Getting Back In Balance

One of my dearest friends called me today. She said she's been working so hard, she sits in her computer chair at 6:30 a.m. in the morning and doesn't get up again until she has to pick her kids up from school at 3:00 p.m. She works in her own business, and while she finds her work exciting, her life has been feeling out of balance. I knew exactly what she meant--'out of balance' is a place I seem to visit often this time of year.

Yesterday, however, she said, she had to change her routine because of a dentist appointment. The shift was just what she needed. She found herself making time, not just for the appointment, but also to go to the gym and work out. Sometimes, the start of self-care is starting small--doing that one thing that, if it had a voice, would be screaming at us--"do me, do me, stop neglecting me!"

With one shift, one small change in routine, we often get a second wind, new perspective or an uncanny idea on how we can do more--more for ourselves, more self-care. If you're finding yourself overwhelmed, be it with the holiday rush or business as usual, ask yourself, "What one small thing can I do for me today?" and see where it takes you!

Opportunity Is Knocking!

Today as I walked along the river, I felt as if I was being blown from one direction to the next just as the wind was blowing about the autumn leaves. Life has recently sent me several new opportunities. I realized that as I was evaluating the choices, I was feeling pulled, tugged in each possible direction as I tried each on for size.

I have found, in my own life, that the more positive I am in my outlook of the world, the more opportunity knocks. The more opportunity knocks, the stronger we need to be in our core, not just so we continue to magnetize opportunities aligned with who we are, but also so we know which knocks to answer, opening ourselves and our lives wide!

Listen, My Friend, to You!

Sometimes I find myself getting angry with those I care about when they don’t listen to me the way I want them to. How often do we turn away when someone is speaking with us, or interrupt, sending the message that what we have to say is more important? I know I do.

Usually our irritations at the outer world are signals from our truest selves. What we believe we need from others is really what our souls need from us. The greatest way to change our world is to give our inner selves some undivided attention.

Listening to ourselves and our deepest yearnings, even if what our souls are saying makes us feel uncomfortable, or is a request for something we’re not sure we can give—that, I believe, is what true self-care is all about.

Sometime today, sit in silence. Come without expectations, without a goal. Simply sit. Listen. And see what your soul is saying to you.

Pampering Ourselves

Long solo walks on windswept beaches, a sunny nook--just me and my book, a hot bath with floating candles, a long bike ride--hands off the handles.

When I think of pampering myself, giving myself exactly what I desire most, these are just a few of the delights that come to mind.

Lying on the earth--soaking up the sun, a kayak paddle just for fun. Laughing, playing hide n seek, an evening with the man I love, no words to speak.

What pleasures make your soul sing, your heart warm and your life feel more complete? What would it take to treat yourself to at least one? Today.

Giving Thanks

I used to think giving thanks was a passive event--sitting around a big table, bowing my head and remembering all that is good and well in my life. Now I believe that is only the beginning.

On this day of giving thanks, let it not just be one of reflection, but one of action. A day of activating all that is out of alignment in our lives and bringing ourselves back, gradually, gently and effortlessly to all that we are--so what we are grateful for lives and breathes in all we do.

May your day be filled with many blessings, and may you be aware of what a blessing your life is to those on earth.

What Do You Love?

What do you love? What brings you passion? What makes you feel more gloriously alive than anything else? What makes your heart beat harder, your soul open wide and takes you to a place where you're sure no one has ever gone before?

Whatever that is, find it. Do it. Living your passion and being the person you are in those moments is the greatest form of self-care there is.

Have The Courage To Be You

When we hide behind some semblance of what we think is right or will be accepted, we are often sorely disappointed with our lives. We might feel safe. But there's another part of us--the truth within--that doesn't feel safe at all.

When it comes to true self-care, one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves is to stop hiding and really be the amazing wonderful people we are. When we do this, we give others the benefit of getting to know the "real us"!

May you move forward on your path today with real, honest intention.

Be Your Own Best Friend

When it comes to friends, sometimes it helps to have one yipping at our heels, keeping us on course, reminding us of what we want in life and cheering us on as we get it. Other times it helps to have a friend simply listen without judgment and be there as we talk—often discovering what our soul is trying to tell us as we do. Other times, the greatest thing a friend can do is to let us be, to give us space and freedom so we can relax, breathe and be alone, discovering the strength we have within.

As we celebrate self-care this month, we also celebrate the journey toward becoming our own best friends. Ask yourself what you really need most. Is it keeping your commitment to yourself and doing that one thing you said you would? Is it listening to your own yearnings and honoring them even if they take you in a new direction? Is giving yourself space and permission to rest and relax?

This weekend, be a pal and give yourself what you need—whatever it is. You’re worth it!

Giving Yourself Friends

Every major leap I've ever taken in life has been, in part, thanks to the support of a network of friends who were "watching my back" at the time.

When I went skydiving--a feat that terrified and exhilarated me--it was my brothers I called soon after safely landing. When I was ready to birth my first book, it was a beautiful circle of nine soul sisters representing every different aspect of my life who acted as midwives. When I went on a three-month cross-country trip with my husband and left everything that was familiar to live out of the back of our car, it was a network of fellow yoga students who were able to give me the send-off I needed most.

Only recently have I recognized that being a good friend isn't so much about what we do to help another as it is our willingness to let another into the very depths of our soul. When we trust the universe enough to be honest and vulnerable, we give the greatest gift we can possibly give.

To ourselves, this gift is the opportunity to receive real, honest love. To others, the gift is an invitation--if they choose to accept--to also be equally honest, vulnerable and real with us.

Awaken To Your Desires

Sometimes the greatest way we can demonstrate love for ourselves is by separating from others, establishing good healthy boundaries and tuning within. True fulfillment comes when we can stand on our own two feet and be clear about who we are and what we want with this lifetime.

Rather than doing for others, we create space in which we can hear more clearly what it is, exactly, that our souls want us to do for us. As we care for ourselves in this way, we care for others too by giving them the space and freedom in which to awaken to their own true yearnings burning within.

Loving What Is

When I think of all the people I’ve admired most, the ones that really stand out are those who seem to really like themselves. These are the ones who have a softness about them—a simple, gentle power. They seem to laugh a lot, laughter woven throughout their words as if life is a really fun place to be.

It is natural to want to change things, to make the world or even ourselves a bit better. Yet, the ironic thing is that the only way to change is through acceptance. When we wrap ourselves in a loving celebration of all that is, those quiet places within us that we yearned to make different suddenly begin transmuting themselves, without any additional interference from us.

Receiving Love

What if every thought, good deed or loving emotion you've ever had were coming back to you right now? What would it feel like to receive all that good will you've sent out into the universe, returning to you multiplied?

I have discovered that any problem we have--however seemingly minor or insurmountable--can be overcome through the simple act of loving. Loving ourselves is believing there is good in the universe and welcoming it into the depths of our being as a gift for ourselves.

Celebrate Your Beauty

Today I felt my energy drop as I was plowing through a huge pile of filing. I stopped what I was doing, took a nice deep breath and asked my soul--"Why?"

In the silence, I heard an inner voice berating me about how I ever let the pile get so high in the first place. Thankfully, a much wiser aspect of self quickly stepped forward to make things right. She had a lot to say about how incredible it was that I was actually getting through that filing (especially on such a beautiful day) at all!

I have found that most of us don't appreciate how great the feats are that we are achieving. Whether it's a new skill or habit we've mastered, a dream we've made come true, or simply the miracle of our bodies, we are each more amazing than any of us know. One of the most important steps in making our dreams come true is celebrating our pure potential, and how far each of us has already come.

Simple and Happy

When we're filled with a passion for what we're doing, and a genuine desire to give of ourselves, I believe we can't help but feel abundant.

The harder I work to achieve something, the more I feel like I am going round and round in circles. When I let go of what I think I "should" be doing and take time out to discover what my heart wants me to do instead, and do just that with a genuine spirit of giving--I remember how simple happy can be.

The Power Of Play

Some days, the most productive thing we can do toward making our dreams come true is to take a day off! Rather than scurrying busily in some direction opposite to where our souls want us to go, we rest. Instead of working, we play.

And when the day is done, more often than not we have renewed energy, clarity and inspiration to move forward to where we're being called to go. Play is one of the most underestimated steps in making our dreams come true. So take a day off, and celebrate what happens when you do. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Making Space For The New

When we find ourselves ready to make a change, the quickest way to begin is to start making space. This means letting go, one by one, of those things that no longer serve us, to make room for that which does.

Moving the physical is a great way of doing this. Oftetimes, however, the physical isn't what's really in the way of us manifesting the new. It's what the physical symbolizes that's filling up our lives.

When we have the willingness to examine all of it--what we view as "right" and "wrong", how we prefer to be perceived by others, even our yearning for certain emotions over others--we allow ourselves the luxury of disengaging and disentangling from that which no longer fits to make room for who we really are.

Life's Little Tests

I have found that life frequently sends little buggers our way just when we're ready to let go of an old pattern, once and for all, and move into brand new terrain.

I used to look at these tests--be they in the form of people who bug us, patterns that reappear or situations that bring out our worst--as big, fat nuisances.

I'm finally at a point in my life where, in spite of myself, I'm learning to be grateful for experiences like these for the gifts they bring. The greatest of all these gifts is the opportunity to recognize that we are always responding to the challenges before us in new ways, whether we realize it or not.

Change doesn't happen in leaps and bounds, but rather second by second. In each second, we are different than the person we were the second before. Nature teaches us that we are constantly undergoing thousands of little deaths, and with each death, something within us is born anew.

Happy November! We Celebrate Self-Care!

Each month, on our website www.dreamcatching.net, we celebrate a new topic related to making our dreams come true.

In November, we focus on the beauty of SELF-CARE. At a time when many of us are gearing up to celebrate the holidays, and at the same time are adjusting to less sunlight, it can be extremely helpful to remember to do what we can to keep our own inner light bright. The more we care for ourselves, the more energy we have to share with the world.

Celebrate yourself this month and give yourself lots of sweet and nurturing care!

-L.E.S.

Who Do You Want To Be?

I've always had a sense of the type of person I want to be when I'm nearing the time to lose this earth--in my vision I'm the ripe old age of 107, more or less. Among other things, as an old woman, I'm very peaceful, leading a simple life, confident and completely comfortable with doing things the way that feels just right to me--regardless of what other people think.

While 107 is still a long way off, after a recent birthday, it occured to me that it's closer today than ever before! Maybe the time to start being that person, then, is now.

Often our dreams come true when we make the simple decision that we no longer want them to be dreams, we want them to be reality. And we're ready. Today.