinear nature. How conversations unfold over time, across various messengers, and skip around topics. How the information is often cryptic, symbolic, and multisensory. How they show up at the most inopportune times.

How they pick up the conversation with abrupt questions, laughter when things aren’t funny, and challenges to act when it makes no sense.

About how to open to their rants about how much you are loved, cherished, and enjoyed. To let yourself feel the feels and experience the otherworldly even when it is physically disorienting or confusing.

I’d love to help you open to this Angelic live stream. 

I’m really invested in the other Angelic Invitation I received those many years ago.  “Teach them what they are already capable of.”  That’s what I’ve been doing for years now.  

Empowering you to discover how you (already) work.

Every workshop, retreat, and service I offer will help you discover more of your innate capacity to communicate with the Angels.  With every higher level of Wisdom regardless of what it is called.  This is what you are capable of. 

I invite you to WholeHeartedly, consciously, and freely enter the conversation. 

If you’re wanting personal instruction, hit me up for an Angelic Healing Journey.  It’s all about you as the Angels and other Wise Guides show up to answer your questions, invite themselves to hang out with you on a daily basis, and give you some hints for elevating your life.

Above all, remember this: You really don’t need me, or anyone, to show you the way.

You already know how to talk and listen.  You’ve already had beautiful and awkward conversations with all kinds of beings. Relax and have at it. If you want a guide, pick up a book, grab an Angel Card Deck, or find a teacher/mentor. 

All lead to the same place: your own Awesomeness.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Kindness: the gift that keeps on giving. University of California researchers found an increase in positive feelings and life satisfaction, and a decrease in negative feelings, when participants performed acts of kindness, recalled acts of kindness, or did both. Next time you feel down or stressed, pull up a memory of when you were kind to someone to improve your own well-being.

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Something New

I’m ready for something new.
Time to shed a skin or two.
Habits and thought patterns are stale.
Begging me to begin a new tale. 

I am mired in the same old dance,
Convincing myself of its importance.
Yet feeling an invitation in the breeze,
Which tickles me and makes me sneeze.

What grand dreams were just inhaled?
What new walls here to be scaled?
Glimpses of new vistas that I see,
Sent back in time by a future me.

I ask, “What is there?
How do I prepare?”
I answer, “Throw away the map
And climb on my lap.”

Carried away by an unseen dream.
Across uncharted territory.
Upside down and topsy turvy.
No time to rhyme.

Bump, I land back where I began,
Steadied by a Divine hand.
The invitation is crystal clear.
Thus invoking lots of fear.

With child’s mind, I venture out.

 

With child’s mind, I venture out.
To play, to risk, to sometimes pout.
If new is what I’m called to do,
I guess I’ll try a thing or two.

Tickled by this unseen dream,
The path is clear, just can’t be seen.
Who knows where I may land?
Or who will come to hold my hand?

Emboldened by the memory
of a brave kindergardener me.
I venture forth to this new game.
Trusting I will not remain the same.

Hoping for playmates along the way.
I trust you’ll venture out to play.
I’m ready for something new.
Are you?

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

There’s a lot of benefit to writing, reading, and listening to poetry.  Research shows it benefits the brain, developmental learning, creative expression, and opening to new perspectives. I like this quote from Phyllis Klein (Women’s Therapy Services.) “…poetry gives rhythm to silence, light to darkness. In poetry we find the magic of metaphor, compactness of expression, use of the five senses, and simplicity or complexity of meaning in a few lines.” Why not try it out? Let your creative juices flow. Perfection be damned!  Express yourself.

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I Am With You. Free Meditation.

 

I am often jolted by what occurs in these Divided States of America.

Jolted by those little indicators, the in your face reminders, and an occasional gut punch. All of these experiences point to the deep seeded, historical inequity between people.  They remind you of the polarization between people, groups, parties, and communities.  Not just in our country, nor only in this time. 

You just can’t miss it. Unless you do.  

And we have.  For centuries.  That’s why it’s so important to stay awake to the societal injustice at every level of interaction.  To understand why racism is a huge public health issues. And how being a minority creates risk for disease due to disparity in every system: environmental, food, medical care, safety, education, financial, gender equality, mental health, and the list goes on. 

The haves and the have nots.  The battles between groups for power, survival, rights, recognition, life. 

I hope we don’t go back to sleep. We’ve been unconscious long enough.  I pray we stay alert to the subtle ways we harm one another. And the small to big steps we may take toward reparation and healing. Every day. 

I hope we remain aware, become educated, and learn to have meaningful conversations.  Open and willing to stop when we become defensive or assaultive. To take a breather and find the space within us that just got activated.  To clean that up. And try that conversation one more time. 

Sometimes it is so overwhelming that you just gotta hit the pause button.

Here’s the thing about my blindness. I grew up in white suburbia.  With liberal, compassionate parents. In the Northeast region of the US. Exposed to different cultures and friends in different neighborhoods and different countries. Once I graduated college and throughout my adult life, I was entrenched in communities with people who faced all of the disadvantages and struggles to survive that we are hearing about. 

Systemic racism was the way of life and affected them on every level.

My work, professional relationships, and friendships invited me to participate in many meaningful, uncomfortable conversations. My travels led me to places on the planet that would break me in sorrow.  All this led to tiny actions with the intent to support, respect, join, and empower.  In all of these experiences, I was aware of what was most primary.

I saw them as people. Different than me in ways.  Similar to me in ways.

So I was prepared to be uncomfortable, disturbed even, when my husband and I recently watched the movie, Just Mercy.  I just didn’t expect so many sucker punches or to have my blinders ripped off so violently. 

I needed to hit the Pause button just to breathe. A few times.

Haunted by what happened when an attorney first went to the jail to see his clients, my sleep and mind was disrupted.  A simple sentence. Pause. The collusion of individuals in a racist system. Pause. The way a life could be discarded on a whim. Pause. I was shocked when I recognized that in these Divided States of America people think and act the way they did in that movie. Not just back then. Now.  In lots of places. 

Intellectually I know this. Yet, my blindness and sleepiness lulled me back into my tiny world. 

Where people see each other as people. And, as long as you don’t venture too far out of your neighborhood, you don’t witness the subtle – overt ways people are mistreated. Every day.  In our time. It’s easy to stay in this little bubble. I’ve certainly been living in mine.

So you don't see, nor look for, the harsh, shameful, and deeply dehumanizing way "we the people" are treating "you the other people."

 

If I’m overwhelmed and need a pause to recalibrate, I wonder what it must be like for you. You who are similar to me and different from me.  You who are in the mainstream and you who are on the fringes. 

I hope you use the Pause button to find the places in you that contributes to the problem. I hope you cure your blindness. I hope you enter the uncomfortable conversations and take the perpetual tiny-big actions that lead to change. I hope you are shocked into recognition that we have a lot to answer for. I hope you enter into a commitment to stay awake.

I am with you. 

To truly change a system, you must change your own system.  All of your “training” as a human is encoded in your subtle energy system which supports the habits and beliefs of your subconscious mind. And this combination drives your behavior, decisions, point of view, and reactions. So, blindness is a natural human experience that “we the people” share. Knowing that your tendency to be blind to what is happening around you (and through you) is part of your foundation gives you the power to change this.  

Change on the surface is good.  Change in your influential energy structure and subconscious belief system is even better.

This is how the “be the change you want to see in the world” really gets some traction.  To shift from the inside out.  At the purest levels of influence – the subtle energy system and the subconscious mind. Where you don’t think, you just act.  And when you do attempt change and find you drift back into an old habit – let’s say blindness or apathy – it’s because these energetic and belief habits have a strong gravitational pull. 

I’ve got a gift for you that just might help effect some change.

I’m sharing a meditation I just offered to the community of The Center for Conscious Living.  (I love that name and the intent behind it.  Seems especially germane to what I’m writing.)  Scroll down for the link.

I never know what will emerge when I “live stream” a meditation for a group.  I’ve been guided by the higher wisdom to realize that this streaming message is a beautiful offering from the combined intent of the group I am meditating with.  I need only open and allow the energy, message, and healing light flow through me.  With a receptive group, the power of the healing potential amplifies.    

I’ve also learned how inclusive this streaming, healing wisdom truly is.

There is never an us and them. Unlike human conversations which identifies difference between species, people, communities, countries, haves/have nots, this Divine Wisdom reminds you of one thing and one thing only.   

How precious and essential you are. As an aspect of Wholeness, you are wanted, cherished, and critically important.

(Just not so special in the “I’m more special or less special than you” way of disempowering yourself or the other).

I hope you enjoy this gift which offers a way to harmonize a divided system so you can be a stronger unifying force.  It’s all about you here. I hope you let the energy, the light, and the message have it’s way with you.  I hope this mantra becomes your own and reverberates throughout the planet.  Empowering safety, inclusion, empowerment, and healing for all essential, precious aspects of Wholeness. 

I am with you.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions.

HeartWarming

 News

Silent Book Club.  It’s a thing.  With 40 chapters across the US, there are monthly meet ups in parks, coffee shops, and other public spaces.  You bring the book, a desire to socialize, and an intent to read. Some love to read. Some want to read but can’t do it on their own. It’s a way to connect socially while reading. It’s been shown to lower stress, improve efficiency of information processing, and building empathy.  It may not be the same over ZOOM or social distancing in a park. Here’s hoping the creativity which started Silent Book Club will keep it going.

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Emerging Wise Women

 

I’ve been dreaming a lot.  

Receiving instructions about how to live a more beautiful life.  This is new for me – the tenacity in which this information is streaming through my dreaming.  And I’m grateful for the variety of focus.  Seems like it is touching on all areas of my life.

So much room for improvement.  Without concern for having misunderstood so much. 

The more I open, the more I receive. I kinda like dropping into the sleepy state at the end of the day.  With delightful anticipation, I share my gratitude for the day and ask a Beautiful Question.   

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows.  

More like roses with thorns.  I don’t mind the thorns, even when they stir up my vulnerability.  I’m interested in blossoming.  I’m dedicated to living an empowered, meaningful life.  So, I’m pretty much being shown the rocks, weeds, and thorns that have been hidden within me.  And those that have been glaring, but I hadn’t wanted to look at them.  I’m willing now.

I’m not the only one diving into the Shadow Self.  

Seems like this global crisis has stirred up a lot of muck for all of us.  Revealing the places within us that are out of balance.  Revealing those aspects of self that have been disowned and are now wanting shelter from the storm.  

I’ve been helping many women listen to the parts of themselves they’ve abandoned along the path to adulthood.  

It’s never intentional. When you understand it is a complex protective system that sends aspects of your younger self running for the hills in times of overwhelming challenge, things shift.  Potential for reintegration emerges.  Including the potential to listen deeply and finally hear what these abandoned aspects are trying to tell you.

It’s hard to listen when someone is belittling you, punishing you, and reminding you of your inadequacies or unlovability.  

Yet, you listen to these inner voices all the time.  We all have them.  Formed when we were young, often overwhelmed by the circumstances of our lives, and internalizing the critical messages offered when others and society were in tension and imbalanced.  Which was often.

So when you are in tension and out of balance, these voices emerge. All thorns. No rainbows.

Until you listen below the negativity to the pain and longing that is being expressed.  The sadness and isolation.  The fear of never being good enough, wanted, or loved.  The orphaned aspects of yourself lie beneath the judgments toward self and others. They lay beneath the envy or longing to be like another whom you admire.  So many ways these parts of yourself are expressing their desire to come home to rest within you. 

I found security in the ability to enter into another's world without defense.

 

When the world stays at home, there are fewer distractions.  Offering you a delicious opportunity to rejuvenate and reevaluate. To see what emerges in the open space. And to explore what lies beneath these strident inner voices so you can welcome your disowned parts home.

Becoming more. Becoming whole.

I’m grateful for this time to witness the parts of me I have dismissed. To dive below the surface to discover there is so much more waiting for me. And be shown the benefit – practical and magical – for integrating these young parts into my adult self.  I’m grateful to witness the work women are doing to call themselves home.  To offer a trustworthy, nurturing, and compassionate space for their own precious nature. 

In the midst of this, I woke up dreaming a new class.  It was unexpected.  A weaving of different traditions.

Supporting the intent to become more, become whole in the midst of this turmoil. To allow wisdom, creativity, beauty, and vulnerability to awaken. I was intrigued as this class unpacked itself over 2 days.

Exploring the 4 Directions of the Medicine Wheel.   Guided and supported by 4 Goddesses, 4 Spirit Animals, and 4 Rays of Divine Light.

To explore the strong medicine of the Soul which is coaxing forth your recognition of the Wise Woman within.  To bring Her more to forefront, it is also essential to invite home the wondrous and vulnerable aspects of yourself.  To welcome the roses and thorns in the same way you welcome rainbows and unicorns.  This is an essential Journey and you’ll have plenty of help along the way.  Especially when encircled by other women who are keen to participate in their Soul’s evolution. 

The Art of Becoming: Evolving as a Wise Woman in Uncertain Times begins June 2nd (new date!). 

This 4 week class is for women only.  Please join me if you’re interested in a deep inner dive to discover what wants to grow and what wants to go.  To nourish the luminous seeds of your wholeness that are waiting for you. This class will empower you to strengthen your commitment and discover the map markers, wise guides, and beautiful practices which will support and sustain you on your journey.

Do pop over and explore my workshop page if you’re ready to dream with us.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

One secret of happiness? Research says people. 
Large scale surveys at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center found that people with five or more close friends are 50% more likely to say they are “very happy” than those with smaller circles.  Now, if you don’t have 5 best buds, don’t freak out.  Just know that investing in friendships matters. Even casual social interactions on a regular basis empowers wellbeing.

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Talking to Angels

Have you been talking to Angels?

Yeah, me too.  How’s that going? 

(That’s a real question.)

I really wonder what it’s like for you when you chat with the Angels.  I’d love to know the details. The Who, What About, When, How, How often and What happens type of details.  I’d love to know how they respond and how you know it’s them.    

I want to know what doesn’t happen.  Where it doesn’t work, when you doubt (them, you), when you forget them, when they remind you. When they disappoint you.  Or you them.

(Spoiler alert. That last option just isn’t a possibility.  Ever.)  

I want to know all of it.  So, email me.  I’ll read it. I’ll send you a guided meditation as a thank you.  Which one.  Don’t know.  I’m sure “they” will tell me.  

You know how you get so used to your way of doing things, you forget there are other ways?  That’s me.  Hence, my (real) question.

It’s a big world out there.  Lots of humans.  The cosmos is even bigger.  Lots of celestial conversationalists available for a (snap) chat. I wonder if you’re the chatty kind – talking all day to humans and light beings.  Or if you spend most of your time with one group over another.  Maybe you only talk (to humans or angels) when you really need something.  I wonder what it’s like for you.

I don’t read books about how to connect with Angels anymore. 

Not for years.  I read a bunch in the beginning.  They opened a new world to me and I’m deeply grateful for them. I liked having information about the Angels: names, roles, descriptions and ways to translate Angelic guidance.  This initial structure gave me the foundational knowledge and ideas about how I figure it all worked.  

I didn’t realize how these books also kept me bound within limited ideas about the Angelic Presence.  

I do remember the exact moment that door opened.  

I was offering an Angel reading as part of my practicum to become an Angel Healing Practitioner  You can just picture me.  My face and insides all screwed up in concentration as I “tried” to translate something that sounded like Angelic guidance.  Lots of tension. Lots of effort.

Until something akin to a tap on my right shoulder was followed by a question.  

“Do you mind if We take it from here?”

“Have at it!”  My relief was palpable. My knowing clear. My trust complete. 

From that day on, talking to Angels has become as natural as breathing. So has listening to Angels, streaming Angelic Conversations for others, consulting with them on all my life decisions, and helping you find your own way into this ongoing conversation. 

I know you have the skill to do the same.  I have zero doubt on that belief.  

Why so sure? I’ve sat with thousands of people throughout the years.  Heard so many Angel connection stories. Witnessed so many beautiful partnerships, heartfelt wisdom translations, and bodyfelt receptivity to the Angelic Presence.  Too many to count.  So, I know you absolutely have the skill to enter the conversation more fully.  

I just wonder where you’re bound. 

By your limited beliefs. By your doubt in yourself. By your experience (evidence) of not being responded to.  By your disappointments. By your perception that others can do this, but not you.  

I lived all of that.  Fully embodied disempowerment all the while I was having marginal success “talking with Angels.”

Those days are gone. These days I’m clear: the only time I’m not engaged with these lovely messengers is when I’ve left the conversation.  When I’ve narrowed my perception, my thinking, my awareness.  When I’ve gotten lost in one of my countless human stories that lead me to believe I’m separate from this ongoing flowing dialogue. 

These days I know the Angels are always Live Streaming.  

And, unbeknownst to most, you are always engaged in some level at that conversation.   

I wonder what your myths are about how this flowing, streaming beautiful conversation is “suppose to” happen.  

Myths.  Plural.  They are like locked doors – keeping you outside looking in at those who can talk to Angels, easily translate celestial wisdom, access deep Truth. These myths are keeping you separate from someone like me.  Just like my myths kept me in the “I’m not intuitive like you” camp for way too long.

This myth is not true. Just a distorted story which disempowers.  

 

There are lots of myths about how the Angelic conversation is supposed to happen.  If you’ve witnessed me live streaming – which is most typical when I teach, guide a meditation, offer an Angel Healing session, or an Angel Card Reading – you’ve witnessed one way of flow.   

I’d love to also talk about how damn awkward these conversations with Angels can be. 

To help you understand their nonlinear nature. How conversations unfold over time, across various messengers, and skip around topics. How the information is often cryptic, symbolic, and multisensory. How they show up at the most inopportune times.

How they pick up the conversation with abrupt questions, laughter when things aren’t funny, and challenges to act when it makes no sense.

About how to open to their rants about how much you are loved, cherished, and enjoyed. To let yourself feel the feels and experience the otherworldly even when it is physically disorienting or confusing.

I’d love to help you open to this Angelic live stream. 

I’m really invested in the other Angelic Invitation I received those many years ago.  “Teach them what they are already capable of.”  That’s what I’ve been doing for years now.  

Empowering you to discover how you (already) work.

Every workshop, retreat, and service I offer will help you discover more of your innate capacity to communicate with the Angels.  With every higher level of Wisdom regardless of what it is called.  This is what you are capable of. 

I invite you to WholeHeartedly, consciously, and freely enter the conversation. 

If you’re wanting personal instruction, hit me up for an Angelic Healing Journey.  It’s all about you as the Angels and other Wise Guides show up to answer your questions, invite themselves to hang out with you on a daily basis, and give you some hints for elevating your life.

Above all, remember this: You really don’t need me, or anyone, to show you the way.

You already know how to talk and listen.  You’ve already had beautiful and awkward conversations with all kinds of beings. Relax and have at it. If you want a guide, pick up a book, grab an Angel Card Deck, or find a teacher/mentor. 

All lead to the same place: your own Awesomeness.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

More than half of all adults in the US report feeling protected by a Guardian Angels, even those not considered religious.  One survey polled 1,700 respondents of diverse religious faiths: evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, mainline Protestants, Catholics and Jews. The finding that 55% affirmed a belief in guardian angels across religious, educational, and regional lines. Apparently, those angels really get around.

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What’s it Gonna Take?

 

What’s it gonna take for this family to stop bringing home plastic grocery bags?

This was the question running through my mind as I grabbed a bag full of plastic bags to bring to the recycle bin at the food store.   It was a real question and not one of blame. How to instill an unshakable habit of using our recyclable bags. 

Only 1% of single use plastic bags are actually recycled. Sad fact.

I reflected on how this bag of bags got here in my garage.  My husband running to the store for just a few items. My daughter buying something at Target.  Friends and family showing up with things in plastic bags. And me? 

I was feeling kind of proud of myself.  

The puffed up, blind kind of “aren’t I something” proud.  Thinking how I’ve pretty much mastered bringing my own bags everything. Then  I recalled that time in November when I blew my commitment to no plastic bags at the Macy’s shoe counter. 

I apparently couldn’t walk out of Macy’s with a stack of three shoe and boot boxes.  

Ok, but still, not bad.  Til I remembered shopping for SisterHood’s Holiday gift drive. Yup.  I bought hundreds of toys (due to generous donations) and 95% of them came home in plastic bags. All donations came in plastic bags. And all family bags (for 250 kids) travelled to SisterHood in big trash bags.  I’ve got to rethink that one next December.  

What’s it gonna take to run a gift drive without plastic bags? 

Later in the day, I enjoyed my ice tea at Barnes and Noble while I worked in the cafe. I recycled my single use plastic cup and had to throw out the straw.   What’s it gonna take to not use plastic cups when I’m out?  And how will I never, ever use a plastic straw again? (I’m thinking of the saddest photo showing how these straws interact with my favorite ocean creatures).

This question had taken on a life of its own.  It wasn't rhetorical and was waiting for action. 

 

So, I packed 3 reusable straws in my purse and a plastic Starbucks cup in my car.  I reinforced that commitment when I pulled out my straw at lunch over the weekend.  (The trick is to remember to take it home again!)  New habits created when a simple question prompts action. 

What’s it gonna take to not overspend at the food store? 

I wasn’t reaching for that question anymore, but it was reaching for me.  Inside Wegmans, I paused and considered my normal approach. I intend to get a few items and end up throwing twice that in my cart. This leaves me reaching for my credit card.  What’s it gonna take?  I checked my cash and determined I wouldn’t spend more than I had.

Shopping for food became a whole new adventure. And it included math. 

If you know me, you know math is not my strong suit.  Still, I travelled around making wise decisions and figured I was good.  I was good.  Just 18 cents short.  Lucky for me I had a hidden $10 bill in my wallet or something was going back.

What’s it gonna take to send all of the Love O kids to school next year? 

I was talking with Ahaji, founder of We the Village which supports everything for Love Orphanage in Haiti.  We were strategizing about the Be a Difference Maker education fund to send all the kids to school next year. Exploring some options, I wondered about the monthly commitment.

“$21 a month sends one kid to school. How many kids are covered that way?”

“12 kids aren’t funded.”  I was taken aback.  Clearly I had let that ball drop given that I was a Difference Maker committed to helping Love O kids get funded.  The conversation shifted from labor intensive fundraising to a simpler task.

Let’s find 12 people willing to make a $21 monthly donation.

What’s it gonna take?  Not much apparently.  Perhaps we just tell people about it and see where that very simple action takes us.  (If you want to transform a life through education, please check out my Making a Difference page to get the whole story.)

What’s it gonna take?

It’s only been 5 days since that question arose. I’ll spare you the rest of the situations it prompted me to notice. Which led to a tiny action. Which opens the potential for change within me.

Why am I WholeHeartedly engaging the question?

Because it showed up.  I trust Life’s wise invitations when they catch my attention. And because I truly want to be a beneficial contributor to the wellbeing of all of us and this lovely planet. 

What’s it gonna take to finish this story?  “The End.”

Thanks for listening. Hope this question  opens that place within you where it is easy to see options and take action.  Tiny or big. 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Inventors, entrepreneurs, social change agents, artists, and scientists view the art of questioning as essential to discovery. Whether to create something original or solve a dilemma, questions invite the mind to open. Often leading creative thinkers to effective solutions, new paradigms, or original ideas. With self awareness, you can often trace an invention, change in habit, or adoption of an entirely new perspective back to a single question. Let your questions breathe.  They do their best work when you don’t rush to answer them!

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Looking for Kindness in all the Right Places

I merged with ease onto the highway, as I’ve done countless times before.

I slowed a bit to let the big white pickup truck with a trailer pass by before I claimed my space.  Gazing forward at the open road, I realized the pick up driver had moved over to make room for me.

I was struck by the kindness of that simple maneuver.   

Seriously struck. My heart warmed as those feel good chemicals zoomed around my brain and body.  In my mind, I was crystal clear that he had offered me a kindness.  It wasn’t just good driving protocol or a desire to save his shiny new truck from a potential run in. How did I know?  I’ve no idea, but I knew. 

So did my open mind, warm heart, and tingling body. 

I basked in that experience as I drove. Then a question arose. 

How many subtle moments of intentional kindness do I miss each day? 

I recognized that question offered me an invitation to play. So, I drove on – alert in my pursuit of kindness. The tiny, easy to miss kind.  Whether it was intentional or habitual didn’t matter.  Noticing what was already happening was.

I took a new route to keep me from going mindless while driving. 

Winding through neighborhoods on a lovely day surprisingly showed kindness everywhere. Drivers let others merge or walkers cross the street. A man picked up random trash. Doors were held in local shops. A lady kissed a neighbor’s dog.

Smiles exchanged. Lots of drivers waving at each other. 

The thank you, go ahead kind of waving. Nary a middle finger in sight.  

I stayed alert while exploring a new grocery store. 

A mom was kind to her frustrated child. Staff helped find stuff.  A young girl smiled as she paused in her stocking for me to roll my cart by. 3 times she paused and smiled. (I was a bit lost).  My cashier was to die for kind and even helped me put the cart away as I grabbed my bags by the front door. 

I went to Trader Joe’s next.  Happy.  Watching lots of nice people manage a crazy crowded parking lot.  

Same story indoors. After a bit of noticing all the help all around, I zoned out and stood in line.  I tuned in and felt the unity within me.  Happy.  Feeling the benefit of witnessing so much kindness.  I brought my attention outward and saw a laughing couple enjoying a really friendly cashier.

I heard ladies laughing behind me. Strangers apparently.  

Mind back on autopilot, I half heard a woman cheerfully mention she just got rid of a house full of tweens after a sleepover.  She had laundry in the washer and dishes in the dishwasher when her husband mentioned they were out of tea.  So here she was on Superbowl Sunday at Trader Joes with the rest of New Jersey. 

I was thinking that was mighty kind. 

I was thinking about how I felt after those sleepover days.  My husband would’ve been lucky to get a cup of tea. No way I would’ve run out for that one item. Let alone do it cheerfully. 

(Note to self - still more growing up to do.)

 

I heard her ask the manager, perched in his official birds nest, if he could ring up her 1 item. He didn’t have a register.

That woke me up. 

“Please, go in front of me.”   “Oh no, I couldn’t.”   “Please”  (really more like “Puleeeaase, it is so not a big deal).  It was a no brainer. 

“That was kind,” said the (really friendly) cashier. 

I hadn’t even thought about the kindness thing.  It just happened.  Habitual kindness.  Noticed and commented on.  I wondered if he might be playing the same game, so I smiled at him knowingly (sounds creepy when I write it).

Asking me to wait a second, he had a word with the floating manager. I packed my groceries and got my change. 

Then he handed me a tiny bouquet of flowers. 

“Thanks for being kind,” said my game playing buddy.  Intentional kindness met habitual kindness.  Really, truly sweet. 

It showed me a new level of the game. 

I could notice acts of kindness happening and I could intentionally create a few of my own.  I walked out and saw a woman struggle to lift her bags out of the cart. And leave the cart precariously poised to drift right into that shiny luxury car parked by the door. Intentionally, I returned the cart. 

Playing the game at this level – noticing and contributing – reminded me of my favorite square dancing move.

It’s been a (really) long time since my High School gym days, but I think it’s called a chain.  All cliques represented as we joined hands, laughed, danced, and wove through each other with great enthusiasm.  Once we all agreed square dancing was hokey and weird, we were free to thoroughly enjoy ourselves.

I remember that feeling of an open mind, warm heart, and tingling body.

It struck me then that Life invites us to play a lot of different games.  It doesn’t seem to matter which one you choose.  Just that it takes you into that warm, sweet experience of being a contributing part of this human family.   

I believe there is a lot of good going on in our world. 

Depends what you are looking for and what you’ve got to add. 

I hope you find your game today.

And discover the joy of playing, the playmates who await you, and that inner tingle. I hope you  inadvertently make someone’s day and cause a chain reaction of goodness. 

p.s.  I also remember playing with those little scooters in gym. Jumping on the trampoline. Routines on a tiny balance beam (8 inches off the floor).  Volley ball and my killer serve. Softball on gorgeous days.  Thinking back on it, gym class was so much fun. 

What about you?  I’m sticking with fun … as long as I block out days running around the track, playing basketball, and wearing that mandatory sleeveless, one piece polyester gym suit.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Kindness: the gift that keeps on giving. University of California researchers found an increase in positive feelings and life satisfaction, and a decrease in negative feelings, when participants performed acts of kindness, recalled acts of kindness, or did both. Next time you feel down or stressed, pull up a memory of when you were kind to someone to improve your own well-being.